Titans Hammer Mustangs; Push Win Streak to 13

Cal State Fullerton has enjoyed the Big West Conference’s best pitching all season, but the Titan hitters have pushed their way into the spotlight recently.

Fullerton won its 13th consecutive game and 19th in the last 20 thanks to another robust day on offense Saturday at Titan Field.

The Titans pounded Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 17-9, behind a 17-hit outburst led by outfielders Pete Fukuhara and Aaron Rowand.

Fukuhara was four for four with three runs batted in and Rowand was three for four with three RBIs and three runs scored. Both homered. Rowand’s was his team-leading 13th.

“Hitting is contagious,” said Fukuhara. “When it starts flowing, it keeps flowing, and I feel like I’m hitting with a lot more confidence.” Fukuhara drove in four runs in Friday’s victory and has hit safely in 18 of 20 games. In that stretch, Fukuhara is batting .492, and has moved into the team lead with a .412 average.

Rowand has driven in 27 runs in the last 17 games and has a team-high 56. He is hitting .389.

Fullerton has scored at least six runs in every game during the winning streak.

“It seems to be pretty much everyone hitting,” Rowand said. “We’re moving the ball around and not taking many sloppy at-bats. The hits we’re getting are almost all solid ones. Even the ground balls were hit well.”

Fullerton (39-12, 22-4) needs one more victory or a Long Beach loss in conference to clinch the No. 1 seeding in the Big West tournament that begins May 14.

“We want to keep this streak going right into the conference tournament, and hopefully beyond that,” Titan Coach George Horton said. “The guys who have been hot are staying hot, and the guys who have been slumping are hitting better. We have more guys contributing. But even our outs were productive today.”

Ryan Moore, who was one for 13 last week and hitless Friday, was two for three with two RBIs, and Kevin Duck went two for four with three runs scored Saturday.

Hitting carried left-hander Erasmo Ramirez to his eighth victory in 13 decisions. Ramirez gave up seven runs--four earned--on eight hits in seven innings.

The Titans staked Ramirez to a 2-0 lead with runs in the second and third. The Mustangs tied it in the fourth, but Fullerton came back for four runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Fukuhara’s two-run homer after Duck’s leadoff single was the big hit. Moore scored on catcher Scott Sheldon’s throwing error, and another run came across on Ryan Owens’ delayed steal of home as Johnson stole second.

The Titans put the game away with a three-run fifth and a five-run sixth, making it 13-4. Fukuhara doubled in one run and Moore doubled in two in the fifth. Rowand’s had a two-run homer in the sixth.

Jason Barringer and Steve Wood hit home runs in the seventh for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo off Ramirez. It was the 16th for Wood.

“We didn’t catch the ball well behind Ramirez,” said Horton, pointing to Fullerton’s five errors.

The Mustangs (16-38, 7-17) had six errors.