Fullerton Stays Alive Behind Smith, Owens

Cal State Fullerton is still alive in its bid for its fifth College World Series appearance of the 1990s.

The Titans roared back Saturday night behind an unexpectedly strong pitching performance from Jon Smith and two home runs by Ryan Owens, then held on for an 11-5 victory over Ohio State that evened the best-of-three NCAA super-regional series at a game apiece.

Fullerton (48-12) will be seeking its 10th College World Series trip and Ohio State (50-13) its first since 1967 when the teams play today at 10 a.m. (PDT).

Owens drove in six runs and has 11 RBIs in the series.

Smith, a left-hander who hadn’t pitched more than two innings in a game since April 10 because of soreness in his arm and shoulder, gave up four hits through seven innings. The Buckeyes got two more off Smith in the eighth, and he was replaced by Ruben Jurado. It was the first victory for Smith (7-0) since April 2.

“Smith surpassed all our expectations,” Titan Coach George Horton said. “We would have been tickled if we could get five or six innings from him.

“But this was off the charts. We couldn’t have put ourselves in this position without him.”

Said Smith: “I’ve taken plenty of time off, and I think I’ve gotten it back just in time for the playoffs. Luckily, I had all three of my pitches going, and my fastball was decent. But it’s a lot easier to pitch with runs on the board.”