Fullerton Beats Miami Again

Cal State Fullerton registered its second consecutive victory over fourth-ranked Miami on Saturday, beating the Hurricanes, 8-5, at Coral Gables, Fla.

The 24th-ranked Titans trailed, 1-0, but Chris Stringfellow’s two-run single in the fourth gave them the lead. Fullerton broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning, highlighted by two-run singles by Jason Corapci and Shane Costa and Aaron Rifkin’s run-scoring double. Fullerton added a run in the sixth when David Bacani scored on a wild pitch.

Miami’s Kris Clute hit a three-run home run in the seventh to cut the Titans’ lead to 8-5.

Fullerton starter Darric Merrell (2-2) scattered six hits and struck out seven before giving way to Shane Waroff in the seventh.

Reliever Chad Cordero worked a perfect eighth, but Miami loaded the bases with one out in the ninth. Cordero then struck out Jim Burt and got Kevin Howard to ground out to secure his second save.

The Titans (18-10) finished 12-3 in March and became the first team this season to hand Miami (25-8) consecutive losses.

In a nonconference game:

Chapman 10, Redlands 0--Andrew Tisdale (6-0) gave up one hit and struck out five over six innings for the host Panthers (21-6).

In Big West Conference softball:

Cal State Fullerton 7-8, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 0-0--The Titans (32-10, 5-0) had 23 hits in two games. Gina Oaks had four hits, including two homers, and Yasmin Mossadeghi had four hits in the two games.

In the Golden State Athletic Conference:

Vanguard 1-0, Concordia 0-1--Nicole Benning singled in the winning run in the top of the seventh and Gina Liebengood (12-7) earned the victory in the first game for Vanguard (22-14, 7-5). Sarah Kammert singled in the only run in the second game for Concordia (25-17, 7-7) and Christie Shankles (11-7) earned the win.