Saarloos’ Shining Moment

Cal State Fullerton’s Kirk Saarloos added another pitching gem to his sparkling season Sunday, and this one turned out to be a no-hitter.

Saarloos walked one batter and hit another in the second inning, but was overwhelming the rest of the way, and the Titan hitters were just as effective in a resounding 28-0 victory over Pacific at Goodwin Field.

It was only the second nine-inning no-hitter for a Titan pitcher since Fullerton began playing Division I baseball in 1975. The other was by Ted Silva in 1995, also against Pacific. Longo Garcia pitched a five-inning no-hitter in 1987 against Long Beach in a game that was stopped by rain.

“I was only supposed to go five or six innings after we got the big lead early, but I said I’d like to try for it after that,” said Saarloos, who was staked to a 16-0 lead after three innings.

Saarloos retired 22 consecutive batters before a two-out infield error by Jason Corapci in the ninth inning, but Saarloos got the next batter to bounce into a force at second to extend his streak of scoreless innings at home to 37.

Saarloos struck out 11. “The umpire had a low zone all day, and a low zone helps me,” Saarloos said.

It was the eighth consecutive victory for Saarloos (8-2) and his seventh complete game in as many starts. It was his fourth shutout of the season, tying a school record set by Mike Parisi in 1994. His earned-run average dropped from 1.40 to 1.26.

The victory gave Fullerton (22-10) a three-game sweep of its opening Big West Conference series. It was the eighth consecutive victory for the Titans, who have won 14 of their last 16 and 20 of 25 since a 2-5 start. Pacific is 19-18.

The run total, on 30 hits, was the third highest ever for Fullerton and the most at home in Division I games. It was Fullerton’s most lopsided shutout victory.

Fullerton, which had 15 homers in 31 previous games, blasted four Sunday, including two by shortstop Mike Rouse. Rouse was five for six with three runs batted in and scored five times, but even that effort was overshadowed by Saarloos.

“I’ve never been part of a no-hitter before,” Rouse said. “That was really something.”

Saarloos said the brief control trouble he had in the second inning might have been partly due to a long wait while Fullerton scored nine runs in the first inning. “But I was able to settle down after that,” Saarloos said.

The nine-run first was the Titans’ biggest inning since they scored nine against New Mexico State in a 23-8 victory last season.

The Titans did all the damage in the first without an extra-base hit. David Bacani and Corapci each had two hits in the inning, and Corapci drove in three runs, one in his first at-bat and two in his second. Fullerton scored four more runs in the second and three in the third.

Rouse homered to lead off the third and Shawn Norris had a two-run shot later in the inning. Brett Kay and Rouse had consecutive solo homers and Shane Costa a three-run triple in the fourth.

Solid play on defense helped preserve the no-hitter. Reserves, in the game because it was so one-sided, contributed to the effort. Backup first baseman Nick Fitzgerald made a couple of good pickups of low throws. Richie Burgos knocked down a line drive at third for an out in the seventh, and Kyle Boyer made a good play on a liner to short right in the sixth.

It also turned out that Fullerton picked the perfect day to pass out Saarloos’ baseball card to the crowd of 1,183 as it entered the stadium. Saarloos was busy signing many of them well after the game was over.

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Big West Baseball Standings

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Conference Overall Team W L Pct. W L Pct. CS Fullerton 3 0 1.000 22 10 .688 Long Beach State 2 1 .667 21 11 .656 Cal Poly SLO 2 1 .667 21 12 .636 CS Northridge 1 2 .333 22 13 .629 Sacramento St. 1 2 .333 17 19 .472 UCSB 0 0 .000 25 8 .758 Pacific 0 3 .000 19 18 .514

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