Titans Feeling a Lot of Relief After Opener

By GARY KLEIN

June 9, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

OMAHA —

Cal State Fullerton’s hitters took a potentially rabid College World Series crowd out of the game early, and Titan relief pitchers shut down Nebraska hitters late.

The combination gave Fullerton an impressive 5-4 victory over the Cornhuskers on Friday night in a College World Series opener before 22,889 at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Top-seeded Fullerton (47-16) will play Stanford, a 13-11 winner Friday over Tulane, in a winner’s bracket game Sunday.

Aaron Rifkin’s two-run home run keyed a three-run first inning that quieted fans who came out to cheer the Cornhuskers in their first World Series appearance.

“Scoring those runs really set the tone for the game,” said senior second baseman David Bacani, who doubled against Shane Komine (14-2) in Fullerton’s first at-bat and hit what proved to be a game-winning solo home run in the bottom of the fifth. “It was important for us to settle down and get into our groove. We needed to take care of the crowd and make this a baseball game.”

Fullerton left-hander Jon Smith (11-2) and relievers Mike Nunez and Chad Cordero combined for 14 strikeouts and did not issue a walk as Fullerton won for the 33rd time in 39 games.

Smith gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings and struck out seven. Nunez, a senior, struck out three in 1 2/3 innings and Cordero, a freshman, struck out four in the final 2 1/3 innings for his 14th save.

Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn was particularly impressed with the way the Fullerton trio pitched with runners in scoring position.

“It seemed as if they took it to the next level,” Van Horn said.

Fullerton made the most of its seven hits against Komine, who struck out nine and walked one in eight innings.

Komine pitched a three-hit shutout against Rice in his last start and had not lost since Feb. 11.

But he struggled in the first inning against the Titans, giving up the double to Bacani and a one-out run-scoring single to designated hitter Jason Corpaci before first baseman Rifkin hit a ball into the left-field bleachers.

“It was just an adrenaline rush going through my body,” Komine said. “I needed to find a way to settle down. Seeing the fans in the stands was the main reason.”

Nebraska scored a run on an RBI double by Josh Hesse in the second and had runners at second and third with no outs. But Jeff Blevins, who had reached on an error by shortstop Mike Rouse, was thrown out at the plate trying to score from third on a ground ball hit to third baseman Shawn Norris. Smith picked off Hesse at second, then got Will Bolt to pop out to Bacani.

The Cornhuskers tied the score in the top of the third on home runs by John Cole and Matt Hopper, but Fullerton came right back.

Robert Guzman reached on an error by shortstop Bolt, stole second and moved to third on Rifkin’s one-out fly ball to right before Brett Kay drove him in for a 4-3 lead.

Cole tied the score with another homer in the fifth, but once again Fullerton answered.

Bacani stepped to the plate to start the Titan fifth and was down 1-and-2 in the count when he drilled a change-up over the wall in left field.

“There’s nobody I’d rather have up in a clutch situation,” Fullerton Coach George Horton said. “What Bacani does for us is beyond statistics.”

Nebraska chased Smith after he gave up a leadoff single to Johnson in the sixth and balked him to second. Nunez then came on and struck out the next two batters and ended the inning by getting a groundout.

Cordero came on in the seventh after Cole’s two out-single and struck out four of the last seven batters.

“I just tried to do what I did all year--I tried to throw strikes and let the defense help me,” Cordero said.

The pitching staff’s performance allowed Horton to save Kirk Saarloos (15-2) to start against Stanford.

The Titans lost two of three games in a season-opening series against the Cardinal.

“Both teams win with pitching and defense,” Horton said. “There are no secrets.”

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COLLEGE WORLD SERIES GLANCE

Double Elimination

Friday’s Scores

* Stanford 13, Tulane 11

* CS Fullerton 5, Nebraska 4

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