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49ers tie Titans for title

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Times Staff Writer

The Big West Conference baseball title will have to be shared, but it still tastes just as sweet to Long Beach State, considering how far the 49ers had to come to get it.

Long Beach defeated Cal State Fullerton, 12-3, in the series finale Sunday at Blair Field in Long Beach, to win the regular season-ending series and forge a tie with the Titans for the conference title.

It is the first conference title since 2003 for Long Beach (37-19, 16-8 Big West), which started conference play by losing four of its first six games but won 14 of its last 18.

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The 49ers also handed Fullerton (37-19, 16-8) its first series loss in Big West play and first overall since March 14-16 against Arizona. The Titans have won or shared four of the last five Big West titles.

“Obviously we have to share it with them, but it feels good,” said winning pitcher Vance Worley, who pitched a complete game. “Co-champs or whatever. It’s good because we came back a long way.”

Both teams received good news after the game, each learning that it had been selected as one of 16 regional hosts for the first round of the NCAA tournament that begins Friday. It is the first time since 2005 that regionals will be played at both schools.

“That’s always an advantage to host,” Long Beach Coach Mike Weathers said. “But we’ve been playing well the last 20 or 22 games. We’ve been doing a lot of things well and I think we deserve it.”

Long Beach State broke the game open with a five-run third inning to take a 6-1 lead. They added a run in the fourth and three in the fifth en route to building an 10-3 lead. Second baseman Jason Tweedy had a home run, a triple and a single and drove in three runs.

The game featured a scary moment in the sixth when home plate umpire Ruben Chavira took a foul ball off his facemask and had to leave the game because of dizziness. Third base ump John Bullock moved behind the plate after a 22-minute delay and the game continued with two umpires.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com

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