Titans are one victory away

It wasn’t as easy as 1, 2, 3 for Cal State Fullerton in the first game of an NCAA super regional Friday against Louisville, but it seemed that way.

Take the third inning, when Titans starter Daniel Renken, pitching with a three-run lead, retired the side on three pitches.

Renken earned his 11th win as the Titans routed the Cardinals, 12-0, at Goodwin Field and moved to within one victory of advancing to the College World Series.

“I don’t know if easy is the right word, but the Titans are playing at a high level,” Fullerton Coach Dave Serrano said.

Fullerton (46-14), seeded second nationally, can earn a ticket to Omaha with a win today. The game begins at 2 p.m.

Renken, a sophomore, gave up three hits and struck out 10 in his first shutout. He did not give up a hit after the fourth inning, retiring 16 of the last 17 in a performance that required only 98 pitches against a Louisville lineup that hit into numerous outs on first pitches.

“They got themselves out most of the time,” Renken said.

Fullerton, by contrast, pounded out 16 hits and manufactured runs with its usual array of hit batters, stolen bases and sacrifice bunts and flies.

Designated hitter Khris Davis, who hit four home runs in three games during last week’s regional, had four hits and drove in two runs against Louisville (47-17).

Jared Clark had four hits and four RBIs and Josh Fellhauer homered for the Titans, who chased starter Dean Kiekhefer after 4 1/3 innings.

“We did exactly what we wanted to -- just put pressure on their defense,” Clark said.

Louisville Coach Dan McDonnell decided to start sophomore left-hander Kiekhefer instead of ace Justin Marks because Marks pitched twice in both the Big East tournament two weeks ago and a regional last week.

But Fullerton put the pressure on early and never looked back, scoring three times in the first, fifth and seventh innings en route to a 12-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Renken neutralized a Cardinals lineup that featured third baseman Chris Dominguez and designated hitter Phil Wunderlich, who came in with 41 homers and 158 RBIs between them.

Dominguez struck out three times and flied out. Wunderlich doubled and flied out twice.

“They were going to be aggressive early and keep swinging,” Serrano said of Lousville. “That’s kind of their style.”

Fullerton wasted no time jumping on Kiekhefer, Christian Colon leading off with a single to start a three-run first inning that included two hit batters, three stolen bases, a sacrifice bunt, Clark’s two-run double and Davis’ RBI single. It only got worse for Louisville.

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gary.klein@latimes.com