NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton dominated in its series opener at CSUN Friday night, defeating the Matadors 16-5 to take game one on the road. The Titans improve to 15-15 on the year and 7-6 in Big West play. 

The Titans got off to a slow start, falling behind 1-0 in the first inning after CSUN hit a leadoff solo home run. 

Fullerton came back to tie the game in the top of the third inning on an Andrew Kirchner RBI single to score Carter Johnstone from second base. Kirchner had two RBI in the game to extend his team-leading count to 38 this season which ranks third in the Big West. 

Eli Lopez led-off the fourth inning with a solo home run to give the Titans a 2-1 lead. Lopez, who hit his first home run of the season, went 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI. 

Paul Contreras and Marcos Rosales kept the inning going with back-to-back singles. Following a sac bunt to advance both runners, Johnstone singled to bring home Contreras and extend the lead to 3-1. Maddox Latta then beat out a potential double play to score Rosales and make it a 4-1 Titans lead. =

CSUN answered with one run in the home half of the inning to cut the Titans lead to 4-2. The Matadors went on to take a 5-4 lead after scoring three runs in the fifth on a solo home run and two-run home run. 

The Titans had an impressive answer, scoring seven runs in the sixth inning to take a commanding 11-5 lead. 

Rosales made quick work of taking the lead back, hitting a two-run home run in the second at-bat of the inning. 

CSUN struggled to throw strikes on the mound, walking four consecutive batters to walk in a run and extend the Titans lead to 7-5. After a force-out at home plate, Lopez drew the fifth walk of the inning to drive in another run. 

With two outs and the bases loaded, Contreras hit a bases clearing triple to right center field to put the Titans up 11-5. Contreras went 3-for-6 with two runs and tied for game-high three RBI. 

Fullerton added three more runs in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by Kirchner and a two-run double from Matthew Bardowell to score Latta and Johnstone while extending the lead to 14-5. 

The freshman Johnstone had another impressive day at the plate, going 4-for-6 with a tied for game-high three runs and an RBI. Johnstone is hitting .371 on the year and .500 in Big West play. 

The Titans tacked on two runs in the eighth inning on a two-run double by Latta to bring home Rosales and Isaiah Gomez. 

Mikiah Negrete earned the win to improve to 4-1 on the year. Negrete gave up five runs on seven hits in five innings pitched. The junior struckout six batters while issuing just one walk. 

Derek Turner pitched three shutout innings in relief, giving up just four hits while striking out one and not issuing a single walk. Chad Gurnea closed out the game in the ninth, walking just one batter. 

Fullerton took advantage of free bases given up by CSUN throughout the entire game. The Titans drew a total of 10 walks, the most since Mar. 8, 2024. 

The Titans look to secure the series in game two Saturday evening at CSUN. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

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