BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton jumped out to an early commanding lead to take game three at CSU Bakersfield 13-7 to secure the series victory. With the win the Titans improve to 6-9 on the year and 2-1 in Big West play.Â
With the series being decided in game three, the Titans got off to the start they needed, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning to take an early lead.Â
Eli Lopez got things started with a leadoff single before a Paul Contreras double brought him home to get Fullerton on the board. Later in the inning, the Titans capitalized on a fielder error by CSUB to take a 2-0 lead.Â
The second inning is where the Titans did most of their damage, scoring seven runs to take a commanding 9-0 lead.Â
Fullerton strung together five hits with just one out on a sacrifice bunt to start the inning. After a leadoff double from Esteban Olazaba, Lopez doubled to bring him home and put the Titans up 3-0.Â
After a Contreras single put runners on the corners, Ty Thomas doubled down the left field line to score both runners and extend the lead to 5-0.Â
Cam Burdick followed with a single to once again put runners on the corners, this time setting up Nick Miller's two-run triple down the left field line.Â
Following his triple, Miller was caught in a pickle and made a great play to avoid the tag to score and put Fullerton up 8-0. Max Ortega capped off the inning scoring on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 9-0.Â
The Titans took a 10-0 lead in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Thomas to score Waldie Perez. Thomas went 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.Â
CSU Bakersfield scored one run in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the Titans lead to 10-1. Twice in the game the Titans prevented runners from scoring on perfect relays from right field, once in the fifth and again in the eighth inning.Â
Fullerton added a run in the fifth inning on another sacrifice fly, this time by Contreras to score Perez to make it an 11-1 advantage. The Titans extended the lead to 12-1 in the sixth inning on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Lopez. After missing game two of the series, Lopez returned to the lineup and went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.Â
The Roadrunners made an attempt at a comeback, scoring two runs in the sixth and four runs in the seventh to cut Fullerton's lead to 13-7.Â
Freshman Bobby Mahoney earned the win to improve to 1-1 on the year. Chris Hernandez, Joseph Jasso and Andrew Wright each pitched one shutout inning in the seventh, eighth and ninth to close out the game.Â
The Titans are back in action Tuesday night at Goodwin Field for a midweek matchup against San Diego State. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
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