IRVINE, Calif. – Mikiah Negrete threw his second complete game against Hawaii this season to help the Titans advance to day two of The Big West Championship with a 5-1 victory over the Rainbow Warriors Wednesday night at Cicerone Field.
Negrete allowed just one earned run on six hits while striking out seven and not issuing a single walk. After giving up one run in the second and a one-out single in the third, Negrete locked in to retire nine consecutive batters.
The southpaw reached 100 innings pitched after tossing his third complete game of the year, the most in a single season by a Titan since Colton Easton pitched 117.2 innings in 2018. His three complete games is the most since Andrew Quezada tossed three in 2018.
After Hawaii took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, the Titans had a quick response, scoring one run in the top of the third to tie the game at 1-1. Nick Miller hit a one-out double before Paul Contreras drove him in with a single to left field with two outs on the board.
Both sides went scoreless for the next three innings before Fullerton broke the tie with two runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Cam Burdick gave the Titans a one-out base runner after being hit by a pitch followed by a Miller single put runners on second and third. After a wild pitch advanced Burdick to third base, Esteban Olazaba laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to bring him home and put the Titans up 2-1.
Following a Contreras walk that loaded the bases, Miller scored from third on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 3-1.
The Titans added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning, taking a 5-1 lead. Burdick led-off the inning with a double before a failed pickoff attempt allowed him to reach third. With runners on the corners and one-out, Contreras hit into a possible double play but an error by Hawaii allowed Burdick to score and all runners to be safe.
Andrew Kirchner took advantage of the mistake by Hawaii, laying down another perfect squeeze bunt to score Olazaba and put the Titans up 5-1.
Negrete closed out the game in style with a 1-2-3 inning to send Fullerton to the second round of The Big West Championship.
The Titans face No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara Thursday afternoon at Cicerone Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
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