#18 CS Fullerton 11- Pacific 1
UC Riverside 5 – #5 UCI 3
#24 LBSU 9 – CS Northridge 2
Cal Poly 10 – UC Davis 5
UC Santa Barbara 23 – USC 2
Weeks, Renken, Lead Titans to 11-1 Win in Stockton
Stockton, Calif. – Joel Weeks went 3-for-3 and drove in three as No. 16 Cal State Fullerton defeated Pacific 11-1 in a Big West Conference baseball game at Klein Family Field Saturday night.
For the second night in a row the Titans beat the Tigers by double-digits, and with the win, take the series, their seventh weekend series win of the year. Fullerton improves to 22-13 overall and 8-3 in league action. The Tigers drop their 18th straight game to the Titans and fall to 8-27, 2-9.
Freshaman Daniel Renken improved to 4-2 on the year with a career high eight-inning effort, allowing four hits while striking out seven. Renken was lifted for Michael Morrison in the ninth inning who struck out one and induced a game-ending double play to lock it up for the Titans.
The only run Renken allowed on the night was an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth inning to give Pacific an early 1-0 lead. Nick Longmire singled home Matt Fuson, aboard on a Renken throwing error. That figured to be the only run on the night for Pacific.
The Titans got on the board and took the lead in the in the fifth inning with a pair of runs off losing pitcher Mark McCain (1-3). Right fielder Khris Davis led off the inning by getting plunked by a 2-2 McCain offering and then immediately moved to second on a Joel Weeks sac-bunt. Davis moved up 90-feet on a balk and the next hitter Dustin Garneau drew a walk. Gary Brown tied the game at 1-1 as he lifted a sacrifice-fly to center, plating Davis. Josh Fellhauer drove a ball off the left-centerfield wall and cruised into third with an RBI triple as it caromed far enough away from the outfielders to give Fullerton the lead for good.
Weeks hit a ball in the sixth, that on any other night would have left Klein Family Field, but the gusty winds knocked the ball down and it went for a double. Weeks’ two-base hit drove in a pair of two-out runs for Fullerton scored after a fielding error by shortstop J.B Brown extended the inning.
Fullerton blew the game out of reach as it scored seven times in the top of the eighth, the fourth time this year the Titans have rallied for seven runs in an inning. They sent 12 hitters to the plate and saw four Tiger arms and jumped out to an 11-1 lead. Davis, Weeks, Brown and Christian Colon drove home runs in the frame, with Colon picking up two with a double down the left field line.
Fellhauer, Corey Jones, and Brown each added two hits apiece adding to Week’s three-hit night as Fullerton out-hit the home team 11-4. Weeks (3), Fellhauer (2), Colon (2) and Brown (2) all had multi-RBI nights as well in the win.
No. 5 UC Irvine Loses to UC Riverside
IRVINE, Calif. — Fifth-ranked UC Irvine lost 5-3 to UC Riverside in a Big West Conference game Saturday at Anteater Ballpark. The win dropped the Anteaters to 24-8 overall (6-5 Big West) while the Highlanders improved to 10-23 overall (4-4 Big West).
UC Riverside scored three runs in the top of the first, highlighted by a two-run single from Ryan Goetz. Daniel Pellegrino drove in a run in the third to give the Highlanders a 4-0 lead.
The Anteaters were held scoreless by Highlander starter Matt Larkins through the first five innings, leaving six stranded, including leaving the bases-loaded in the fifth. UCI got on the board in the sixth, capitalizing on an error by shortstop Trevor Hairgrove that allowed Dillon Bell to score.
The Highlanders tacked on a run in the seventh as Joey Gonzalez scored after belting a one-out triple to center.
Tony Asaro doubled with two outs in the eighth and Josh Tavelli singled up the middle off reliever Paul Applebee but Applebee struck out Aaron Lowenstein to end the inning.
Ollie Linton led off the ninth with a triple to right and scored on Jeff Cusick’s grounder to short. Pinch hitter Brock Bardeen drew a two-out walk but Joe Kelly struck out Ryan Fisher to earn his second save of the season.
UCI’s Bryce Stowell fell to 4-2, giving up five runs (four earned) but matched a career-high with nine strikeouts while Larkins improved to 5-2 after giving up an unearned run on five hits in 5.2 innings.
Linton led the Anteaters, batting 2 for 5.
Drew Garcia went 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored to pace UC Riverside.
Tweedy and Company Take Series at CS Northridge
NORTHRIDGE–Jason Tweedy hit a two-run home run in his second game back and Shane Peterson added three more hits as No. 25-ranked Long Beach State (22-14, 4-4 Big West) won its first series in a month, defeating host CS Northridge (15-19, 4-7 Big West) 9-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Vance Worley (5-2) went the first eight innings for his fifth win, striking out eight and walking none, as he gave up two runs (one earned) on eight hits. He retired the final seven batters he faced.
Tweedy, who had missed the last 18 games due to a finger injury, got a two-run single in last night’s 16-2 win, and added two singles and a home run on Saturday.
Jonathan Jones finished with three hits as did Peterson, who has now hit safely in 11 of his last 14 at-bats.
The Dirtbags pounded out 18 hits today, following 20 hits yesterday. Over the last three games, LBSU has scored 35 runs on 52 hits, while hitting .419.
LBSU opened up the scoring in the first with an RBI groundout and a solo home run by Peterson to lead 2-0. A two-run single by TJ Mittelstaedt followed by a two-run home run by Tweedy then made it 6-1 in the third.
Two Tweedy errors in the first cut the Dirtbag lead in half at 2-1 in the first.
Mustangs Even Series Against First-Place UC Davis With 10-5 Win
DAVIS, Calif. – Sophomore designated hitter Luke Yoder and junior third baseman Brent Morel each produced three hits, all nine Mustang starters had at least one hit and junior southpaw Jared Eskew improved to 3-1 with six productive innings as Cal Poly defeated UC Davis 10-5 in a Big West Conference baseball game Saturday afternoon at Dobbins Stadium.
UC Davis, which started the day in first place in the conference standings, had a four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 6-2 in Big West games and 25-12 for the season.
Cal Poly has won seven of its last nine games, improving to 16-19 overall and 4-7 in Big West games with Saturday’s victory. The Mustangs evened the three-game series at a game apiece.
Eskew (3-1) allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings with one walk and three strikeouts. Junior southpaw Derrick Saito, working out of the bullpen for just the second time this season after seven Saturday starts, tossed three innings for his first save, allowing one run and one hit with four walks and a pair of strikeouts.
The loss went to UC Davis junior right-hander Brad McAtee (5-3), who surrendered 15 hits and eight runs, all earned, in 6 2/3 innings. McAtee did not walk a batter and struck out four.
Cal Poly scored in the first inning for the 24th time in 35 games, tallying three on a two-run double by Morel and an RBI groundout by sophomore first baseman Wes Dorrell.
The Mustangs added a run in the second on an RBI single up the middle by senior catcher Josh Thomas for a 4-0 cushion.
UC Davis trimmed the deficit to 4-2 in the third inning as Ty Kelly doubled in a run and Jake Jefferies grounded out for another RBI.
Cal Poly got one of the runs back in the fifth on a squeeze bunt for a single by junior center fielder Logan Schafer.
The Aggies climbed to within a run at 5-4 with two runs in the bottom of the fitth. Kelly doubled to right and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Jefferies. Evan Hudson singled to knock in the other run.
Cal Poly regained the momentum with three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth.
In the seventh, Schafer and Morel both singled with one out and scored on a two-run double to left by Dorrell. Sophomore left fielder Adam Melker drove Dorrell home with a two-out single to right.
After Hudson singled up the middle for an RBI in the Aggie seventh, Cal Poly pushed the lead to 10-5 with two more runs in the eighth. Both were unearned due to a dropped fly ball in the infield with two outs. Senior second baseman Pat Pezet scored from first base on the miscue and Morel singled to knock in the other run.
While Yoder and Morel each had three hits, four other Mustangs contributed a pair of hits – Pezet, Schafer, Melker and Thomas – as Cal Poly banged out 17 hits one day after being held to two runs and three hits in a 3-2 loss to the Aggies on Friday.
Morel and Dorrell each had three RBIs for Cal Poly.
UC Davis was led offensively by center fielder Ryan Royster with three hits and Hudson with two. Kelly, who had at least three hits in each of his last four games, was “held” to just two doubles.
UCSB Steamrolls USC, 23-2
Santa Barbara, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (26-11) steamrolled University of Southern California (19-18), 23-2 Saturday afternoon at Dedeaux Field. Backed by an impressive outing from redshirt freshman Mario Hollands, the Gaucho offense continued their season-long assault on opposing pitchers, scoring 23 runs on 19 hits in Saturday’s shellacking.
The Trojans were actually the first to score, putting up a run in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded, Mike Roskopf grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring Nick Buss to put the Trojans in front, 1-0. It would be the only run Hollands surrendered, as the freshman southpaw breezed through the USC lineup over the next five frames.
Hollands (4-2) earned his fourth win on the year, allowing only one run on nine hits in six solid innings of work. The El Cerrito, Calif., native struck out five and walked only three, lowering his ERA to 3.13.
The Gauchos offense caught fire in the top of the third inning, scoring five times on five hits. Gaucho third baseman Patrick Rose led off the inning with a single to right. After Steve Cook singled to center, Brian Gump came to the plate with one out and runners on the corners. Gump lined a double down the left field line, scoring Rose from third for the first Gaucho run of the game. Chris Fox added to the attack with a two-RBI single past second base. Catcher Chris McMurray followed in similar fashion capping the five-run third with a two-RBI single to right field.
UCSB struck again in the fifth, scoring a pair of runs to increase their lead to six, 7-1. With Oliver on first, Mike Zuanich launched a two-run home run over the left field wall, his 11th of the year. Zuanich’s two-run jack was his sixth in the last six games. After hitting three bombs against Westmont on Tuesday, Zuanich added his fourth of the week in the fifth inning.
The Gauchos continued their magnificent day, scoring seven times in the top of the sixth. The sixth inning outburst was highlighted by a bases-clearing double off the bat of Rose. With the bases juiced, Rose ripped a double to left field, scoring Carlson, Zuanich, and Oliver, to increase the Gaucho lead to 11-1. With Gunnar Terhune on base, Cook launched a two-run homer to straightaway center field. After six, UCSB was comfortably ahead, 14-1.
As if the 13-run lead wasn’t enough, the Gauchos tacked on nine more runs over the remaining three innings. The powerful Blue and Gold added five runs in the seventh, three in the eighth, and one in the ninth.
The UCSB carousel continued in the seventh, as a total of 13 batters came to the plate. Three consecutive walks by Trojan reliever Danny Beck loaded the bases with one out. Chris McCaffery came on in relief of Beck, but couldn’t stop the bleeding. McMurray greeted McCaffery with an RBI single through the left side, pushing the Gaucho lead to 15-1. Patrick Rose also walked in the following at-bat, scoring Zuanich from third. An RBI single from pinch-hitter John DeAlba, a fielder’s choice RBI from pinch-hitter Robby Cummings, and an RBI single from Gump, extended the Gaucho advantage to 18 runs, 19-1.
Gaucho reliever Clayton Edwards came on in relief of Hollands, allowing the second Trojan run of the game in the bottom half of the seventh.
After scoring three more times in the eighth and once in the ninth, Gaucho relievers Matt Wade and Patrick McIntyre each pitched perfect eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to seal the win.
Every Gaucho started recorded at least one hit, and every batter to enter the game with the exception of two pinch-hitters, recorded at least one RBI.
Every Trojan pitcher to enter the game surrendered at least two earned runs. Six USC pitchers combined to walk 10 batters on the day.
Brad Boxberger (2-2) suffered the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings.
The 23-run effort marked the second highest total for the Gauchos this season. On Tuesday, UCSB scored a remarkable 26 runs against cross-town rival Westmont College.
On the week, the Gauchos have scored an otherworldly 54 runs on 56 hits in three games. UCSB has now scored 307 runs on the season, an average of 8.3 a game.
Rose led the charge going 3-for-5, with four runs scored and four RBI. McMurray was 2-for-4 with one run scored and three RBI. Gump was 3-for-6 with two runs scored and two RBI. DeAlba, playing for the first time in three weeks, was 2-for-2 with three RBI off the bench.
