FULLERTON, Calif. — After being benched for a couple of games recently, UC Riverside outfielder Phil Holinsworth sent his coach a message.
Riverside head coach Doug Smith said Holinsworth would be in the lineup Sunday after he blasted a pair of two-run homers to lead the Highlanders to a 6-3 upset of No. 8 Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field Saturday evening.
Holinsworth got Riverside on the board quickly with his first two-run shot in the top of the first after leadoff hitter Eddie Young singled. The junior got the rally started in the third inning with a walk and scored on Vince Gonzalez’s double into the left field corner. Gonzalez scored on a Nick Vilter single later in the inning to put Riverside up 4-0.
Fullerton trimmed the lead to 4-3, but Holinsworth gave the Highlanders some breathing room with his second home run in the eighth inning.
The Highlanders got the leadoff hitter on in seven of their nine at bats. They repeatedly were assisted by the Fullerton pitchers’ control issues. The five pitchers Fullerton used combined to walk 10 batters, six to lead off innings. It was the first time the Titans had allowed double digit walks since January 30, 2004.
Riverside starter Trevor Frank bounced back from three consecutive rough starts, in which he allowed five or more runs in each, to throw 7 1/3 innings. He allowed two earned runs (three total) on eight hits and two walks to pick up his second win of the season. Ben Doucette entered in the eighth inning and collected a five-out save for his fifth save.
Gonzalez and Vilter both collected two hits and an RBI. For Fullerton, Richy Pedroza had three hits, scored two runs and drove in another. Matt Chapman added a pair of hits while Carlos Lopez was 0-for-1 but had two sacrifice flies.
Check out the 18-shot photo gallery from Saturday night’s Cal State Fullerton/UC Riverside matchup below:
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