LONG BEACH, Calif. - In the longest game of the season so far, Cal State Fullerton came up short as they dropped a 4-3 non-conference decision in 12 innings to Long Beach State Friday night at Blair Field in a five-hour marathon game.
The Titans (10-10) stranded 14 runners on base on the night while the Dirtbags (11-7) pitching staff racked up 12 strikeouts en route to the victory.
Chris Mathewson, who was 1-for-1 with one RBI this season and slated as the starting pitcher for Sunday's finale, stepped up in the bottom of the 12th inning and hit a two-out single through the right side to plate Garrett Hampson with the game-winning run.
Darren McCaughan picked up the win for the Dirtbags, going three innings and allowing two hits. He walked one and struck out four.
Miles Chambers took the loss despite pitching very well in relief. He came into the game in the ninth inning and pitched three and 2/3 innings. He allowed two hits, walked one and struck out three but was charged with the game-winning run.
Hampson hit a two-out single in the 12th and advanced to second on a wild pitch before eventually scoring. He was one of three Dirtbags to record two hits on the night, going 2-for-5 with a run scored. Brock Lundquist was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI and Alex Bishop also went 2-for-3 on the night
For the Titans, eight different players got a hit including Jake Jefferies, Scott Hurst and Jerrod Bravo, who each had a double. Josh Estill went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run.
The Titans jumped out in front in the first inning as David Olmedo-Barrera was hit by a pitch with two outs in the opening frame. That brought up Estill, who fell behind 0-1 but then hammered the next offering from Dirtbags starter Kyle Friedrichs and sent the ball soaring well over the left-field fence 348 feet away for his third round-tripper of the season, putting the Titans up 2-0.
The Dirtbags answered in their half of the first, capitalizing on some defensive miscues by the Titans. Zack Domingues reached on a double to center field and then came around to score on an error by shortstop Timmy Richards on a ball hit by Zack Rivera, who would steal second base and then advance to third on a wild pitch to put the tying run 90 feet away. Lundquist then cashed in the unearned run, hitting a sacrifice fly to right field to tie the game 2-2.
The Titans regained the lead in the second inning after Bravo led off with a walk. He advanced to second on a groundout, got to third on a Hunter Cullen single and would score on an RBI groundout by pinch-hitter Dalton Blaser to put the Titans up 3-2.
It took the Dirtbags all of one inning to lock the game back up as Lundquist hit a one-out single in the third inning and then stole second base. He would later come in to score on a two-out single by Maida to tie the game 3-3.
Notes: Bravo's hit extended his hitting streak to eight games… Friday was the first time the Titans and Dirtbags played an extra-inning game since 2013, when the Titans scored a 2-1 win in 10 innings on March 24 at Blair Field… Friday night's game was tied for the fourth longest between the two teams in terms of innings in the history of the rivalry. The teams played a 12 inning game on April 8, 1995, a 6-5 win for the Titans at Goodwin Field… The Titans are now 0-5 this season when they hit a home run.
