FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton pounded out 14 hits and overcame a three-run deficit to defeat first-place UC Irvine 7-5 Sunday afternoon at Goodwin Field.
Taylor Bryant went deep for his second career home run and second in as many Sundays for the Titans (22-20, 8-4) on his way to a 2-for-3 day at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored. He was one of six Titans to record two hits against the Anteaters (24-16, 11-4).
The Titans are now even with the Anteaters in the loss column and are tied for second place in the Big West Conference with Cal Poly at 8-4, with UC Santa Barbara possibly joining the second-place logjam pending the Gauchos' result at Hawai'i on Sunday.
Dustin Vaught, Josh Estill, David Olmedo-Barrera, Jerrod Bravo and Tyler Stieb all had two hits as well for the Titans with Bravo and Timmy Richards driving in two RBIs apiece.
Connor Seabold shut down the UC Irvine offense in two and 1/3 innings of relief, allowing just one hit and fanning four to pick up his first career save. Maxwell Gibbs entered the game in the fifth inning and was also masterful out of the bullpen for the Titans, going a season-high two and 2/3 innings. He allowed one hit and struck out one to earn his second win of the year.
For the Anteaters, Mitchell Holland led the way as he went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.
The back-and-forth affair Sunday began in the first inning as the Anteaters took a 1-0 lead after Mikey Duarte led off the frame by reaching on a throwing error to start the game. He advanced to second on a bunt and then scored on Holland's two-out double down the left field line.
The Titans answered in the bottom half of the inning, plating a run on three hits in the frame. Vaught singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Estill singled to right with one out to put runners at the corners. After a strikeout, Bravo came through with a two-out single back up the middle to bring in Vaught and tie the score.
In the second inning, the Anteaters showcased some more two-out hitting as they recorded four hits after making the first two outs of the inning. Parker Coss started the rally with a double and then Duarte walked. Kris Paulino, Keston Hiura and Holland each followed with RBI singles and the Anteaters took a 4-1 lead after two innings.
Fullerton got two of those runs back in the third inning as Estill and Olmedo-Barrera led off the inning with singles. Bravo sacrificed them over to third and Richards cashed them in with a double to right-center to make it 4-3.
In the fourth inning, Bryant blasted a 1-1 offering from Anteaters starter Evan Manarino over the left-center field wall for his second home run in as many Sundays, tying the game 4-4. But Holland responded in the fifth with his first homer of the year off Titans reliever Willie Kuhl to give UC Irvine a 5-4 lead.
Not to be outdone, the Titans came right back in the bottom of the fifth with three runs to take their first lead of the game, sending eight batters to the plate. Olmedo-Barrera led off with a double off the top of the wall in center and scored on Bravo's triple to tie the game. After an error allowed Richards to reach, Stieb hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Bravo and give the Titans a 6-5 edge. Richards took second on the play and that proved pivotal as Bryant singled to left to plate Richards to give the Titans a two-run cushion.
The Titans will return to the road this week as they head to USC on Tuesday night followed by a three-game set at UC Riverside on the weekend.
Notes: The Titans have now won 10 of their last 11 games against the Anteaters and six straight series. Fullerton has not dropped a three-game set to UC Irvine since 2009 at Goodwin Field… Josh Vargas' five-game hitting streak was snapped on Sunday as he went 0-for-4… Bravo tripled in the fifth inning, giving the Titans their 16th three-bagger of the season. They came into the series ranked 17th in the nation and tied for first in the conference in triples… The Titans drew 6,670 fans to Goodwin Field for the three-game series against UC Irvine, averaging 2,223 per game with a high of 2,518 on Friday night… Prior to Sunday's game, a pregame ceremony was held to cap off Armed Forces Weekend at Goodwin Field with a helicopter landing in center field carrying Vietnam War veteran Sargent Donald Roger Hunter, who served in the U.S. Army from 1965-68 and served three tours of duty in Vietnam as a UH-1 Helicopter Crew Chief.
