May 13, 2012
Goleta, Calif. - Michael Lorenzen had 3 hits and 3 runs batted in and also logged his 15th save Sunday afternoon to lead Cal State Fullerton to a come-from-behind 9-3 Big West Conference victory over UC Santa Barbara.
The Titans (32-15, 14-4) won their 11th consecutive weekend series and maintained their 2-game lead over second-place Long Beach State. The Gauchos (24-24, 10-11) lost on Senior Day and it was their 11th loss in the last 13 versus Fullerton.
Grahamm Wiest (5-3) went 7.1 innings for the win, allowed only two earned runs while striking out a career-high 8 batters. Matthew Vedo (5-5), who won Saturday's 7-1 game in relief but then made some unwise comments in the local newspaper, took the loss after allowing 6 runs (3 earned) in 2 innings of relief work.
Lorenzen doubled in two runs to tie the game at 5-5 in the fifth and his RBI single keyed a 5-run ninth and allowed him an easy save after getting two outs with the tying run at second to finish the eighth.
Fullerton's go-ahead run came in the eighth without benefit of a base hit. Matt Chapman reached second base when shortstop Brandon Trinkwon fielded his grounder in the hole and threw wildly to first. Chapman went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Anthony Hutting and scored when he beat the throw home from third baseman Marc Venning, who had made a diving stop of Clay Williamson's ground ball.
Lorenzen entered in the eighth after Trinkwon's one-out double chased Wiest. He struck out Venning and got pinch-hitter Steven Fisher to fly out to left
Fullerton broke it open with a wild 5-run ninth. With one out, Ivory Thomas singled and Carlos Lopez beat out a drag bunt. Lorenzen singled sharply to left and Lance Roenicke bobbled the ball and then threw very wildly into the third base dugout allowing Lopez to follow Thomas home and Lorenzen to reach third. Chapman's single to center scored Lorenzen. A fielder's choice and Austin Diemer's double set up a 2-run wild pitch by Greg Mahle, who failed to cover home to catch a short throw from catcher Joe Winterburn.
Each team's first run was unearned. Richy Pedroza and Anthony Trajano booted grounders in the bottom of the first to give the Gauchos a 1-0 lead. In the second, Lorenzen was safe on an error by third baseman Marc Venning. Lorenzen was forced by Hutting but the latter came home on a two-out double to right by J.D. Davis.
UCSB regained the lead at 2-1 in the third on doubles by Brett Vertigan and Twinkwon. Mahle doubled in a third run in the fourth. The Titans left five men on base, four in scoring position, in the first four innings but got a clutch hit from Lorenzen. He doubled off the fence in left center to score Ivory Thomas and Carlos Lopez, who had both walked to tie the game at 3-3 in the fifth.
The Titans close out the home portion of their 2012 schedule with a Tuesday night game vs. UCLA and a weekend series with UC Riverside, which concludes with a 6 p.m. game on Sunday to avoid conflicting with commencement exercises.