FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton pounded out 11 hits in a 8-3 non-conference victory over Indiana Friday night at Goodwin Field.
The Titans (2-2) got multi-hit performances from Jerrod Bravo, Chris Hudgins, Dalton Blaser, Timmy Richards and Tristan Hildebrandt in the win over the Hoosiers (1-3).
Blake Quinn scored his first career victory as a Titan, going five innings and allowing three runs on two hits. He walked three and hit two batters but also tallied a career high with nine strikeouts. Scott Serigstad and Dylan Prohoroff pitched in relief with each going two scoreless innings. Prohoroff struck out three.
The Titans jumped out in front in the first inning after Josh Vargas led off the game with a walk. He advanced to second on a balk called against Indiana starter Kyle Hart and then swiped third base with one out and Scott Hurst at the dish. Hurst lined out to first, keeping Vargas at third with two out but Bravo cashed in the run with a line drive single to center field to put Fullerton up 1-0.
Hart would draw the loss for the Hoosiers, going five and 2/3 innings and allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits and a walk. He struck out two.
In the third, the Hoosiers manufactured a run to tie the score. Brian Wilhite drew a walk to lead off the frame and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. A groundout to second moved him over to third and then Tony Butler grounded out to Richards at short to bring in Wilhite to tie the game, 1-1.
The Titans responded in their half of the third, capitalizing on two Hoosiers errors to bring across three runs. Hildebrandt led off the inning with a triple. Vargas followed with what should have been an RBI groundout, but shortstop Isaiah Pasteur spiked the throw to first to allow Vargas to get aboard and reach second base. Freshman Ruben Cardenas stepped in and squared up to bunt, but took a fastball off the chest to get aboard. Hurst then laid down a bunt to third, but Wilhite's throw to first was dropped by Austin Cangelosi at first for another error as Vargas and Cardenas came in to score to put Fullerton up 4-1.
It stayed that way until the fifth inning when the Hoosiers got a two run double from Craig Dedelow to the left-center field gap to make it 4-3.
But the Titans broke it open in the seventh, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring four times including a two-run blast by catcher Chris Hudgins, his first career home run. Hudgins finished the game 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI.
Both teams return to the field Saturday night at 6 p.m. for game two of the series with lefty John Gavin slated to pitch for the Titans while the Hoosiers counter with right-hander Evan Bell.
Notes: Richards made his debut on Friday after missing the first three games with a quad injury… Taylor Bryant, recovering from a broken wrist suffered a month ago, saw his first action of 2016 as he entered the game as a defensive replacement at third base in the eighth inning… The Titans are now 34-8 all-time in home openers... Quinn surpassed his previous career high of six punch outs on Friday night. He set that against UNLV on April 6, 2013 while pitching as a freshman at Fresno State… The Titans 11 hits were a new season high… Titans pitchers punched out 11 batters, the first time the Fullerton pitching staff has surpassed 10 strikeouts in a game this season.