FULLERTON, Calif. - Jerrod Bravo laid down a perfect squeeze bunt in the eighth and Scott Serigstad tossed three-plus innings of relief as Cal State Fullerton edged UC Davis, 3-2, Saturday night at Goodwin Field.
With the score deadlocked at 2-2 in the eighth inning, the Titans (20-13, 6-2) got the first two runners on base on a hit batter and a single by Tanner Pinkston. A wild pitch got Timmy Richards to third base and then Bravo laid down a bunt to the first-base side, allowing Richards to score the eventual game-winning run.
Serigstad, who entered the game in relief of left-hander John Gavin in the sixth inning, did the rest as he went three and one third innings of relief, allowing the Aggies (8-20, 1-7) just two hits and one unearned run. He walked one and struck out five.
Pinkston led the Titans offense as he went 3-for-4 with a home run. He was the only Titans player to collect multiple hits on the night as four other Fullerton players had a hit on the day.
The Aggies struck first in the fourth inning after Guillermo Salazar reached on an error and then stole second with two outs. Logan Denholm then singled to center to bring in Salazar and make it 1-0.
Fullerton would tie it in its half of the fourth as Pinkston launched the first pitch he saw from Spencer Henderson and deposited it over the wall in right for his second home run of the season, making it 1-1.
In the fifth, Scott Hurst legged out an infield single to first to lead off the frame and then advanced to second on a sacrifice. Hurst moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Josh Vargas to put Fullerton up 2-1.
It stayed that way until the seventh inning when David Langer led off the frame with a single for the Aggies. He advanced to second on a sacrifice and then took third on a wild pitch by Serigstad. Langer then tied the game with two outs and a 1-2 count on Jacob Thomas as Serigstad's slider got through Bravo behind the plate and Langer brought in the tying run on the passed ball.
The Titans will look to complete the sweep over UC Davis Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. It will also be Armed Forces Day at Goodwin Field. Military personnel, past and present, will receive free admission to the game with identification.
Notes: Pinkston has now reached base in 13 straight games, tying the season-high on the team. He also leads the team with a .467 batting average in conference games… Seven of Pinkston's nine multi-hit games have been three-hit games… With the win on Saturday, Titans assistant coach Chad Baum reached the 400-win mark as an assistant at Fullerton. In 10 seasons, the Titans are now 400-292 with Baum as a Cal State Fullerton assistant coach. Baum has recorded 586 wins in 17 seasons as an assistant at the NCAA Division I level… Both of the Aggies runs on Saturday night were unearned… The Titans are now 11-3 when they hit a home run in a game this season… Saturday night's attendance was 2,004, bringing the two-day total for the series to 4,162. It's the highest combined attendance for the first two games of a series at Goodwin Field this season.