BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton scored eight unanswered runs to secure its fourth straight win, an 8-3 nonconference win over CSU Bakersfield Tuesday night at Hardt Field.
The Titans pounded out 14 hits for the second straight game and erased an early two-run deficit against the Roadrunners (7-27).
Tanner Pinkston logged his fourth straight three-hit game, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored. Josh Vargas, Jerrod Bravo and Niko Pacheco each had two hits.
Six Titans pitchers combined to hold the Roadrunners to three runs on five hits, logging 10 strikeouts with just one walk on a staff day. Brett Conine picked up the win, going two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts.
The Roadrunners took the lead in the first on a leadoff home run by Dustin Frailey and then added another run in the second on a throwing error by Coby Kauhaahaa to get ahead 2-0 right away.
After four scoreless frames, the Titans offense woke up in the fifth and surged ahead with four runs in the frame. They sent nine men to the plate and got two-run double from Pinkston, RBI single from Jake Paveltich and a sacrifice fly from Timmy Richards to get ahead 4-2.
Pavletich, the Bakersfield, Calif. native, was 1-for-3 with his first career RBI. He also walked once.
The Titans added a run in the sixth, one in the seventh, and two in the ninth but it would prove unnecessary as the pitching staff dominated the Roadrunners bats from the third inning on.
Starter Colton Eastman, Conine, Maxwell Gibbs, Gavin Velasquez, Scott Serigstad and Blake Workman combined to retire 20 straight Roadrunners and 22 of the last 25. David Metzgar broke up the streak with a one-out single through the left side against Workman. The Roadrunners would get a run before Workman retired the side to secure the win.
Fullerton will return home this weekend to host UNLV in a nonconference series beginning Friday night at 7 p.m.
Notes: Fullerton has tallied 46 hits during the current four-game hitting streak… Pinkston has now reached base in 15 straight games and also extended his hitting streak to six games. It was also his 11th multi-hit game and ninth three-hit game of the season… The Titans have won at least four straight games four times this season. They have two four-game win streaks, a five-game streak and a season best six game streak… Fullerton is now 3-1 all-time against CSU Bakersfield and 55-10 overall against opponents from the Western Athletic Conference.