FULLERTON, Calif. - Dalton Blaser continued swinging a hot bat and Jerrod Bravo drove in a pair as Cal State Fullerton scored a 6-2 victory over UC Riverside Saturday afternoon at Goodwin Field.
Blaser went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for the Titans (29-16, 11-3) while Bravo was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. John Gavin picked up the win on the mound for Fullerton, holding the Highlanders (20-23, 7-7) to one run on four hits in five and 2/3 innings. He struck out four.
Hank LoForte was 2-for-2 with a run scored and Josh Vargas was 1-for-4 with an RBI for the Titans, who won their fourth conference series of the season.
Austin Colvin was 2-for-4 with a run scored and one RBI for UC Riverside while Keaton Leach took the loss on the mound, allowing five runs on six hits in four and 2/3 innings of work.
Fullerton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning after Blaser led off with a double. Bravo then laid down a sacrifice bunt to third where Michael Farris fielded it and overthrew to first, allowing Blaser to come in to score and Bravo to advance to second. With two outs, Jake Pavletich then fisted a single to shallow left to score Bravo and give the Titans an early two-run lead.
It stayed that way until the fifth inning when the Titans broke the game open, scoring three runs in the frame. LoForte started the inning with an infield single and then stole second. Two outs later, UC Riverside elected to intentionally walk Tanner Pinkston to pitch to Blaser, who rewarded that decision with an RBI single to center to score LoForte and advance Pinkston to third. Blaser took second on the throw to third and both he and Pinkston came around to score on an RBI single by Bravo to put Fullerton up 5-0.
The Highlanders got on the board in the sixth as Colvin led off the inning with a single and eventually advanced to third on a pair of groundouts. He would come in to score on a wild pitch to make it 5-1.
Each team added another run to its total but the Titans bullpen was able to hold the lead as Miles Chambers and Dylan Prohoroff combined to hold the Highlanders to one run on two hits in the final three and 1/3 innings. Prohoroff recorded three strikeouts.
The Titans will go for the sweep Sunday afternoon as Colton Eastman gets the start for Fullerton while Angel Landazuri draws the start for the Highlanders.
Notes: Blaser extended his hitting streak to eight games on Saturday… With Saturday's win, the Titans clinched their 42nd straight winning season at the NCAA Division I level.