FULLERTON, Calif. - Dalton Blaser recorded his first career multi-home run game as Cal State Fullerton recorded its fifth series sweep of the season with a 9-2 Big West Conference victory over UC Riverside Sunday afternoon at Goodwin Field.
The Titans (30-16, 12-3) pounded out 12 hits on the day including three home runs against the Highlanders (20-24, 7-8).
Blaser was 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs and Timmy Richards was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Ruben Cardenas and Scott Hurst each had two hits for Fullerton.
Colton Eastman picked up the win as he went six innings and allowed two runs on seven hits. He struck out nine without issuing a walk.
The Highlanders used six pitchers on the day with starter Angel Landazuri picking up the loss. He gave up six runs, three earned, on five hits.
The Titans got on the board first for the third straight game, putting a pair on the board in the first inning. Richards reached on an error at third and, with two outs; Blaser smashed his third home run of the season over the right field wall to put Fullerton up 2-0.
In the second, the Titans essentially put the game away as Niko Pacheco reached on an error to lead off the frame. Jake Pavletich followed with a single through the left side and Hank LoForte backed that up with a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Josh Vargas made it 3-0 with a single to right to bring in Pacheco and then Richards put an exclamation point on the inning, blasting a mammoth home run off the top of the scoreboard to put Fullerton up 6-0 and the Titans never looked back.
The victory locked up Fullerton's 30th win of the year, marking the 42nd straight season the Titans have won 30 games. Fullerton has won 30 games in each of its 42 seasons at the NCAA Division I level. It is the third longest streak in the nation behind Arizona State (53) and Miami (46).
The Titans will hit the road next weekend to face UC Santa Barbara in another Big West Conference series. The Gauchos are currently three games back of the Titans in the standings going into the series.
Notes: Blaser extended his hitting streak to nine games and finished the week 9-for-14 with five runs scored, two homers and five RBIs. He went 8-for-10 with five runs and four RBIs in the series against the Highlanders… Blaser is the first player to hit two home runs in a game since David Olmedo-Barrera hit two round-trippers on June 8, 2015 in game three of the Louisville Super Regional… Richards' home run in the second was the 100th hit of his Titans career… Fullerton is now 9-0 at home in Big West Conference play… The Titans hit three home runs on Sunday, the most they've hit in a game this season and the first three-homer game for the team since 2013. The three homers also gave the team 21 home runs this season in 46 games, 17 of them at Goodwin Field. The Titans hit 20 home runs in 64 games last season. Fullerton is now 14-3 this season when hitting at least one home run in a game.