SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Dalton Blaser went 3-for-5 with three RBIs as No. 22 Cal State Fullerton defeated No. 24 UC Santa Barbara 6-3 Sunday afternoon at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
The Titans (32-17, 14-4) took an early three-run lead over the Gauchos (32-15-1, 10-8) before the hosts tied it up, but Fullerton scored three late runs to clinch the series.
Along with Blaser, Tanner Pinkston had a solid day at the plate as he went 3-for-4 with a run scored and Timmy Richards was 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Those three players accounted for nine of the team's 11 hits on Sunday and five of the six runs.
For the second straight game, the Titans jumped out in front of the Gauchos with a pair of runs in the opening frame. Richards and Pinkston each singled with one out and then Blaser made it 1-0 with a single through the left side to score Richards.
With two outs, Ruben Cardenas stepped in and hit a grounder to short where Clay Fisher fielded and tried to get the out at second but threw the ball into right field for an error, allowing Pinkston to score and put the Titans up by two after a half inning of play.
The Titans added another run in the third to make it 3-0 as Richards, Pinkston and Blaser again strung together three straight singles. Blaser's single to left-center would score Richards to give the Titans a three-run lead.
It stayed that way until the fourth when the Gauchos mounted a two-out rally against Eastman to get back in the game. Dempsey Grover walked and then Andrew Calica hit a pop fly to shallow right where Hank LoForte settled under it, but lost the ball in the sun and had the ball drop, putting runners at the corners for UCSB. Pinch-hitter Billy Fredrick came in and promptly launched a double to the left-center field gap to bring in both runners and make it 3-2.
The Gauchos tied it in the fifth inning as Clay Fisher doubled down the line and then Devon Gradford followed with a double of his own to trade places with Fisher and tie the game, 3-3.
In the seventh, the Titans got a leadoff single by Blaser and then advanced him to second on a sacrifice bunt. Ruben Cardenas walked and then both advanced on a bunt by pinch-hitter Dakota Wix. The Gauchos intentionally walked Jake Pavletich to load the bases but, facing Coby Kauhaahaa, UCSB pitcher Kyle Nelson spiked a breaking ball that went to the backstop and allowed Blaser to score from third to put Fullerton ahead 4-3.
The Titans added insurance in the eighth as Josh Vargas was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and then Richards drew a walk. Pinkston laid down a bunt to advance the runners and then, with the infield in, Blaser hit a soft grounder to Tevin Mitchel, who missed the ball and allowed it to go up the middle and into center. Both runs came in to score on the error and the Titans took a 6-3 lead.
Reliever Scott Serigstad would make it hold up as he tossed two and 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to shut down the Gauchos offense the rest of the way and pick up his fourth save of the season.
The Titans return home for the final Big West Conference home series of the year when they host Hawai'i beginning Friday night at 7 p.m. Both Saturday and Sunday games will be 6 p.m. starts.
Notes: Blaser extended his hitting streak to 12 games on Sunday… The Titans have only lost one series to the Gauchos at Santa Barbara since 1985… Fullerton now leads Long Beach State by three games in the conference standings and is up four games on UCSB with six conference games left to play… The Titans have now outscored opponents 32-19 in the first inning this season and are 17-4 when scoring in the first. The Titans are also now 23-4 when scoring first in a game… Fullerton is now 29-2 when outhitting its opponents in a game… The Titans tallied 39 hits this weekend, the most by the team in a weekend series this year… Pavletich went 1-for-4 on the day and has now recorded a hit in all 10 games where he's registered an official at-bat… All of Serigstad's saves this season have been multi-inning saves.