FULLERTON, Calif. - No. 18 Cal State Fullerton committed a pair of errors in the top of the sixth inning and they proved costly in a 6-3 Big West Conference loss to Hawai'i Friday night at Goodwin Field.
The Titans (32-18, 14-5) fell to the Rainbow Warriors (22-26, 11-11) at home for just the second time in eight meetings at Fullerton and first since 2010. Of the six runs the Titans gave up, four were unearned including all three in the decisive sixth inning.
With the Rainbow Warriors clinging to a 3-2 lead, Marcus Doi was hit by a pitch from Connor Seabold to lead off the frame and then stole second. Kekai Rios singled for his third hit of the game to put runners on first and third but Doi was erased at home on a grounder to first, leaving runners on first and second with one away. Rios and Ethan Lopez then went for the double steal and Jerrod Bravo's throw to third sailed into left field to allow one run to come in and make it 4-2 for the visitors, putting an end to Seabold's night.
Chayce Ka'aua then reached on an error at third against reliever Miles Chambers and, after a strikeout, Matt LoCoco cashed in on the extra outs with a bases-clearing triple to put the Rainbow Warriors ahead 6-2 and they never looked back.
Seabold took the loss as he went five and 1/3 innings and allowed five runs, two earned, on eight hits. Kyle Von Ruden picked up his seventh win of the season as he went five and 2/3 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits. He walked three and struck out four.
Bravo led the Titans offense as he went 2-for-4 while Jake Pavletich went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, extending his hitting streak to 11 games in the process. Timmy Richards, Tanner Pinkston, Ruben Cardenas, Tyler Stieb and Hank LoForte all had one hit on the night for Fullerton.
Rios led Hawai'i as he was 3-for-4 with three runs scored while Jonathan Weeks was 2-for-5 on the night.
The teams will square off for game two Saturday night with lefties John Gavin and Alex Hatch set to get the starts on the mound for the Titans and Rainbow Warriors respectively. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Notes: The Rainbow Warriors only other win at Goodwin Field came on March 28, 2010, another three-run victory as they scored a 10-7 win over the Titans… Friday night's loss was the Titans first home conference loss of the season. They are now 9-1 at Goodwin Field in Big West play and 22-8 at home overall… Dalton Blaser was 0-for-4 on Friday night, putting an end to his 12-game hitting streak… The Titans are now 9-14 when their opponents score first in the game and 0-14 when getting outhit in a game… Long Beach State defeated UC Davis 6-3 on Friday afternoon, trimming the Titans lead in the conference standings to two games. Fullerton's magic number of Titans wins and Dirtbags losses to win the Big West remains at four.