HONOLULU – Cal State Fullerton dropped game two of the three-game series to Hawai'i by a final score of 8-6 Friday night at Les Murakami Stadium.
Fullerton held a lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning but were unable to maintain it as Hawai'i hit a walk-off home run to win the game.
The Titans took the lead in the top of the third inning as Mitchell Berryhill recorded a double to left center field with one out and the bases loaded to score Jacob Pavletich and Kameron Guangorena
Pavletich began the inning with a walk which was followed by a single to left field from Guangorena. The two then advanced on a wild pitch before Brett Borgogno drew a walk to load the bases and set up Berryhill.
With his two RBI double in the third inning, Berryhill has now reached base safely in 43 consecutive games dating back to May 24, 2018. Berryhill went 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI in Friday night's victory. The senior is hitting .439 which ranks first in the Big West Conference.
Fullerton added another run in the top of the fourth inning on a hard hit groundout to the second baseman by Guangorena to score Jairus Richards from third. Richards drew a one out five pitch walk before Pavletich was able to advance him to third on a single to right field.
Hawai'i answered the Titans runs in both the third and fourth inning, score one in the third and two in the fourth to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the fifth inning. The Rainbow Warriors scored another run in the fifth to take their first lead of the series with a score of 4-3.
The Titans, however, didn't let Hawai'i hang onto the lead for very long as Guangorena blasted a two-run home run to right field for his first career home run as a Titan to make the score 5-4.
Boom!! ��������@kam_ojeda27 goes yard to take the lead 5-4#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/xuNAZ8aXhL
— Cal State Omaha (@CalStateOmaha) April 20, 2019
Guangorena and Pavletich were key for the Titans at the bottom of the lineup Friday night. Guangorena went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs in the eight hole while Pavletich went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs in the seven hole as they combined for four runs.
Timothy Josten started the game on the mound for Fullerton and went four innings while giving up three earned runs while striking out four batters. Kyle Luckham came on in relief went four innings allowing just three hits and one run and striking out four Hawai'i batters.
Hawai'i scored four runs in the bottom of the inning including a walk-off three run home run to take a 8-6 win.
Fullerton and Hawai'i return to the field Saturday afternoon for the rubber game. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. PT.
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