By The Dirtbags’ streak of three straight series wins concluded this weekend as the Cal State Fullerton Titans took Saturday’s rubber match to secure the series victory at Goodwin Field in Fullerton.
Thursday, April 17, CSUF 5 – LBSU 4
FULLERTON, Calif. – LBSU redshirt freshman starting pitcher Jake Fields showed the ability to escape jams early on, stranding CSUF runners on third base in the first three innings.
After several walks in the fourth inning, LBSU head coach TJ Bruce decided to pivot and make the call to his bullpen.
Fullerton plated two in the fourth via an RBI single and walk, and one more in the bottom of the fifth to open up a 3-0 advantage.
The top of the Dirtbag order responded in the next inning after a double by senior center fielder Alex Champagne put two runners into scoring position and senior Nathan Cadena drove one in with a sharply hit ball past the third baseman to make it 3-1.
Senior designated hitter Connor Charpiot added one more run with a sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game.
With the score now 4-2 in the top of the eighth, the top of the Dirtbag lineup was threatening yet again following a base hit from graduate right fielder Kyle Ashworth and another double from Champagne.
Once again, it was Cadena with a two-run double that evened the score at 4-4.
With Cadena now on third and freshman shortstop Trotter Enright at the plate, Bruce called for the risky suicide squeeze bunt with the go-ahead run 90 feet from home.
Enright failed to lay down the bunt, leaving Cadena to run into an out at home.
“If coach puts down a sign, we’re going to stay committed to it, and whatever he puts on, we’re gonna ride with it. I agree with his decision,” Cadena said.
The very next pitch, Enright singled to right field with no runner on third base to score on the hit.
“I’d do it 100 times, you got left on left, Trotter’s hitting under .200 versus left-handers, I think he’s hitting .210 overall. I’m all about it,” Bruce said.
The struggles continued for Enright in the bottom of the eighth after senior pitcher Albert Roblez induced a ground ball to Enright that was juggled on the transfer, allowing everyone to be safe, and the go-ahead run to score for Fullerton, now leading 5-4.
Though the Dirtbags were able to get two runners on base in the ninth, the game one comeback ultimately fell short.
Friday, April 18, LBSU 8 – CSUF 5
After a first-inning sac-fly for the Titans, the Dirtbag bats responded in a big way with eight unanswered runs to take a commanding 8-1 lead. Ashworth led the charge offensively, going 3-4 with three RBI, a run and a walk.
On the mound, junior starting pitcher Kellan Montgomery picked up his seventh win of the season, throwing seven innings, allowing four hits and one earned run with four strikeouts.
Fullerton managed four more runs, with three coming in the ninth, but they were not enough and allowed junior pitcher Alex Ramos to pick up his first save of the year.
Saturday, April 19, CSUF 6 – LBSU 4
Despite jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first with a two-run single by senior second baseman Easton Elliot, the Dirtbags went down due to a four-run second inning for the Titans, with the last two runs each scoring via a hit by pitch.
After evening the score at 4-4, the Titans again countered with two more runs following an RBI double by senior shortstop Maddox Latta to make it 6-4.
Latta’s double was enough to push Fullerton over the edge to win in the rubber match to take the series from its conference rivals.
The Dirtbags are back at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field on Tuesday for a matchup with the USC Trojans, slated for 6 p.m.
