Noyes Gets the Titans’ Attention

Bryan Noyes grew up in Brea, just a few miles down the road from Titan Field.

“My dad used to bring our Little League team to watch Cal State Fullerton play,” Noyes said. “I always wanted to be a Titan.”

That didn’t happen, but Noyes certainly has gotten Fullerton’s attention this season as a pitcher for UC Santa Barbara. Noyes has given up only one run in 16 innings this year against Fullerton and picked up his second victory of the season over the Titans on Friday night.

Santa Barbara (26-26) made its lead stand up for a 2-1 victory in the opening game of a three-game Big West Conference series in front of 1,423 at Titan Field. The 24th-ranked Titans, trying to stay in position for an NCAA tournament berth, dropped to 32-21-1.

Noyes, a senior right-hander who pitched at Brea Olinda, had shut out the Titans, 2-0, in the first series between the two teams in Goleta. Noyes (6-4) gave up only six hits over seven innings this time, striking out seven and walking three.

“He may not be one of the best pitchers in the league, but he sure is against us,” Titan Coach George Horton said. “He’s a local kid, and he gets excited about pitching against us. He was outstanding. He kept us off balance. He’s that kind of pitcher.”

It was another tough-luck loss for Titan pitcher Matt Wise, who gave up only three hits in seven innings while walking two and striking out five. He has the one of the Big West’s best earned-run averages at 3.27, but fell to 5-7.

Fullerton left seven runners on base, including the potential tying run on second in the ninth following two-out singles by pinch hitter Ryan Fullerton and Nakia Hill.

The Gauchos got to Wise for one run in the third on Justin Gemoll’s RBI double to right center. Outfielder Chris Beck managed to get a glove on the ball, but it bounced off. Santa Barbara made it 2-0 in the top of the fifth on Justin Lehr’s two-out, bases-empty homer.

Noyes sailed through the first four innings, facing only three batters in each inning. The Titans lost a leadoff base runner in the first when Pete Fukuhara was caught stealing at second when a hit-and-run misfired. C.J. Ankrum got the first hit off Noyes with one out in the fourth, but was thrown out trying to steal second.

The Titans finally got a run off Noyes in the seventh. Jerome Alviso doubled with one out and scored on pinch hitter Jojo Hernandez’s hard-hit ground ball that bounced off shortstop Micahel Young’s foot. Hill also singled up the middle with two out, but Noyes got Fukuhara on a pop fly.

John Minton replaced Noyes in the eighth and picked up his third save of the season.

“We were too sporadic offensively,” Horton said. “We didn’t get into the game until around the fifth inning. We didn’t have a battle mentality.”

In another Big West baseball game:

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 11, Long Beach State 5--Pat Day, from Saddleback College and Capistrano Valley High, doubled, tripled, homered and drove in two runs for Long Beach State (34-20, 22-6).

In the NAIA Far West Regional tournament:

Westmont 8, Southern California College 7 (13 innings)--Ryan Weeks hit an RBI double in the 13th for Westmont, which stranded 22 runners. Rob Peggy had three RBIs, including a two-run homer, for SCC.