Titans Can’t Handle Lead Again

It’s a trait that has concerned Cal State Fullerton baseball Coach George Horton all season.

“My biggest complaint is that we don’t put teams away when we get a good lead,” Horton says. “We let them hang in there and come back against us.”

Fullerton’s final game of the regular season Sunday provided another example. The Titans built a 5-0 lead after two innings, but Long Beach State scrambled back to win, 9-5, at Blair Field.

The loss cost Fullerton (36-19, 21-9) an undisputed Big West Conference championship. The Titans finished in a tie for first with Nevada despite winning five of six games against the Wolf Pack. Nevada completed a three-game sweep against Pacific Sunday.

Long Beach (31-25, 18-12) won its second series of the season against the Titans, two games to one, but finished in a tie for third in the conference with UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The 49ers will learn whether that will be good enough to earn an at-large berth in the 64-team NCAA playoffs when pairings are announced today.

“I think Long Beach deserves to be in the tournament,” Horton said. “They’re capable of beating any team in the country, just as we are.”

Fullerton has been assured of a spot in the field as a regional host since the sites were announced last Monday. The Titans also earned the Big West’s automatic bid Saturday. The question is whether the Titans will be seeded first or second in their regional, which will have a bearing on the other teams assigned to the field.

Regardless, the Titans won’t be going into the regional with the momentum they hoped to have.

“We didn’t show the killer instinct we should have, but nothing comes easy when you’re playing Long Beach,” Titan second baseman David Bacani said. “They’re battlers. But we’ll be ready for the regional.”

The Titans hit Long Beach starter Jason Berni hard in the first inning. Bacani’s leadoff double, and singles by Steve Woodward and Jason Corapci produced one run. Then Chris Beck hit a three-run homer to give the Titans a 4-0 lead. Fullerton added another run in the second on hits by Chris Stringfellow and Woodward, but the Titans didn’t score again.

Long Beach got two runs in the fourth and one in the sixth off Titan starter Nick Lovato, but the roof caved in on Fullerton in a six-run seventh inning when relievers Mike Nunez and George Carralejo were on the mound.

Carralejo walked in one run, and a squeeze bunt tied the score. Then the 49ers were off to the races after consecutive doubles by Casey Grzecka and Kevin Randel. Sean Martin, the third Titan pitcher in the inning, came in to get the final out, and held Long Beach hitless in the eighth. Nunez (0-2) took the loss.

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Big West Baseball Standings

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Conference Overall Team W L Pct. W L Pct. CS Fullerton 21 9 .700 36 19 .655 Nevada 21 9 .700 37 17 .685 UCSB 18 12 .600 28 25 .528 Long Beach State 18 12 .600 31 25 .554 Cal Poly SLO 18 12 .600 32 24 .571 Sacramento St. 15 15 .500 23 33 .411 Pacific 5 25 .167 22 32 .407 New Mexico State 4 26 .133 19 36 .345

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