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The first battle in this season's war between Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton resulted in the 49ers winning two of the three-game series, 17-9 Saturday and 10-9 Sunday at Titan Field.
After being beaten by Titan Coach George Horton and his Fullerton team Friday night 9-2, the 49er lineup - with a team batting average of .348 percent - responded by pounding out 14 hits in Saturday's win. The game was the worst defeat the Titans have ever suffered to the 49ers.
The 49ers (16-9, 8-1 in conference play) lead the Titans (19-9, 7-2) by one game in Big West conference play.
In the final rubber match Sunday, 49er right handed freshman Jeff Luenberger was spotted a 2-0 lead by Titan starting pitcher Benito Flores when Terrmel Sledge and Chuck Lopez both hit home runs to lead off the game.
Cal State Fullerton responded by scoring Big West Player of the Week Reed Johnson to lead off the game and then was followed by juniors Greg Jacobs, Kevin Duck, and Aaron Rowand scoring to make it 4-2.
In the second inning 49er freshman sensation Bryan Kennedy, who caught all three games of this series, was hit by a pitch, moved over two bases and scored on a ground out by second baseman Curt Lee to shave the Titan lead to 4-3.
The Titans evened the score in their half of the inning by scoring David Bacani on Chris Beck's single. Long Beach State head Coach Dave Snow, already down 5-3, played the pitching percentages by bringing in left handed pitcher Mike Gallo to face the left handed hitter Duck. Gallo did his job in ending the threat by striking out the 6-foot-3 210 pound clean-up hitter Duck, who hit two towering home run shots in Saturday's loss.
The chess game between managers continued in the fourth inning when Day singled and was moved over to third base on a sacrifice fly, bringing Jason Yount to the plate. Yount, who saw action in all games against the predominately left-handed pitching staff of the Titans, got out of the way of a wild pitch that brought Day streaking in from third base trying to score.
The shallow area behind the plate of Titan field allowed Titan catcher Craig Patterson to have a shot at throwing the runner out, but Day was ruled safe to trim the lead to 5-4.
49er senior pitcher Gallo, with a 7.27 ERA, took control of the ball and retired all three Titan batters in the following inning.
Long Beach shortstop Scott Redfox, in only his ninth at bat of the season, singled in senior captain Jaron Madison to tie the game 5-5 in the fourth inning. Redfox was summoned from Snow's roster after 49er regular Justin Hall missed Sunday's game with a shin splint injury.
Redfox, stole second base like a veteran and advanced to third base on a passed ball. The next batter Lopez, hitting 4.52 percent - second in team batting average only to Day - was popped out by Flores on a full count pitch to keep the score tied.
The Titans failed to score in the fifth again and Day lead-off the 49ers' half of the inning with an infield single and advanced to second base on a mishandled ball by the first baseman Duck. Jason Berni, who recorded his fourth win as a pitcher Saturday, moved Day to third base with a sacrifice. The Titans were then bailed out by their second baseman Bacani on a line drive out by Yount that found Day being doubled out at third.
In the sixth inning, The Beach saw Kennedy extended his hitting streak to 15 games, bringing Madison to the plate bunting. He laid one down safely, but was doubled up on a double play ground ball by Redfox. Lee followed with a two out single that allowed Kennedy to trot in from third base, giving the 49ers a 6-5 lead.
With the 49ers leading, Gallo retired the Titan side again in the sixth and seventh, having sat down 14 of the first 15 batters he faced.
In the seventh, The 49er defense helped preserve the game as center fielder Sledge threw out base runner Bacani trying to advance to third on a fly ball. The double play proved to be crucial as Johnson immediately followed with a solo home run that would have driven in the game leading run had Bacani not been thrown out previously. However, the clutch home run tied the game at 6-6.
However, the hero of the game would prove to be Terrmel Sledge, who for the second time in the game hit a solo home run to give The Beach the lead in the ninth inning. Jason Yount then pounded a home run off the foul poll for a three-run home run to seal the victory. Jason Marr, who Snow brought into the game in the eighth inning received the win to record his second win despite surrendering three more runs to the Titans in their last at bat.
Saturdays' game required a three-run home run by Day to break an 8-8 tie, giving the 49ers their first crucial win of the series.
Horton said, "the only thing you can expect from a series like this is the unexpected."
"Friday night they (49ers) were sloppy and we took advantage of it, and tonight we were very sloppy and they took advantage of it," Horton said about Saturday's defeat in which the 49ers were helped out by six Titan errors.
"Every year it looks like the season is going to come down to the two of us. That's what adds so much intensity to this series," Horton said. "Whoever is going to be the number one seed [in the Big West Tournament] in the South is going to be a result of this series ... These two teams are going to take care of business pretty well against the other teams in the conference."