Felipe Garcia's fourth hit -- a high chopper that bounced over the head
of Cal State Northridge second baseman Mark McCauley -- drove in Kurt
Suzuki with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth as Cal State Fullerton
beat the Matadors, 3-2, in a Big West Conference game at Goodwin Field
Friday night.
The Titans, who have won six consecutive games, remained perfect in Big
West play with a 4-0 mark while improving to 21-16 overall. Northridge
fell to 13-23 and 0-4.
Fullerton starter Jason Windsor (3-4) hurled his third complete game of
the season, allowed a pair of runs on eight hits while striking out nine
and walking one. Northridge reliever Kyle Jean was touched for the loss
and fell to 3-3.
Jean issued a leadoff walk to Suzuki to open the ninth and Danny Dorn
followed with a hard single through the right side to move Suzuki over
to third. Phil Polanco came on for the Matadors, but gave up the game-winner
to Garcia.
Fullerton grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second on P.J. Pilittere's RBI-groundout
to third base before Northridge took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Johnny
Coit drove in a pair with a two-out single through the right side in the
fifth.
The Titans, who standed 14 runners on the night, tied the game in the
sixth on Clark Hardman's sac fly to center field.
Garcia was 4-for-5 and Ronnie Prettyman, Dorn and Sergio Pedroza each
had two hits for the Titans. Coit and Alberto Quintana each had two hits
for the Matadors.
Fullerton will look to extend its winning streak to seven games on Saturday,
when its hosts Northridge at 6 p.m.
