Justin Turner’s two-run single off of
Stanford reliever Matt Leva in the sixth inning was the difference as
No. 3 Cal State Fullerton beat No. 6 Stanford 5-3 in Fullerton’s
season opener at Goodwin Field Friday night.
The defending national champions, in front of a record crowd of 3,611,
picked up their first win of the season, and broke a five game losing
streak to the Cardinal that dates back to the 2003 College World Series.
Stanford (3-1) and starting pitcher Mark Romanczuk (1-1) picked up their
first losses of the season.
Ricky Romero (1-0) picked up his first win of the season by going 6 innings,
scattering three hits and striking out seven. More impressive was freshman
Adam Jorgenson who came on in relief of Romero to pick up his first collegiate
save. In the eighth inning, after a leadoff walk, Jorgenson proceeded
to strike out the side including National Player of the Year candidates
Jed Lowrie and John Mayberry, Jr. Jorgenson finished with four strikeouts
in his three innings of scoreless relief work.
The The Titans used a couple of walks, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly
by designated hitter Felipe Garcia to jump on top 1-0 in the bottom of
the first inning.
But Stanford bounced back scoring two runs off of Romero in the top of
the third. Chris Miniker and Lowrie each drove in a run on balls that
did not leave the infield, giving Stanford a 2-1 lead.
The Titans tied the game at two with an RBI-single off the bat of Neil
Walton in the bottom half of the fourth inning. Walton led all players
with two hits on the night.
With Stanford up 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Blake Davis was called
on to pinch hit for Bobby Andrews. With the bases loaded, he was promptly
greeted with a Leva pitch that hit him, driving in Brett Pill to set up
Turner’s key at-bat. With two outs, Turner then singled back up
the miiddle, driving in the eventual winning runs.
Fullerton and Stanford will continue their series tomorrow night at Goodwin
Field. A pair of juniors will face off, as southpaw Ryan Schreppel will
make his season debut against Stanford’s Jeff Gilmore (1-0). First
pitch is set for 6 p.m.
