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Cal State Fullerton chipped away to Thursday’s 5-2 baseball victory over Hawaii at Les Murakami Stadium.
“It was death by paper cut,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said. “The story is pitching and defense. (The Titans) made no errors and four of their five runs came with the help of walks, hit batsmen and errors. That’s not going to beat Cal State Fullerton.”
The Titans entered with 70 extra-base hits, including 13 home runs. But before a crowd of 1,400, the Titans had only one extra-base hit — Sahid Valenzuela’s solo homer — in scoring single runs in the first, third, sixth, seventh and eighth innings to claim the opener of the three-game series between Big West opponents.
It was another scrappy performance for the Titans, who have built a legacy of solid pitching, rangy defense and opportunistic offense. The Titans have qualified for the postseason for 27 consecutive years, including 20 in a row in the Super Regional era.
Starting pitcher Tanner Bibee was masterful in evening his record to 5-5. Bibee had a 2.96 ERA in nonconference games, but struggled in two previous Big West starts, allowing nine earned runs in 13 innings. But the sophomore right-hander limited the ’Bows to eight hits in 82⁄3 innings. He struck out seven and walked none before exiting after pinch hitter Logan Pouelsen’s two-out RBI single and Tyler Best’s ensuing single.
But Michael Weisberg induced Scotty Scott, who was the potential tying run, to fly out to end the game.
“We could not play any worse in reality against a team like that, and we’re right in there at the end,” Trapasso said.
The Titans cobbled an early 1-0 lead. Hank LoForte opened the game by coaxing a five-pitch walk from Aaron Davenport. Mitchell Berryhill, who hit .591 in his first six Big West games, followed with an opposite-field single to left. On the third strike to Valenzuela, LoForte and Berryhill advanced on a double steal. Third baseman Ethan Lopez then mishandled Isaiah Garcia’s grounder as LoForte sprinted home for a 1-0 lead.
In the third, Garcia was plunked on a 2-1 pitch, went to second on Daniel Cope’s groundout to third, and scored when Jacob Pavletich blooped a single to left-center.
The ’Bows closed to 2-1 when Lopez ripped a double into the gap in left-center and scored on Alex Baeza’s opposite-field drive to left.
The Titans added a run with two outs in the sixth. Jairus Richards was beaned on the helmet by a Kash Koltermann breaking pitch that did not bend. Brett Borgogno followed with a ground single up the middle. LoForte then grounded a single to left to bring home Richards.
In the seventh, Valenzuela opened with a single to right field. Garcia hit a grounder up the middle that shortstop Maaki Yamazaki snagged. But after a pirouette, Yamazaki’s throw was off the mark to second baseman Dallas Duarte. Cope, who was dazed earlier when trying to catch a ricocheted pitch, showed no ill effects when he lined an RBI single to left to extend the lead to 4-1.
Valenzuela’s two-out solo homer in the eighth came against Carter Loewen, UH’s fifth pitcher.
It was the second consecutive brief outing for Davenport. In his previous start, he lasted 10 batters, allowing five runs. On Thursday, Davenport pitched two-plus innings, allowing two runs (only one earned). But he missed the strike zone on 47.3 percent of his 55 pitches. Trapasso visited Davenport in each of the first three frames, the last to end Davenport’s night.
“It starts with our starter,” Trapasso said. “It’s ridiculous he can’t go out there and throw a strike.”
A bright spot was Jeremy Wu-Yelland’s 11-pitch, three-strikeout relief appearance. Wu-Yelland had struggled as a starter and reliever before inheriting — and disarming — a bases-loaded situation in the seventh.
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