June 3, 2006

Box Score

FULLERTON, Calif. - A two-run home run from Danny Dorn in the fourth inning kicked off a steady offense as No. 2 Cal State Fullerton collected a 6-1 victory over Saint Louis in NCAA Tournament action tonight at Goodwin Field. Making their first NCAA appearance since 1966, the Billikens (32-28) recorded four hits on the night, including doubles from Johnny Sweeney and Bill Musselman. Junior right-hander Ryan Bird took the loss, yielding four earned runs on seven hits and striking out five in six innings.

The Billikens retired the first two hitters of the game with great defensive plays by second baseman Gilbert Marlowe ranging to his right and center fielder Jon Guyre racing back to make a grab deep. Bird issued a walk to Brett Pill and saw Danny Dorn slap a single through the right side, but wrapped up the inning with a strikeout of David Cooper. He went on to strikeout the first two hitters of the second inning, the second on called strike three, before a ground ball retired the side in order.

Sweeney picked up the Billikens' first hit of the night with a two-out single to shallow right field in the top of the fourth, extending his hitting streak to 18 games. Fullerton took the lead in the bottom of the inning, however, as Brett Pill led off with a single and came around to score on Dorn's home run just over the wall in left center. Cooper followed with a single up the middle, but Bird limited the damage with a strikeout and a pair of fly balls.

The Titans pushed another run across in the bottom of the fifth. John Curtis led off with a double down the left field line, moved to third on Justin Turner's sacrifice and scored on Blake Davis' single to left. Pill drew a walk as Fullerton looked for more against Bird, but Sweeney collected a pair of putouts in left field to hold the deficit at 3-0.

Saint Louis tried to take advantage of a pair of Titan miscues in the top of the sixth when Guyre reached on an error and took second on a balk. Ryan Crespi's ground ball to second moved Guyre to third, and Sweeney was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners with two outs for designated hitter Greg Rodgers. Titan starter Lauren Gagnier recorded his eighth strikeout of the game to end the threat.

The lead extended to 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth, which began with a leadoff walk to Jared Clark and a Brandon Tripp single to right field. A fielding error allowed pinch runner Clark Hardman to score and Tripp to advance to second on the play. A sacrifice sent Tripp to third and Curtis picked up the RBI on a sacrifice fly to deep center field. The Billikens got a leadoff double from Bill Musselman in the top of the seventh but left him stranded as Gagnier notched his career-high ninth and 10th strikeouts of the game around an infield pop up.

Against SLU reliever Etienne Ratte-Delorme, Fullerton DH David Cooper made it a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh with a sacrifice fly after Davis reached on an error to lead off the inning. The Billikens got on the board in the top of the eighth when pinch hitter Casey Moore drew a walk to lead off the inning. He was thrown out at second when third baseman Evan McArthur robbed Guyre of a hit down the line. After Crespi flew out to right field, Sweeney sent a double just beyond the reach of Dorn in left field to plate the speedy Guyre from first.

Bird falls to 8-6 with the loss, while Gagnier improved to 13-4, giving up just three hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts in seven innings of work. Sweeney was the only multiple-hit player for the Bills, matching CSU's Dorn with two hits.

Saint Louis will face San Diego on Sat., June 3, in the first elimination game of the regional. The first pitch of the game, which will be broadcast on ESPNU, is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. (CT).