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Turn-around Titans spring shocker
By The Associated Press
Saturday's CWS Action
Fullerton 6, Texas 4
< View Linescore >
OMAHA A Cal State Fullerton
team that had a losing record at midseason is now one win away from a
national championship.
Danny Dorn's two-run double
gave Fullerton the lead in the seventh inning and three relievers shut down
Texas the rest of the way, leading the Titans to a 6-4 victory in the first
game of the College World Series finals Saturday night.
The Titans (46-22), seeking
their first national title since 1995 and their fourth overall, can wrap up
the best-of-3 series with a win over the Longhorns (58-14) Sunday.
"Texas is not going to go
away," Fullerton coach George Horton said. "They're going to keep making
runs at us."
Fullerton has won 31 of its
past 37 games after starting the season 15-16.
"We had our rock bottom part
of the season and then got the ball rolling," Dorn said. "We don't think so
much about winning the national championship tomorrow as we do about going
out and winning the first pitch and then the pitch after that."
Dorn stepped to the plate
after star reliever Huston Street struck out Nos. 3 and 4 batters Kurt
Suzuki and P.J. Pilittere. Justin Turner and Clark Hardman had led off the
seventh with singles against J. Brent Cox (6-2).
Dorn, who had just three hits
in his first 17 CWS at-bats, lined Street's 2-2 pitch into the gap. The ball
bounced off the heel of Texas left fielder Carson Kainer's glove for a
two-run double.
"I felt like I had been
struggling," Dorn said. "I was trying to pick up a teammate (Suzuki) who had
picked me up all year. Luckily I got a pitch to hit and got the barrel on
it."
Kainer said he should have
made the catch.
"I got a decent jump," Kainer
said. "It got up in the lights. I stayed with it. I saw it come out of the
lights and I dove. It just hit off my glove. If I catch it, I'm a hero. It's
a tough play to make."
Felipe Garcia, who had four
hits and three RBI, drove in Dorn for a 6-4 advantage.
Ricky Romero (14-4) gave up
all eight of Texas' hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out
eight.
Vinnie Pestano, Ryan Schreppel
and Mike Martinez combined on 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief. Martinez
earned his second save.
Texas threatened in the bottom
of the ninth after Pestano hit pinch hitter Hunter Harris with a pitch and
Michael Hollimon reached on a fielder's choice when shortstop Neil Walton
was charged with a throwing error on an attempted force play at second.
But Drew Stubbs, facing
Martinez, struck out for the fifth time in the game and Seth Johnston
grounded out to end the game.
"We do have a bullpen," Horton
said. "That's been the question of the week."
The Longhorns had taken a 4-3
lead with a three-run fifth inning against Romero.
Ryan Russ walked and Hollimon
followed with a bunt single. Johnston lined a single into right and
Fullerton right fielder Bobby Andrews overthrew catcher Suzuki, with the
ball bouncing off the top step of the Longhorns' dugout and into the stands.
That allowed Hollimon to score the tying run and put Johnston at third.
Johnston scored on Curtis
Thigpen's sacrifice fly.
The Longhorns got out of the
sixth inning unscathed after Fullerton loaded the bases with none out
against J.P. Howell.
Cox came on and struck out
Walton, and then Ronnie Prettyman hit a hard comebacker. Cox threw home, and
catcher Taylor Teagarden threw to first to complete the double play.
The Titans scored the go-ahead
runs the next inning.
"What a huge mental turnaround
when we had bases loaded and went down," Horton said. "Then to come back and
get those runs right away in the seventh."
This is the second year that
the CWS has had a best-of-3 championship rather than a winner-take-all
final.
"I'm glad they changed the
format," Texas coach Augie Garrido said.
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LINESCORE:
Cal State Fullerton 300 000
300 - 6 10 2
Texas
010 030 000 - 4 8 3
Batteries:
CSF: Romero, Pestano (7), Schreppel (9), Martinez (9) and
Suzuki.
UT: Howell, Cox (6), Street (7), Cody (8) and Teagarden.
W - Romero 14-4. L - Cox
6-2. S
Martinez (2).
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Copyright 2004
The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:37:42 AM
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