FULLERTON – Cal State Fullerton won the Big West Conference baseball title Sunday afternoon at Goodwin Field, smothering Cal State Northridge with 18 hits in a lopsided 11-4 win.
This does not qualify as breaking news.
The Titans have been the league’s perennial power for four decades, and this was their 30th title in the Big West and its predecessors. It’s the sixth title in eight seasons for head coach Rick Vanderhook, and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that comes with the title mark their 40th postseason in 43 years, including a current streak of 27 straight.
They won the title with a week to spare in the regular season. The Titans are 29-22 overall and 16-5 in the Big West. No other team has fewer than nine losses.
As they have several times in the past decade, the Titans got off to a slow start this season – they started 1-7 and were 11-15 at the end of March – but have won 12 of their past games 16 games and dominated league play.
“This year was a grind,’’ Vanderhook said just before being doused with a bucket of water. “We were 1-7 and swimming upstream, and not everyone makes it with a start like that. The coaches thought we’d get better, but it can be a hard thing for the kids and the fans. I think the best thing is that we were able to build some toughness after that start.’’
“I think we all reevaluated ourselves after that start,’’ said junior catcher Daniel Cope. “But we didn’t get ahead of ourselves. We took it a game at a time. I don’t think we hit a higher gear when we got to conference play, but we feel it’s our conference and we should dominate it. There wasn’t any pressure, just a sense of obligation.’’
Vanderhook said the turning point was taking two of three at home against Hawaii and then going on the road and sweeping UC Irvine and UC Davis. That put them 12-3 in league play and separated themselves from the rest of the league.
“When you win six straight on the road, it helps everyone’s confidence, and a few of those easily could have gone the other way.’’
Sunday, Hank LoForte went 4 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBI, Mitchell Berryhill had a pair of doubles, one with the bases loaded that put the game away. Brett Borgogno also had three hits. LoForte, the junior second baseman, raised his average to season-high .323 and has stepped into the leadoff spot and served as the catalyst of the small-ball style offense.
“You just try to cause havoc and be scrappy and get to the next base however you can,’’ LoForte said. “I learned a lot from Tim Richards and Taylor Bryant when I got here as a freshman. It’s a tradition here.’’
Northridge grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first against Titans starter Andrew Quezada (4-5), who danced around baserunners in his five innings. Justin Toerner doubled and scored on Trevor Casanova’s single.
The lead lasted maybe five minutes. LoForte singled to start the inning and was followed by a Cope RBI single, Sahid Valenzuela RBI double and a Jake Pavletich single for a 3-1 lead after six hitters.
A Jace Chamberlin single, Jairus Richards double and LoForte single made it 5-1 after four.The Matadors left the bases loaded in the third and fourth and had two on with one out in the fifth when Joey Cooper lined into a double play. Northridge finally scored two in the sixth, cutting the margin to 5-3 on an RBI single by Toerner and sacrifice fly by Casanova.
But the Titans put the game away with a five-run sixth, with considerable help from the Northridge defense, Chamberlin laced a single and went to second when third baseman Alex Hull couldn’t handle Richard’s bunt. Borgogno followed with another bunt, and pitcher Jayson Newman hesitated deciding where to throw the ball, loading the bases.
LoForte’s flare down the line drove home a run, and Berryhill emptied the bases with a double into the left-field corner. Cope’s RBI single made it 10-3. Northridge got three hits from Toerner and stranded 13 runners.
The Titans play a USC Tuesday and then visit Long Beach State for a three-game series next weekend.
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