Fullerton, Calif. - Right-hander Tyson Brummett tossed his second complete game in his last two outings and struck out 11 Titans as No. 15 UCLA defeated No. 10 Cal State Fullerton 6-2, in the opening game of a three-game, non-conference series at Goodwin Field Friday night.
Fullerton drops its second straight game and falls to 7-4 on the year, while UCLA's win snapped a five-game losing streak to the Titans and upped their record to 7-5.
The Friday night pitching match-up featured a pair of top collegiate arms in Fullerton's
Wes Roemer and UCLA's Brummett (3-1) with the latter coming up big for his squad. He held the Titans to a season-low five hits missing his career-high strikeout mark by just one. Back-to-back RBI-singles by
Nick Mahin and
John Curtis broke a UCLA 1-0 lead, giving the Titans a brief 2-1 edge after three innings. The senior righty would then go on a tear, setting down 14 consecutive Titan hitters before allowing a single to
Clark Hardman in the eighth. Hardman was thrown out at second trying to stretch his single into a double. Brummet finished the game by retiring 18 of the last 20 Titans he faced.
Roemer (2-2) tied a career-high by fanning 12 Bruins but hit a bump in the road in the top of the fourth. UCLA plated three runs on five hits including RBIs by Ryan Babineau, Alden Carrithers and Brandon Crawford off the Titan ace. Roemer would end up surrendering a career-high 12 hits in seven innings of work. Following the three-run fourth, Roemer struck out six of the next eight men he faced to keep his team in the game.
Adam Jorgenson and
Travis Kelly each surrendered a run in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, allowing UCLA to extend their lead to 6-2.
Five Bruins had two-hit performances, with left fielder Will Penniall driving in a pair to lead all players. Hardman was the only Titan to collect more than one base hit. Curtis' hit in the third extended his hitting streak to 14 games dating back to last year's College World Series. The two teams will finish the series with games on Saturday and Sunday at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium. Saturday night's game with match right hander
Jeff Kaplan (CSF) and southpaw Matthew Drummond (UCLA) starting at 6 p.m.