March 6, 2005

Box Score

FULLERTON, Calif. - For the third straight game UCLA scored first but could not hold the early lead as the Bruins fell 14-4 to No. 4 Cal State Fullerton Sunday evening in the final game of the 2005 Kia Baseball Bash at Goodwin Field. The Bruins (7-9) have now lost five straight games for the first time since a seven-game losing streak in April of 2003.

Cal State Fullerton (11-2), the defending national champions, defeated UCLA for the first time since April 22, 2003. The Bruins took both contests from the Titans in 2004.

The Bruins got started quickly as left fielder Will Penniall, who had tripled to lead of the game, scored on a Hector Ambriz RBI ground out in the bottom of the first to give UCLA an early 1-0 lead. But the advantage would not last as the Titans came out and touched Bruin starter Brant Rustich for six runs off eight hits before UCLA even saw the second inning.

In the decisive first, Blake Davis and Justin Turner had two hits apiece for Cal State Fullerton as the Titans sent a total of 12 batters to the plate. Turner was half way to a cycle, with a single and a double, in the first frame. The first six Fullerton hitters reached base safely before Rustich got Ronnie Prettyman to fly out to left after five runs had already scored.

The Titans banged out a total of 19 hits, the most allowed by UCLA this season, and got RBI from six different players.

Penniall, who finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, chimed in with his third base hit of the evening in the top of the fourth inning to score Sean Carpenter from second to account for UCLA's second run. Then in the sixth, right fielder Josh Roenicke drove in Carpenter again with a double to deep right center.

Cal State Fullerton starting pitcher Scott Sarver collected his third win of the year with 5.1 effective innings against the Bruins. The southpaw allowed three runs on six hits while striking out five.

On the mound for UCLA, freshman southpaw Brendan Lafferty made his longest outing of the year in relief of Rustich. Lafferty tossed 3.1 innings after entering in the second and allowed three runs on four hits. Junior southpaw Paul Oseguera made his collegiate debut for UCLA with a scoreless 1.2 innings of work. Oseguera, a 2002 high school graduate, had yet to pitch for the Bruins after a series of injuries prevented the one-time nationally recognized hurler from taking the mound.

Rustich (1-1) suffered his first defeat of the season.

Fullerton's Felipe Garcia was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player and Titan pitchers Ricky Romero and Ryan Schreppel were named Co-Most Outstanding Pitchers.