Feb. 20, 2000

Box Score

FULLERTON, Calif. - Jon Smith and George Carralejo combined on a 4-hit shutout and the No. 5-ranked Titans exploded for 21 hits Sunday afternoon as Cal State Fullerton blanked UNLV, 19-0, in a rain-delayed non-conference game.

The win gave the Titans a sweep of the 3-game series and evened their record at 5-5. UNLV lost its seventh game in a row this year and seventh in a row to Fullerton going back to 1998 and fell to 3-10.

Smith (2-1) took a no-hitter and near-perfect game into the seventh inning but Brad Maloff led off the seventh with a double to left field. UNLV had only one previous baserunner -- on a walk -- and Smith picked that man off first base to face the minimum 18 hitters. Smith struck out eight and walked two in seven innings. Carralejo struck out five around two hits in his two innings.

Home runs by Aaron Rifkin, Jeff Gates and Jake Epstein paced the attack against three UNLV hurlers including starter Justin Fairbanks (0-1). Gates also had a pair of singles and scored four times. Mike Martinez had three hits including a double and a triple. Chris Stringfellow's ground ball single drove in the game's first run in the second inning for the game-winning hit.

The game equalled the highest-scoring shutout victory in Fullerton's 25-plus year Div. I history. The Titans blanked Southern Utah, 19-0, in the 1992 season. The 19-run margin of victory was the most since a 24-4 win over New Mexico State late in the 1997 season.

Fullerton has scored 60 runs in 10 games this year but 35 have come in just two of them -- a 16-4 win over Baylor on Feb. 12 and Sunday.

Fullerton scored in every inning but the first and third in roughing up relievers Giovanni Pupo (4 IP, 11 ER) and Matt Rebout (2 IP, 6 R, 5 ER).

UNLV loaded the bases with one out in the seventh on a walk to Cody Okuda and Nate Kaup's single to left. But James Nepa hit into an inning-ending double play. The only other UNLV runner was Okuda, who walked again in the ninth.