Fair Near Flawless to Guide Toros to 9-6 Closeout Win Over Gators

Box Score

CARSON -- Entering a 6-6 ballgame in the 4th frame, right-handed hurler David Fair held the Gators of San Francisco State scoreless for five straight innings, fanning five batters and giving up only three hits to guide the Toros to a 9-6 win to close out the four-game series.

Facing three batters in two of his five innings of action, Fair fanned two batters apiece in the seventh and eighth to highlight his first win of the season. Cooling off in the ninth, Fair handed over duties to Sean Wardour, who picked his first save as he shut down three straight with the tying run at the plate.

The visitors ruled for the first three innings with a total of three long balls, two in the same inning coming from Geoff Downing and Ryan Williams, propelling them to a 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the third.

Kyle Pond had other plans for the Toros in the bottom of that frame, blasting a three-run shot over the right field fence to bring the Toros close at 5-4. A final two-RBI double from Derrek Duarte, in only his second game of the year, closed out the inning with the Toros holding a 6-5 lead.

The Gators' third and final bomb of the day from Nick Bowerman ended their offensive thrust in the fourth while knotting the game in a short-lived tie.

Duarte once again came through in the clutch, blasting another two-RBI double in the fifth to give the Toros the winning run before the eventual 9-6 final.

Offensively, Pond's home run kept the Toros hope alive while Duarte was the key with four RBI and a pair of doubles. Flawless from the dish, Steve Carrillo went 4-for-4 with one RBI and two runs.

The Gators were led by Williams and Bowerman, who both went deep for their only hits of the contest.

The loss goes to Nic Banaugh, who fanned two batters in five innings of play.

CSUDH connected on 15 hits on the day with five coming in the fifth inning.

The win improves the Toros to a 3-1 CCAA record and keeps them at a healthy 7-4 overall. The Toros will next see action as they take on the Broncos of Cal Poly Pomona in a four-game series this weekend. First action is Friday on Toro Field at 2:00pm.

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