SAN DIEGO – Cal State Fullerton pitcher Tanner Bibee struck out eight Missouri State hitters over seven shutout innings to lead the 24th-ranked Titans to a 7-0 victory over the Bears on the opening day of play at the Tony Gwynn Legacy.

Bibee (2-0), who turned in 6.0 scoreless innings in his season-opening win over TCU last weekend, faced just one hitter over the minimum through the first five innings and allowed only four MSU singles on the day. The sophomore right-hander matched a career-long outing with his 7.0 innings, before Kyle Luckham finished off the five-hitter with 2.0 innings of one-hit relief.

At the plate, four different Fullerton hitters registered two-hit games, led by Jacob Pavletich's 2-for-3 day that included a fourth-inning homer and a career-high three RBIs.

MSU (1-3) dropped its second-consecutive shutout decision, extending its team scoreless drought to 20 innings over the last three games.

The Titans (3-1) capitalized on a pair of Missouri State miscues to seize a 1-0 lead in the first. Leadoff man Hank LoForte laid down a bunt single, then moved into scoring positon on an errant throw by John Privitera. Bears starter Davis Schwab (1-1) recovered to retire the next two hitters, but Privitera couldn't corral a bouncer off the bat of Daniel Cope, allowing LoForte to trot home with the game's first tally.

Schwab surrendered a second leadoff single the following frame, but settled into a groove to dispatch the next seven Titans he faced, including an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play in the second. With two out in the fourth, the senior lefty worked a 1-2 count to Pavletich, but the Titans first baseman drove his next offering over the wall in left-center for a solo shot that put Fullerton on top, 2-0.

CSF put together a breakthrough rally in the fifth, as six straight Titans reached base after Schwab got Mitchell Berryhill to ground out to start the inning. Jackson Lyon, the No. 9 hitter in the Fullerton lineup, drew a walk to initiate the threat, and LoForte singled to open a string of three consecutive base hits for the Titans. Brett Borgongno beat out a bunt single to plate Lyon from third, and Sahid Valenzuela drove an RBI single to right to make it a 4-0 game and end Schwab's afternoon.

Freshman reliever Logan Thomazin curbed the Titans' momentum with a pickoff of Valenzuela at first, but a walk and a Pavletich RBI single added another run to CSF's total. After Thomazin fanned a pair of batters in a hitless sixth, Pavletich would strike again with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly to drive in his third run of the day, as Valenzuela and Cope delivered back-to-back one-out singles to set up the scoring chance.

Thomazin turned in his second strong outing as a Bear, scattering three hits and allowing one run while striking out five Titans in his 2 2/3 innings. Fellow freshman Nick Schmidt worked 2.0 scoreless frames, while Schwab shouldered the loss after allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits over 4.1 innings.

The Bears will be back in action Saturday (Feb. 23) with an 8 p.m. (CST) contest against San Diego at Fowler Park.