Cal State Fullerton relied on small-ball tactics in a big way for an 8-0 baseball rout of Hawaii at Goodwin Field.

A crowd of 1,413 on the Fullerton, Calif., campus saw the Titans win the opener and finale of this three-game Big West series. The Titans improved to 19-19 overall and 6-3 in the Big West. The Rainbow Warriors, who opened the day tied for first in the Big West, fell to 21-15 and 7-5. UC Irvine, which has won five in a row, is atop the Big West at 8-4.

In the first inning, UH starting pitcher Dominic DeMiero surrendered consecutive one-out singles to Sahid Valenzuela and Ruben Cardenas, the latter a chopper up the middle that should have been fielded by second baseman Dustin Demeter.

“I thought the whole complexion of the game, as funny as it sounds, centered on that third batter,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said in a telephone interview. Cardenas “hit what I thought was a routine double-play ball, and we’re out of the inning. … After that, the sky fell.”

An RBI double and two bunts that produced two runs staked the Titans to a 3-0 lead.

In the second inning, three of the first four Titans reached base — and scored — to make it 6-0 and force DeMiero’s exit after 11⁄3 innings.

Logan Pouelsen was rocked for two more runs in the third inning.

The Titans scored all their runs in the first three innings, when they collected 10 of their 11 hits, placed three successful bunts, scored on a sacrifice fly, and stole six bases.

The ’Bows also had 11 hits. But they grounded into five double plays.

“It just wasn’t our day,” Trapasso said. “The kids played hard, and they battled. I’m just disappointed in how Dom pitched. I really thought he had good stuff.”

A week earlier, DeMiero lowered his release point, found the bottom part of the strike zone, and threw 81⁄3 scoreless innings against UC Riverside. But after Fullerton’s productive opening inning on Sunday, DeMiero “just caved into the adversity, unfortunately, and didn’t make as good of pitches in the second inning,” Trapasso said.

Fullerton right-hander Andrew Quezada used a 95-mph fastball and two-seam changeup to strike out nine. He did not issue a walk.

“I think starting pitching was the story of the day,” Trapasso said. “Ours was not very good, and theirs was very good.”

The ’Bows return to Honolulu this morning to complete the six-day trip. They have been on the road for 20 of the past 26 days. Trapasso said he will give his players two days of rest ahead of Friday’s opener of a three-game series against Cal State Northridge. By then, the ’Bows might have a reorganized bullpen.

Pouelsen, who had been used as a middle reliever, surrendered three hits and two walks in 12⁄3 innings against Fullerton. He has a 13.00 earned-run average in his past four appearances.

“Logan is in a funk,” Trapasso said. “We’re going to have to use Logan in a different role until we can get him straightened out.”

Trapasso said he is considering elevating Brody Hagel-Pitt to first-out-of-the-bullpen reliever. On Sunday, Hagel-Pitt pitched three scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing one hit.

“We’ll come back,” Trapasso said. “It was only the second series we lost all season, and they’ve been on the road to very good teams in LSU and Cal State Fullerton. We’ve got to regroup.”