The No. 9 ranked Cal State Fullerton baseball team traveled down south to San Diego Tuesday for a matchup against the San Diego University Toreros.
The Titans again underperformed against subpar competition by dropping a hard-fought game in 10 innings 5-3.
The game lasted three hours and 32 minutes, which makes it an even more bitter pill to swallow.
Taking the mound for the Titans was freshman phenom Phil Bickford. So far in the season, the jury is still out on his productivity due to limited action, but tonight he started strong.
Bickford pitched a solid first four innings, allowing just three hits, giving up one earned run and striking out three before Head Coach Rick Vanderhook gave him the early pull for pitch count reasons.
The Toreros took the early lead, going up 1-0 in the second inning off an RBI double from shortstop Kyle Holder that brought in San Diego catcher Jesse Jenner.
In the fourth inning, the Titans got the equalizer by being patient at the plate and allowing San Diego to make mistakes. With the bases loaded, freshman second baseman Timmy Richards was hit by a pitch that brought in junior first baseman J.D. Davis who started the rally by singling to left field earlier.
Fullerton capitalized again off mistakes from San Diego in the sixth. The bases were loaded with one out with senior catcher Jared Deacon up. Deacon chopped a dribbler down to third baseman Andrew Daniel who threw out Greg Velazquez at home, but as Jenner tried to finish the double play at first, the throw was off target and sailed into right field. The errant throw brought in both junior Clay Williamson and Richards to give the Titans a 3-1 advantage.
Entering the fifth, Vanderhook went with junior right hander Koby Gauna to pitch. Gauna, the Titans most experienced relief pitcher, shut down the Torero bats in the fifth and sixth innings by retiring six out of seven batters and allowing only one hit.
In the seventh inning, Gauna gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning but worked his way out the jam with a strikeout and groundout to keep the lead. Although San Diego didn’t score, the feeling that Torero hitters were figuring out Gauna with their third time around in the lineup was evident.
The eighth inning was a disappointing one for the Titans, as they lost an opportunity to take the lead into the ninth by digging themselves in a hole. Gauna allowed two back-to-back hits to lead off the inning, this time a double and single that put runners on the corners.
At that point, the mix and match game was on between Vanderhook and San Diego skipper Rich Hill. Reliever Tyler Peitzmeier was brought in to face pinch hitter Brandon Defazio. Fresh off the bench, Defazio ripped a double in the left-center alley. That brought in both runners and tied it up at three apiece.
Going into extra innings, the home team definitely had the momentum and played with more energy. With two outs in the 10th and nobody on, the trend of allowing back-to-back hits this time proved deadly for CSUF.
After senior Josh Gossen-Brown singled, sophomore designated hitter Troy Conyers came fresh off the bench to belt a two-run walk off home run to right field to give the Toreros a 5-3 win.
CSUF was out hit 12-7 in the game and did not record a hit from the eighth inning on.
Fullerton sits at 8-6 overall record, a very disappointing mark for a team expected to go far and finish with a trip to Omaha. The good news for the Titans is that it is still early in the season and they have time to identify their flaws.
One bright spot for the Titans is sophomore Tanner Pinkston who went three-for-five tonight and has been on a tear all year batting .385 with six runs batted in.
The loss against San Diego epitomizes the Titans struggles this season. The inability to win close games, having poor relief pitching as well as a lack of timely hitting have all hurt CSUF.
After being on a long road trip in the past two weeks at Baylor and Oregon, coming home to Goodwin Field is something the Titans desperately need. The next nine games are at home for Fullerton, three against St. Mary’s, a midweek game versus UNLV and a rival weekend series clash with Long Beach State.
For more information on the CSUF baseball team and all Titan Athletics, go to FullertonTitans.com.