Cal State Fullerton’s infielder Timmy Richards (above) hit one-for-four in the Titans’ 5-3 loss to the Arizona State University Sun Devils on Tuesday night.
(Patrick Do/Daily Titan)
The Cal State Fullerton baseball team took a rough 5-3 loss Tuesday night to the Arizona State Sun Devils, failing to take advantage of opportunities with runners in scoring position to overcome the ASU lead.
“We struggled at that tonight; we’ve got to get those runs in,” said senior designated hitter Dalton Blaser. “We can’t leave them on the board because that’s what gets us behind in ball games.”
The series matchup marks the 6-5 Titans’ second series at home. Fullerton swept its first home contests against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Titans went into Tuesday’s matchup with the 9-3 Sun Devils having taken two out of three from Texas Tech last weekend.
Fullerton sent freshman right-hander Brett Conine to the mound for his second start of the season. Conine went into Wednesday having posted a 2.57 ERA in seven innings pitched. His counterpart from Arizona State, Jordan Aboites, made his first appearance in a Sun Devil uniform Tuesday.
After a smooth first inning in which he struck out two batters, Conine found himself in a second-inning jam after giving up a walk and two base hits. He allowed ASU to score its first run of the night before retiring two to end the threat.
Titan offensive leaders Blaser and sophomore catcher Chris Hudgins made noise in the second, hitting two singles in a row. Their efforts allowed the Titans to score on a wild pitch by Aboites, tying the score at 1-1 going into the third.
Despite another strong offensive inning in the third, Hudgins struck out swinging with the bases loaded as the Titans ended the frame without a run.
However, Conine didn’t let the Titans’ empty offensive effort affect his play in the fourth inning as he retired the Sun Devils 1-2-3 in his return to the mound.
The smooth sailing wouldn’t last for Conine. His shaky performance during the fifth got him pulled from the game after striking out six in four full innings of work. Junior righty Scott Serigstad came in to replace him and got a flyout to end the half inning.
The Sun Devils continued to tack on runs, whereas Fullerton continued to fail to drive its runners home.
The Titans showed signs of life in the ninth when Josh Vargas knocked a screaming line drive to right for a double and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by junior infielder Timmy Richards. Despite the late-game effort, the contest ended with ASU up 5-3.
“We only had to score three runs,” said Head Coach Rick Vanderhook. “We left 11 guys on base.”
Fullerton finishes the Arizona State series Wednesday at 6 p.m., then begins a three-game series at Goodwin Field on Friday against Wichita State at 7 p.m.
“Tomorrow’s a new day, that’s how you’ve got to approach it,” Blaser said. “It’s just baseball, we’ve got to come out and play the game.”