Titan junior infielder Timmy Richards (above) went 0-5, including a strikeout in Wednesday night’s 2-1 loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils. As a team, CSUF left a total of 12 runners on base and didn’t score a run until the 14th inning.
(Patrick Do/Daily Titan)
The Cal State Fullerton baseball team lost a 14-inning pitching duel under the lights at Goodwin Field to the Arizona State Sun Devils 2-1 on Wednesday night.
The loss puts CSUF (6-6 overall) back to a .500 record for the first time since its home opener against the Indiana Hoosiers. Meanwhile, ASU (10-3 overall) has won five straight.
During the first game on Tuesday, the Titan bullpen, gave up no earned runs in a combined 3.2 innings pitched to keep the Titans within striking distance of ASU’s lead. However, CSUF failed to score runs despite opportunities with runners in scoring position, securing the win for the Sun Devils.
In the second game of the series, the Titans sent sophomore southpaw John Gavin to the mound. He entered Wednesday’s matchup against the Sun Devils with an 0-1 record and a 5.02 ERA.
On the ASU side, freshman righty James Ryan made his first start as a Sun Devil, entering the game with a 3.38 ERA in three relief appearances.
The Titans posed their first threat of the game in the bottom of the fourth when junior infielder Timmy Richards was hit by a pitch and senior infielder Tanner Pinkston walked, putting Fullerton in scoring position with two outs. Unfortunately for CSUF, Ryan got Blaser to fly out to end the inning before they could score.
In his first outing as a starter, Ryan surrendered only one hit and struck out two through four scoreless frames. Gavin was equally impressive, giving up only three hits, two walks and fanning four Sun Devil batters in five scoreless innings of work.
“I think he (Gavin) looked good,” Blaser said. “He’s a competitor and he loves to come out and compete and pound the zone.”
CSUF had another golden opportunity to score in the seventh inning. The Titans had a runner on second with no outs, but lined out and struck out twice to end the frame.
With the game going into extras, the Titans loaded the bases in the bottom half of the 10th inning only to strand the runners once again.
Sun Devil infielder David Greer led off the 14th inning with a solo shot to dead center to give ASU a 1-0 lead. Arizona State tacked on another run in the inning, giving itself a 2-0 cushion heading to the bottom half.
CSUF responded by adding a run of its own off a fielding error, but it wasn’t enough as the Sun Devils secured the 2-1 victory and series sweep.
David Greer got the win and Seth Martinez picked up the save for Arizona State. Freshman righty Gavin Velasquez took the loss for the Titans.
“It’s really frustrating because those guys (pitchers) work hard,” Blaser said. “They give us the opportunity to stay in the ballgame and when we can’t get runs for them, it upsets us.”
Fullerton will continue its nine-game homestand with a three-game weekend series against the Wichita State Univeristy Shockers at Goodwin Field. The first game of the series will begin Friday at 7 p.m.