Sophomore outfielder Hunter Cullen hits a ball hard into the dirt. The Cal State Fullerton baseball team dropped their first game of a two-game series against the Nebraska Cornhuskers 7-2 Tuesday night. Freshman pitcher Connor Seabold took the loss after giving up three earned runs over 5.1 innings. The Titans fell to 11-12 with the loss, but will have a chance to even their record Wednesday.
(Matt Corkill / Daily Titan File Photo)
It was a tough pair of late innings that cost the Cal State Fullerton baseball team in non-conference play Tuesday evening.
The Titans surrendered five runs over the sixth and seventh innings and fell on the road to the University of Nebraska, 7-2, at a place they hope to return later for the College World Series.
After Nebraska scored a single run in the second inning, Fullerton knotted the game at one in the top of the fourth inning.
Sophomore Josh Estill opened the inning with a double to right field, advanced to third on a groundout from junior Dalton Blaser and scored on a sacrifice fly from freshman Scott Hurst.
Unfortunately for the Titans, that’s as close as they got to Nebraska, which took back the lead, 2-1, in the bottom half of the fourth.
The contest began to unravel for the Titans (11-12) in the bottom of the sixth, with the visitors trailing, 2-1.
The Cornhuskers (18-6) scored three runs in the inning, with two charged to Titan sophomore reliever Maxwell Gibbs.
The southpaw entered the bottom of sixth with one out and one on after Tanner Lubach connected on a one-out single against freshman starting pitcher Connor Seabold, who took the loss.
Seabold dropped to 2-2 this season after allowing three earned runs on seven hits over 5.1 innings with five strikeouts against no walks.
Gibbs was brought in to face fellow lefty, Nebraska designated hitter Ben Miller. The plan backfired, though, as Miller ripped a double down the left-field line that put runners on second and third.
Both baserunners scored over the next two at-bats as Lubach came home on a run-scoring groundout to second, while Miller scored on a throwing error by Titan sophomore shortstop Timmy Richards.
Nebraska added one more run in the frame two batters later when Scott Schreiber, who reached on the throwing error, was cashed in on a double from teammate Luis Alvarado that put Nebraska up, 5-1.
While Fullerton added a run in the top of the seventh to close within 5-2, Nebraska delivered the knockout blow in the bottom half of the inning, with two additional runs on a single from Blake Headley and an RBI-double from Miller.
Fullerton’s seventh-inning run perhaps best illustrated the Titans’ struggles.
Despite collecting three hits and a wild pitch in the seventh, Fullerton only plated one run on an infield single from freshman Chris Hudgins that scored junior Dustin Vaught with one out.
Unfortunately for Fullerton, its very next batter grounded into an inning-ending double play to quash any further rally.
Perhaps most frustrating for the Titans on Tuesday is that both teams finished with an identical 12 hits. Yet, the stats differ from there as Fullerton stranded eight runners in comparison to four for Nebraska.
Fullerton will attempt to rebound in the two-game series finale versus Nebraska Wednesday morning at 11:30 a.m.