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Cal State Fullerton senior outfielder Dalton Blaser had a performance for the ages in the Titans’ sweep of the UC Riverside Highlanders this weekend. Through three games, he went 8-10, including four RBIs, two home runs and five runs scored.
(Patrick Do/Daily Titan)
In another impressive conference performance over the weekend, Cal State Fullerton baseball (30-16 overall, 12-3 Big West) swept the UC Riverside Highlanders (20-24 overall, 7-8 Big West) behind stellar pitching and a dazzling offensive display from senior right fielder Dalton Blaser.
The Titans left the weekend remaining at the top of the NCAA Division I team ERA leaderboard, posting a team 2.38 ERA.
Game 1
In what turned out to be a pitchers’ duel between CSUF sophomore right-hander Connor Seabold and UCR junior lefty Austin Sodders, Seabold came out victorious in the Titans’ 2-1 win Friday night over the Highlanders.
Seabold improved his record to 6-3 on the season with a dominant performance against Riverside, allowing only four hits and striking out 12 Highlander batters.
For the Titans, Blaser started off his highly impressive series by going 4-for-4 on Friday with a double and three singles. Senior first baseman Tanner Pinkston and sophomore second baseman Tristan Hildebrandt had RBI singles in the first and second innings, respectively.
The lone run for Riverside came off the bat of freshman infielder Yeager Taylor, who smacked a pinch-hit solo home run to right field to get his team on the board in the top of the eighth.
Game 2
The Titans gave their pitchers more run support in Saturday afternoon’s game, as they scored two runs in the bottom of the second and tacked on three more in the bottom of the fifth en route to a 6-2 win to clinch the series over UCR.
Blaser continued to swing a hot bat, going 2-3 with two runs scored. Senior catcher Jerrod Bravo went 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
John Gavin picked up the win for Fullerton, going 5.2 innings and striking out six Highlanders.
Game 3
For the first time this season, the Titans had a single player hit two home runs in one game during Fullerton’s 9-2 Saturday afternoon victory.
Blaser was again the man of the day for the Titans, as he smacked two home runs and drove in three to cap off a remarkable 8-for-10 series at the plate against the Highlanders.
The Fullerton offense was on fire from the start, as Blaser’s two-run homer to right in the first inning off Riverside junior righty Angel Landazuri gave the Titans an early 2-0 lead.
CSUF junior shortstop Timmy Richards blasted a three-run homer that hit the scoreboard, extending the Titan lead to 6-0 after just two innings.
In the fifth inning, the Titans hit for the cycle and extended their lead to 9-1 with the help of Blaser’s second home run of the afternoon.
For UCR, sophomore infielder Colby Schultz hit his third home run of the season in the top of the sixth inning.
Standout freshman righty Colton Eastman earned his seventh win of the season Sunday, improving his record to 7-2. Eastman allowed no walks and struck out nine in his strong six-inning performance
The Titans will head north for a crucial three-game Big West Conference road series this weekend against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (31-12-1 overall, 9-6 Big West). The Gauchos sit only two games behind the Titans, who hold the top spot in the conference.