Sophomore shortstop Timmy Richards rounds third base and heads home to score a run in the bottom of the sixth inning in the first game of the Baylor series. The Titan offense erupted for 28 runs in the three-game homestand, and the team will hope that momentum carries over into the Wednesday night matchup with Pepperdine.
(Matt Corkill / Daily Titan File Photo)
The Cal State Fullerton baseball team will look to keep its momentum going when they take on the Pepperdine Waves Tuesday at Goodwin Field.
After a series of losses early in the season, the Titans may have finally started to gel, but their win/loss percentage still remains at a precarious .500. The Titans’ last three wins all came against the same opponent, so their game against Pepperdine might determine whether or not the Titans have really found their groove.
The Titans enter the game with a 5-5 overall record after earning three wins in their weekend sweep of the Baylor Bears. Meanwhile, the Waves also enter the matchup on the back of three consecutive wins, theirs coming against the University of Hawaii.
Fullerton will have to continue to keep the hits coming against Pepperdine. The Fullerton bats finally came alive against Baylor over the weekend—the Titans outscoring the Bears, 28-13, over the three games. Pepperdine, however, also enters the game with 28 runs in their last three games, but the Waves had a better defensive record over that stretch, giving up only six runs to Hawaii.
Furthermore, despite Fullerton’s improved batting over the weekend, the Waves will enter Wednesday’s affair with a better overall batting percentage than the Titans. Pepperdine will go into Goodwin Field batting at a .269 clip. Currently leading the bats for the Waves is Jeremy Goldenetz. However, his .455 batting average is deceiving since the sophomore outfielder has only played nine games and only started in two of the Waves’ 12 games.
The real Pepperdine threat will be Hutton Moyer; the junior infielder has racked up 12 runs, four homers and 12 runs batted in while accumulating a .634 slugging percentage through the first 12 games.
Brad Anderson will also pose a threat. Anderson’s .205 batting average may not read as impressively as Moyer’s .317, but the junior first baseman leads his team in RBIs with 13, while also having scored the Waves’ second-most home runs at two.
The Titans will look to respond with Josh Estill, whose exploits against Baylor earned him Big West Conference Field Player of the Week honors. The sophomore infielder will carry with a .394 batting average and a team-high 11 RBIs and one home run. David Olmedo-Barrera will also look to pose a threat. Olmedo-Barrera is batting at a .320 clip and has amassed eight RBIs of his own. Both hitters will look to capitalize on Pepperdine’s 4.04 earned run average.
Aside from their batters, Fullerton will also be buoyed by their pitching staff. The Titans currently sport a 3.74 earned run average, led by junior pitcher Thomas Eshelman, who carries with him an impressive 1.77 ERA through 20.1 innings pitched. However, midweek games are likely to see a staff day for the pitchers.
First pitch for Wednesday’s game is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Goodwin Field.