The Cal State Fullerton baseball team is riding a four-game winning streak after sweeping Baylor and winning a midweek clash with Pepperdine. They now set their sights on upsetting the No. 5 Texas Tech Red Raiders this weekend at Goodwin Field.
(Matt Corkill / Daily Titan File Photo)
With the offense finally surging, the Titans baseball team looks forward to this weekend’s series against the Red Raiders of Texas Tech University, ranked No. 5 in the nation by Baseball America.
The Red Raiders come into this week on a hot streak with a 10-1 record. The Red Raiders’ offense is swinging the bat well, led by junior infielder Eric Gutierrez, who is coming in with a .389 batting average to go along with 10 runs batted in.
Through their first 11 games of the season, the Red Raiders have generated a total of 125 hits and scored 85 runs. Meanwhile, their pitching has been average, giving up 98 hits and 38 runs, equating to a team ERA of 3.23.
Texas Tech has been ranked 22 consecutive weeks and its No. 5 ranking is its highest since the 1997 season when they were the top-ranked team in the country.
Another standout on offense for the Red Raiders is junior infielder Cory Raley, who comes in sporting a .419 batting average and six RBIs.
Meanwhile, Fullerton is coming in with a four-game winning streak off a sweep of the Baylor Bears last weekend and a midweek win against Pepperdine Tuesday. In the Baylor series, the Titan offense exploded with 28 total runs. Fullerton hopes to continue the hot offense this weekend.
The Titans will need to depend on their starting pitching in order to contain the strong Texas Tech offense. Junior Thomas Eshelman is expected to take the mound Friday night. Eshelman earned his first win in a 10-1 blowout of Baylor last Friday, but his 1.77 ERA will be tested by the Red Raiders.
The Titans’ other ace, Justin Garza, hopes to rebound from a somewhat shaky outing against Baylor on Sunday, where he gave up two earned runs on nine hits and a walk in four innings pitched.
Sophomore first baseman Josh Estill stood out with a pair of game-winning RBIs against the Bears, which earned him Big West Field Player of the Week. The Purdue transfer bumped his batting average to .389 with a team-high 11 RBIs.
Texas Tech will get their first taste of the road this season after a hot start at home.
The Red Raiders hope to keep their offense rolling in this series. Texas Tech has had the luxury of not facing any ranked opponents so far this season. Their only loss of the season was to Nevada. The Titans will be a test to their No. 5 ranking.
The first game of the series is set to start Friday at 7 p.m. at Goodwin Field.