Cal State Fullerton’s baseball team looks to improve their Big West record this weekend as conference foe UC Irvine comes into town on Friday for the first of three games.
The Titans will host the Anteaters at Goodwin Field, coming into the contest with a 6-3 conference record and a 20-19 overall record after playing against Cal State Bakersfield Wednesday night.
It will be a tough matchup as UC Irvine holds the top spot in the conference and have Keston Hiura, who is batting .342 and is second in the Big West with 32 runs batted in. Another player for whom the Titans will also have to keep their eye out is UC Irvine sophomore Andrew Martinez, who leads the Anteaters with eight home runs and is right behind Hiura with 22 RBIs.
Fullerton will look to two of their juniors, Josh Vargas and David Olmedo-Barrera, to lead the team’s offense against the Anteaters. Vargas is the Titans’ top batter with his .358 average, while Olmedo-Barrera leads the squad in RBIs with 27.
Production from Tyler Stieb will be another key as he leads the team in hits (39), stolen bases (nine) and has an on-base percentage of .386.
The Titans will also look to the combined efforts of junior pitchers Thomas Eshelman and Justin Garza to hold down the mound, as they combine for a total of 110 strikeouts. Eshelman and his stellar 2.09 earned run average will draw the Friday start, while Garza (3.20 ERA) will be slated as the Saturday starter.
Freshman John Gavin (3.93 ERA) will likely draw the starting nod on Sunday. The CSUF pitching staff has been solid all season and will make it hard for the Anteaters to score.
The Anteaters come into this game right after a loss to UCLA, who Cal State Fullerton has also lost to this season. UC Irvine has had their share of troubles on the road this year as they are 7-9 away from home, so that could boast well for the Titans as their home record this year is 11-5.
With a strong performance this weekend, the Titans can make the race for the top spot in the Big West a close one as the season nears the end.
The first pitch is set to be thrown at 7 p.m. at Goodwin Field Friday, and is also being televised on ESPN3. Saturday’s game will begin at 6 p.m. and the Sunday finale will start at 1 p.m.