FULLERTON, Calif. – Two Cal State Fullerton baseball pitchers were chosen on day two of the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft as junior Justin Garza was selected in the eighth round (244th overall) by the Cleveland Indians and senior Tyler Peitzmeier followed in the ninth round (263rd overall) to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.
Garza posted a regular season mark of 4-3 in 12 starts for the Titans, accumulating 53 strikeouts in 65 innings of work to post a 3.05 ERA. His junior campaign was cut short due to a season-ending tear in his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) after leaving with discomfort in his arm on May 9 against UC Santa Barbara.
The native from Ontario, Calif. was named to the initial Golden Spikes Award 50-man Watch List prior to the season for the second year in a row and was also named a Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American, Second Team selection and D1Baseball.com Preseason Third Team selection.
In 2014, Garza became the fourth Cal State Fullerton pitcher to toss a no-hitter on May 23 as he held CSUN without a base hit. Garza was the first Titans pitcher to accomplish the feat since 2001 when Kirk Saarloos no-hit Pacific in a 28-0 victory. Garza walked three and struck out 12, matching his career high. He also tossed his first career complete game in the process. Garza added his name alongside other Titans greats Kirk Saarloos, Ted Silva and Longo Garcia as the only Fullerton pitchers to toss a no-hitter.
The Ontario, Calif. native burst onto the scene with the Titans as a freshman in 2013, setting new records and helping lead the team to one of the best seasons in Titans history. Garza was named the 2013 Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year after going 12-0 in his first campaign with Fullerton. He earned Baseball America, National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors and also earned Second Team All-American nods from the NCBWA, Baseball America and Louisville Slugger. He was named the MVP of the Fullerton Regional.
Garza was also named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings West Region First Team and was a semifinalist for the College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year Award. He set the freshman record with a 1.000 winning percentage and is one of just four pitchers in Cal State Fullerton history with at least 12 wins and no losses in a season. The 12 victories also set the new Fullerton freshman record along with teammate Thomas Eshelman. He posted a miniscule 2.03 ERA and struck out team-high 95 batters in 2013.
In his career, Garza holds a 21-7 overall record with a 2.64 ERA in 41 appearances, 40 of them starts. His ERA currently ranks 10th best all-time in the Fullerton career record book. He posted 208 career strikeouts with just 45 walks in 252 and 2/3 innings. His 1.60 career walks per nine innings average is tied for the sixth best career mark in Fullerton history along with Jason Windsor.
Peitzmeier, one of only two Titans on the 2015 roster who is an out-of-state native from Yutan, Neb., recorded his team-leading 30th appearance of the season in the deciding victory against Louisville on Monday.
In total, the left-hander enters the College World Series (CWS) with a 5-3 record and 2.20 ERA to go along with 58 strikeouts in 57 and 1/3 innings. With 16 saves (16-for-16) on the year, Peitzmeier is tied for the third most by a Titans reliever in a single season and the most since Michael Lorenzen shut the door 19 times in 2013. The saves mark currently ranks third in the nation and first in the Big West Conference.
Flourishing in the closer's role, Peitzmeier was a Big West Conference First Team and Louisville Slugger All-American selection, while adding his name to the NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List.
In three appearances in the postseason, Peitzmeier captured a victory in all three efforts over 13 innings including a pair of extended performances of five innings. In the winner-take-all series finale against Louisville on Monday, he scattered four hits and allowed just one run and struck out three in a 4-3 triumph to send the Titans to the CWS for the first time since 2009.
In the series opener against the Cardinals on Saturday, Peitzmeier turned in three innings and gave up one run in a 3-2 victory. To begin the postseason, he posted his first extended appearance with five innings of shutout relief on May 30, matching a season high with six strikeouts, in a 3-2, 14-inning win over No. 21 Arizona State in game four of the Fullerton Regional.
During his four-year tenure on the mound, Peitzmeier sits with a 9-3 record and 1.90 ERA in 97 appearances, making three starts. He tallied 17 career saves, which is ninth most in program history. Peitzmeier struck out 112 batters in 123 and 2/3 innings pitched while issuing 29 walks.
