Cal State Fullerton Press Conference Quotes
OMAHA - With one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, freshman outfielder Jeren Kendall hit a two-run, walk-off home run off No. 21 Cal State Fullerton closer Tyler Peitzmeier to give No. 5 Vanderbilt a 4-3 victory Monday afternoon in the opening game at the NCAA College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
The Titans (39-24) will now have a quick turnaround and play LSU (53-11) in an elimination game Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled at 2 p.m. CT/noon PT.
In a game that suffered an official weather delay of one hour and 19 minutes and was suspended from Sunday night until Monday afternoon, the Titans controlled the majority of the contest against the Commodores (48-19), leading 3-0 going into Monday's resumption and holding a two-run lead into the ninth inning prior to Kendall's home run.
Peitzmeier suffered his fourth loss of the season after going two and 1/3 innings. He finished by allowing three earned runs on three hits, all of them coming in the ninth inning. He struck out three.
Fullerton ace Thomas Eshelman went five and 2/3 innings and scattered four hits. He allowed one earned run on four hits and fanned eight.
The Titans struck first in the third inning after Timmy Richards drew a leadoff walk against Fulmer. He advanced to second on a balk by the Vanderbilt right-hander and then got to third base on A.J. Kennedy's sacrifice bunt. Up stepped Taylor Bryant, who smacked a single to center field to plate Richards and put Fullerton up 1-0.
In the fifth inning, the Titans tacked on two more against the Commodores in the fifth inning. After a line out to lead off the frame, Richards walked for the second straight time against Fulmer and then Kennedy roped a double down the left field line to put runners in scoring position.
Fulmer reared back and blew away Taylor Bryant for a strikeout but then a wild pitch with Josh Vargas at the dish scored Richards to make it 2-0. Vargas then singled to right to plate Kennedy and put Fullerton up 3-0.
In the sixth, the Commodores got a one-out double from Rhett Wiseman but Eshelman struck out Dansby Swanson to get the second out of the inning. Eshelman then went 3-2 against Zander Weil before lightning halted the game. Rain soon followed and the game was suspended until Monday afternoon at 2 p.m.
At the resumption, Chad Hockin came in to pitch and gave up an RBI double to Weil to plate Wiseman and put Vanderbilt on the board. Will Toffey worked a walk against Hockin but the Titans right-hander came back to strike out Bryan Reynolds to end the frame.
The score remained that way until the bottom of the ninth, when Wiel doubled to lead off the inning. One out later, Reynolds doubled to left to plate Wiel and cut the Titans lead to 3-2. That's when Kendall stepped in and hammered a home run into the Titans bullpen, the first walk-off home run in the history of TD Ameritrade Park.
Notes: The game was halted at 9:22 p.m. CT Sunday night and officially suspended at 10:30 p.m. to Monday afternoon. The time of the delay was one hour and 19 minutes… Jerrod Bravo singled to right field in the ninth inning to reach base safely for the 45th straight game, extending his school record… The Titans have lost the last seven games they have played at the College World Series. The last win came in 2006, a 7-6 victory over Clemson at Rosenblatt Stadium.
