FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton (5-5) fell to undefeated Arizona State (12-0), 6-4, in its first game of the mid-week series at Goodwin Field.
Hank LoForte continued his on-base streak with a sixth inning walk extending it to 55 straight games, a mark that currently leads the country. The senior is currently hitting .333 at the plate this year with a .386 on-base percentage and a .482 slugging percentage.
Tuesday night also saw Joe Magrisi make his Titan debut on the mound. The right-hander threw two scoreless frames against the Sun Devils allowing just two walks and a hit while striking out three. The freshman has been battling shoulder problems since the 2019 campaign began.
Fullerton threatened in its first set of at-bats as Isaiah Garcia (3-for-4, R, RBI) and Sahid Valenzuela came through with back-to-back singles, but a double play would end the threat and result in a scoreless first.
Arizona State would get on the board first with a pair of runs coming across in the second and four more in the top half of the third.
The Titans would look to respond in the bottom of the third after a Mitchell Berryhill leadoff single and a Brett Borgogno double, but a flyout and a pair of strikeouts would keep them off the board once again.
The game would turn into a pitchers' duel for the next four and a half frames as both teams combined for just seven baserunners until the bottom of the eighth where Fullerton would finally break through.
After an error and a hit by pitch put two on, Zach Lew would draw a walk followed by Garcia's third knock of the game. His RBI single back up the middle finally put the Titans on the board, driving in Berryhill for the first Fullerton run of the game.
Sunday's hero, Jairus Richards, came up clutch once again with a pinch hit two-RBI double in the right-center gap to cut the Sun Devil lead in half. The next batter, Kameron Guangorena, would bring in the Titans' fourth run of the ballgame with a sac fly to right, driving in Garcia.
Dillon Brown worked a scoreless top of the ninth, his third of the night, to keep the momentum in favor of Fullerton but all the Titans could muster in the bottom half was a one-out walk as Cal State Fullerton fell to the the undefeated Sun Devils of Arizona State.
The two teams will face-off again Wednesday night in the finale of this short midweek series at Goodwin Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT.
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