FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton finished off the regular season on a seven-game winning streak as they completed the sweep over Cal State Northridge Saturday with a 6-0 Big West Conference victory at Goodwin Field.
The Titans (32-22, 14-10) got a complete-game shutout from pitcher Grahamm Wiest 10 hits from the offense as they swept the Matadors (18-38, 6-18) for the second consecutive year.
Wiest notched his fourth complete-game of the season and second shutout of the season. He allowed just three hits and struck out six, needing just 91 pitches to dispose of the Matadors. He retired 15 batters in a row at one point and allowed just one base runner to advance to second base.
The shutout was the second straight for the Titans after Justin Garza tossed a no-hitter on Saturday. It is the second time the Titans have recorded back-to-back shutouts this season and the pitching staff has now gone 21 and 2/3 innings without allowing a run.
The Titans got 10 hits from the offense, led by Jared Deacon and Clay Williamson who each had two. Austin Diemer went 1-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI while Taylor Bryant was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Matt Chapman and David Olmedo-Barrera each doubled in the game, the only hits going for extra bases for either side on Saturday.
The Titans jumped on the Matadors in the fourth inning as they sent 10 men to the plate and tallied four hits en route to five runs in the frame. J.D. Davis started the rally as he fisted a single to shallow left field to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. Chapman followed with a walk and then Olmedo-Barrera reached on a fielder's choice as his bunt attempt went back to the pitcher and Davis was erased at third base.
But Tanner Pinkston drew a walk to load the bases and then Diemer slapped a single to right field to drive in a pair and put the Titans up 2-0. Deacon then came up and bunted along the first base line. The Matadors had a chance to get the out at first but let the ball roll in hopes it would go foul but it never did and Deacon was aboard as Pinkston came in to make it 3-0. They would add another run on a wild pitch and an RBI single from Taylor Bryant to take the 5-0 lead and bring Matadors' starter Jordan Johnson's day to an end.
Johnson took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits as he walked two and struck out a pair. The Matadors would go on to use six pitchers in the game.
Ranny Lowe was 1-for-4 as the lead-off man for the Matadors while Ryan Raslowksy was 2-for-4 hitting behind him. Wiest held the rest of the Matadors lineup hitless in 22 at-bats.
In the top of the ninth inning, the Titans honored their seniors one more time as Greg Velazquez, Deacon, and Keegan Dale were all subbed out individually, allowing the Goodwin Field crowd to give them a standing ovation in the seniors' final regular season home games as Titans.
The Titans pitching staff finished the regular season with a collective 2.03 ERA on the season, which would rank first in school history if the season ended after Saturday. The Titans also recorded eight shutouts on the season, which currently ranks third all-time.
Notes: The Titans finished the regular season in fourth place in the Big West… The Titans won seven straight games to close out a season for the second straight year and for the fourth time since 2006… The weekend starting rotation of Garza, Wiest and Thomas Eshelman finished the year with a 1.92 collective ERA… Davis finished the year as the Titans leading hitter with a .338 batting average with five triples, five home runs and 38 RBI… Chapman led the Titans during the regular season with six home runs and 46 RBI while batting .321 with a .516 slugging percentage… The Titans recorded their fourth weekend sweep of the season with Saturday's win, matching their total from last season when they swept Oral Roberts, Long Beach State, Pacific and UC Davis