COLLEGE PARK, MD. - In a pitcher's duel that live up to the hype, it was a defensive miscue that cost Cal State Fullerton the opening game of the three-game non-conference series at No. 24 Maryland, 2-1, Friday night at Shipley Field in Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium.
The Titans (19-17) committed three errors on the night, none more costly than their first mistake in the second inning that allowed the Terrapins (26-10) to score twice and that proved to be the difference.
Pitchers Thomas Eshelman and Mike Shawaryn had a great duel on the mound for their respective teams as the two Friday-night aces combined to allow just eight hits and collect 18 strikeouts.
Eshleman recorded his second straight eight-inning complete-game loss for the Titans. He allowed just four hits and two unearned runs. He walked one and struck out five. He retired the side in order three times and allowed just two runners to reach third base after the second inning.
Offensively, four players collected a hit for Fullerton including three doubles from Dustin Vaught, Josh Estill and Scott Hurst.
The Terrapins took the lead in the second inning thanks in part to a costly error by the Titans defense. Eshelman hit Jose Cuas with a pitch to start the inning but induced a tailor-made double-play ball to second base. Jake Jefferies fielded it cleanly but his throw went into left field to allow both runners to advance into scoring position. Jamal Wade and Kengo Kawahara each followed with RBI groundouts to give Maryland the 2-0 lead.
That's all Shawaryn needed as the right-hander went eight innings and held the Titans scoreless on four hits. He struck out 13 to set a new career high and did not issue a walk. He is now 9-0 this season.
The Titans did have their chances, including a rally in the ninth inning after closer Kevin Mooney walked the first two batters he faced in Josh Vargas and Estill. The Terrapins went back into the bullpen for lefty Alex Robinson and David Olmedo-Barrera immediately sacrificed the runners into scoring position. Jake Jefferies hit an RBI groundout to second to cut the deficit in half but Robinson struck out Hurst on three pitches to end the game and collect his third save of the year.
The Titans also got leadoff doubles in the fifth and sixth inning. Hurst led off with a double in the fifth and moved over to third on a sacrifice but the next two batters struck out to end the inning.
The sixth inning was a mirror image of the fifth as Vaught led off with a double to right field and moved over to third on a sacrifice, but Shawaryn struck out Josh Estill and Olmedo-Barrera to strand the runner 90 feet away again.
Overall, the Titans went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position on Friday night.
The teams will return to action Saturday afternoon with Justin Garza taking the ball for the Titans and left-hander Tayler Stiles getting the start for Maryland.
Notes: Friday's meeting was the first between Cal State Fullerton and Maryland all-time… Eshelman's walk in the sixth inning ended a streak of 43 innings pitched without a free pass… Maryland's crowd of 1,370 was a season-high… Tyler Stieb went 1-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to seven games.
