HONOLULU - Cal State Fullerton right-hander Thomas Eshelman tossed his second complete-game shutout of the season and as the Titans scored a 4-0 Big West Conference victory over Hawai'i Friday night at Les Murakami Stadium.
Eshelman scattered five hits and fanned 12 on the night as the Titans (29-22, 14-5) snapped the Rainbow Warriors' (21-27, 12-10) six-game winning streak.
David Olmedo-Barrera was a triple short of the cycle as he went 3-for-3 with a double and his seventh home run of the season. He reached base all five times he came up to bat as he was hit by a pitch twice. Josh Vargas, Tanner Pinkston, Jerrod Bravo, Dalton Blaser and Hunter Cullen also had hits for the Titans, who are now in sole possession of first place in the Big West Conference after UC Santa Barbara defeated UC Irvine on Friday afternoon.
Olmedo-Barrera, who entered the weekend with an 11-game hitting streak, extended that immediately as he hammered a one-out double on a 3-0 offering from Rainbow Warriors starter LJ. Brewster. Tyler Stieb, who walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch, scored easily from second base and gave Fullerton the 1-0 lead.
It stayed that way until the sixth, when the Titans got the first two runners on base in the frame. Bravo was hit by a pitch and then Blaser blooped a double past the infield and down the left field line, putting runners on second and third for Fullerton. The Rainbow Warriors played the infield in to protect against a run and got a chopper to short for the first out. A.J. Kennedy then stepped in and hit a grounder to short and Bravo broke for the plate. Shortstop Jacob Sheldon-Collins tried to get Bravo but his throw was high and Bravo's slide was under catcher Chayce Ka'aua's tag to plate the run and put the Titans up 2-0.
In the seventh, Olmedo-Barrera was hit for the second time in the game. Tanner Pinkston cashed him in with a double over the center fielder to make it 3-0 Titans and then Olmedo-Barrera's homer in the ninth capped the scoring.
Eshelman did the rest as he pitched his fourth complete game of the season and recorded double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time this year. The right-hander has now tossed 24 and 2/3 scoreless innings going back to the ninth inning of the Titans 7-2 win against UC Irvine on April 24.
The teams will return for the second game of the series with left-hander John Gavin getting the ball for the Titans while Tyler Brashears takes the mound for the Rainbow Warriors.
Notes: The Titans recorded their 29th victory of the season, guaranteeing the program's 41st consecutive winning season. One more win would also net the Titans the 41st straight 30-win season in program history… Bravo finished the day 1-for-3 and has now reached base in 33 consecutive games he has played… Timmy Richards's 22-game streak of reaching base safely was snapped as he went 0-for-5.
