FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton got another stellar pitching performance from freshman Colton Eastman and got a pair of home runs from the top of the lineup to complete the sweep over Wichita State with a 7-1 nonconference victory Sunday afternoon at Goodwin Field.
Eastman posted his fourth straight victory to start the season for the Titans (9-6), going seven scoreless innings. He scattered four hits, walked one and struck out four to lead Fullerton to a sweep over the Shockers (4-11).
Josh Vargas and Timmy Richards each belted their second home run of the season to lead the Titans offensive attack that tallied nine hits on the day, five of them for extra bases.
Taylor Bryant was 2-for-3 with a RBI-triple and a run scored and Chris Hudgins was 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
For the third straight game, the Titans jumped out in front in the first as Richards blasted the first pitch he saw from Shockers starter Zach Davis and deposited it into the parking lot past the left field fence for a solo home run, his second of the season and third of his career.
In the second, Tyler Stieb reached after he was hit on the foot and then Bryant got his first hit of the season, a triple to right-center to plate Stieb and make it 2-0 Fullerton.
The Titans added another run via the long ball in the third inning as Vargas led off the frame with a bomb over the right field wall to make it 3-0, his second home run in as many games.
Fullerton broke the game open in the seventh as the Titans sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four times. The first run came courtesy of an error after Stieb led off the inning with a double. Bryant laid down a sacrifice bunt that third baseman Alec Bohm through wide of first, allowing Stieb to score and make it 4-0.
Vargas would later single in Bryant from to make it 5-0 and then Hudgins smacked a two-run single to left with the bases loaded to bring in two more runs and make it 7-0 Fullerton.
The pitching did the rest as Eastman and reliever Scott Serigstad combined to retire 10 straight from the fifth through the eighth innings.
Fullerton will be back at it Tuesday night at Goodwin Field as San Diego State comes to town for a midweek contest. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Notes: The Titans are now 6-0 all-time against the Shockers at Goodwin Field and 11-12 overall… Hudgins is currently riding a team-high six-game hitting streak after getting another hit Sunday… Scott Hurst was 1-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to five games… Richards has now reached base safely in nine consecutive games, the longest active streak on the team and one ahead of Tanner Pinkston, who has reached in eight straight after going 1-for-4 on Sunday… The Titans outscored the Shockers 6-0 in the first inning of this series and have now outscored opponents 9-0 in the opening inning this season.
