FULLERTON, Calif. - Runs came at a premium Sunday afternoon and in the end, Cal State Fullerton could not put a mark on the board as the Titans were blanked by Maryland, 1-0, in a nonconference affair at Goodwin Field.
Freshman Colton Eastman was outstanding yet again for the Titans (11-8), allowing just one earned run on four hits. He walked two and struck out eight on Sunday.
But the freshman took his first loss of the season thanks to Terrapins (9-10) starter Brian Shaffer, who tossed his first complete game of the season. He kept the Titans off the scoreboard, scattering seven hits. He struck out five and did not issue a walk.
After five innings of flawless pitching, the Terrapins were the first to get on the board in the sixth inning. Justin Morris worked a one-out walk off Eastman. Kevin Smith struck out for the second out of the inning but Madison Nickens jumped on the first pitch from Eastman and smacked it off the wall in right-center. Morris motored all the way around and just beat the throw to the plate as Chris Hudgins couldn't hang on to the relay from Timmy Richards and Maryland took the 1-0 lead.
It's all Shaffer would need as he retired 11 straight batters at one point and got some defensive help along the way.
In the second inning, the Titans got a leadoff single from Hudgins and then a triple from Jerrod Bravo. But the Terrapins kept a run off the board as Hudgins was thrown out at the plate to keep the game scoreless.
In the sixth, Ruben Cardenas singled with one out for the Titans after coming into the game as a defensive replacement in the top-half of the inning. Richards then singled to put runners at the corners with one away. But Shaffer got Tanner Pinkston to ground into a 4-6-3 double play thanks to an outstanding defensive effort by second baseman Nick Dunn, going to his left to pick the ball and then wheeling around with a perfect throw to second to get the play started. Smith's throw to first beat Pinkston, who slid to try and beat it out.
That was the last time the Titans would put a runner in scoring position as Shaffer retired eight of the next 10 batters he faced and Morris threw out pinch-runner Dakota Wix trying to steal second base to end the game.
The Titans will now hit the road Monday to take on USC at Dedeaux Field with first pitch set for 6 p.m. The game will be televised on PAC-12 Los Angeles. Check your local listings for the channel in your area.
Notes: Richards finished the series batting .500 (6-for-12) with a home run and two runs scored for the Titans… Fullerton is now 2-4 all-time against Maryland… This is the third time the Titans have been shutout this season. They have lost those games by a combined score of 5-0.