FULLERTON, Calif. – After a conference series win against Cal Poly, the Titans (14-15, 3-3) have an off week in Big West play as they host San Diego State (19-14) in a nonconference matchup at Goodwin Field beginning Friday night.
Senior Mitchell Berryhill has been on a tear for the Titans through 29 games this season. Berryhill leads the team with a .437 batting average which ranks first in the Big West and ranks third in the entire nation. The Utah native is on a 38 game on-base streak dating back to the 2018 season.
In the Titans three-game series over Cal Poly, Berryhill had a next to perfect weekend as he went 10-for-12 at the plate (.833) with four walks and a hit by pitch to reach base in 15 out of 17 plate appearances. Berryhill had at least three hits in every game while also recording a career-high four hits in Saturday's game. The senior reached base safely in his final 12 plate appearances. Berryhill earned his first Big West Field Player of the Week honor after his performance against the Mustangs.
The entire Fullerton offense erupted over the weekend against the Mustangs as the Titans scored a season-high 16 runs on both Friday and Saturday, leading to the series victory. As a team, the Titans hit .370 and a scored a total of 35 runs which is the most runs scored over a three game span this season.
Brett Borgogno was another individual who had an impressive weekend for Fullerton as he hit .429 against Cal Poly while also setting a career-high with four hits in Friday's 16-2 win over the Mustangs. Borgogno finished off the series with his first career home run Sunday in the third inning while also blasting another home run in the fifth inning to blow the game open.
Sunday's game against Cal Poly was the second time this season the Titans have recorded three home runs in a single game. Borgogno hit two solo home runs in the game while Jacob Pavletich recorded a two-run home run, his team-high third home run of the season, in the fifth inning just prior to Borgogno's second home run. It is also the second time this season the Titans have hit back-to-back home runs, the last time was against UC Santa Barbara when Isaiah Garcia and Daniel Cope hit solo home runs to begin the fourth inning.
Fullerton now has 12 home runs on the season through 29 games. In 2018 the Titans had 11 home runs through the entire regular season and 14 home runs including the postseason.
As usual, Tanner Bibee projects to be the Titans Friday night starter as he has been all season long. Bibee is 4-4 on the year in eight starts with a 3.35 ERA on 53.2 innings pitched while recording 50 strikeouts. In his last appearance against Cal Poly, Bibee went seven innings, allowing six hits and just two runs while striking out three.
San Diego State comes into the weekend after taking two of three games from Nevada in a Mountain West Conference matchup before defeating Loyola Marymount in a midweek game. The Aztecs are 7-6 this season in conference play and 19-4 overall.
The Aztecs projected Friday night starter looks to be Justin Goossen-Brown who is 4-1 this season with a 3.21 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched. In his last start, Goosseen-Brown pitched eight innings, giving up just four hits and one run while striking out nine.
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