STANFORD, Calif. – In the opening game of the 2020 season, Cal State Fullerton defeated No. 17 Stanford Friday night at Sunken Diamond by a final score of 7-1.
Tanner Bibee had an excellent start on the mound for Fullerton, going six innings, giving up just one run on six hits with zero walks while striking out nine batters. Bibee's nine strikeouts matched his 2019 game-high against none other than Stanford.
Freshman Evan Adolphus came in the game and finished off what Bibee started, pitching three innings and allowing just one hit while striking out four batters.
The Titans got on the board early, scoring one run in the top of the first and second inning to take a 2-0 lead over the Cardinal.
Zach Lew got things started in the first with a six pitch walk on the first at-bat of the game to set the tone right away for the Titans. Two batter later Isaiah Garcia singled to advance Lew to third before Kyle Luckham hit a sacrifice fly to left field, driving in Lew for the first run of the game.
Fullerton added to its lead in the second inning when Brett Borgogno doubled down the right field line to drive in Jason Brandow from second base.
After two quiet innings, the Titans exploded in the top of the fifth with four runs, all being scored with two outs in the inning. Lew once again recorded a walk to get the Titans offense going. Which Kameron Guangorena followed up with a walk of his own. Fullerton got some help from the Stanford defense as an error by the shortstop led to Garcia reaching safely and the inning continuing with the bases loaded.
With the bases loaded, Luckham singled to left center field, scoring Lew and Guangorena while recording his second and third RBI of the game. Austin Schell then recorded his first hit as a Titan with a single to right field to drive in Garcia. One batter later, JJ Cruz also recorded his first hit and RBI as a Titan with a single through the left side of the infield to score Luckham and put the Titans up 6-0.
The Titans return to Sunken Diamond Saturday looking to claim the first series victory of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. PT.
SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitans.com/Tickets. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (FullertonTitans) and Snapchat (FullertonTitans). In addition, the baseball team has established its own Twitter (FullertonBSB) and Instagram accounts (fullertonbsb).