Baseball looks to recover against Cal State Fullerton

No. 13 USC (30-11) looks to regain momentum tonight at Dedeaux Field against the Cal State Fullerton Titans after dropping a disappointing Pac-12 series last weekend against Oregon State.

The Trojans came out with a punch over the weekend behind a strong start from junior Tyler Gilbert, who threw seven complete innings of  four-hit baseball. USC delivered an all-around impressive offensive showing, defeating Oregon State 11-3 during game one of the series.

In game two, the Trojans managed a comeback from a 2-0 deficit during the top of the sixth, but a lead off walk in the bottom of the ninth proved deadly for the Trojans, after pinch hitter Billy King singled through the right side to bring in the game-winning run from third.

The Trojans once again had trouble with consistency on the mound during game three, allowing Oregon State to win the game 9-6. Despite the threat of a major comeback in the top of the ninth as they attempted to crawl out of a 9-4 deficit, they could only produce two more runs in the loss, falling 2-1 in the series.

Tonight, USC looks to shake off last week and start fresh against the visiting Cal State Fullerton Titans. Currently, the Titans hold a 22-20 overall record, an 8-4 record in the Big West Conference and an 8-12 record on the road.

Cal State Fullerton is highlighted at the plate by junior outfielders Josh Vargas, David Olmedo-Barrera and Tyler Steib. The Titans, similarly to the Trojans, have recently transitioned from a very young team to one more experienced, boasting a starting roster of almost all juniors. The Titans are led behind the mound by junior Thomas Eshelman with a 2.10 ERA and junior Justin Garza with a 3.56 ERA.

The Trojans and Titans last met on Feb. 17 in Fullerton where the Trojans came away with the game 6-4. The then-No. 25 Titans were unable to halt the Trojans’ hot streak during the fourth inning as the team put up four more runs to put the game out of reach. Sophomore Bernardo Flores got the win, entering in relief in the fifth to throw three innings, striking out four batters while allowing two runs on three hits with no walks.

Tonight, the Titans will enter the game following a 2-1 series victory at home against UC Irvine.

Reviewing the numbers, USC currently maintains a .297 team batting average compared to CSFU’s .259 average. USC has a 3.13 team ERA, and CSFU holds a 3.38 team ERA.

Statistics aside, USC head coach Dan Hubbs believes the key to tomorrow night’s game remains the same as all season: overall game consistency.

“It’s the same as it always is with us; we need to pitch well and hit well every time we enter a game,” Hubbs said. “I think we pitched extremely well last Friday and pretty well on Saturday. On Sunday we pitched really poorly, and we faced the consequences of that. We just need to play well [tonight] and get back in our rhythm. If we can do that we’ll be in the position to win. We just need to play our game.”

In terms of pitching, the Trojan team has recently had trouble finishing off batters and putting men on bases because of walks, oftentimes to lead off innings. Hubbs believes that minimizing the number of walks will be key to playing clean defense in tonight’s match.

“I think we really need to focus on cutting down on our walks, especially from the guys in the pen but also our starters as well,” Hubbs said. “Some guys will get some work in tomorrow so hopefully that will help straighten them out for the weekend because we can’t keep giving out too many.”

Working in USC’s favor is the fact that the team tends to play very well at home. The Trojans currently hold an 18-6 record at home, a factor that Hubbs hopes will positively influence the team in tonight’s game.

“We always tend to play really well at home, which will hopefully really work in our favor tonight,” Hubbs said. “That being said, we’re going to need to stop them early in order for that to remain an advantage. We need to get ourselves on the board early in the game and then extend. We’ve done a good job of that when we’re at home and we tend to pitch much better at home. I don’t expect tomorrow to be any different.”

The Trojans will host the Titans tonight at 6 p.m. PST at Dedeaux Field. The game will also be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.