COLLEGE WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK : Titans Let Opportunity Slip Away

Cal State Fullerton third baseman Phil Nevin called Monday’s 12-inning, 8-7 loss to The Citadel “the worst defeat of my life,” but few Titans took the loss harder than first baseman Steve Sisco and catcher Matt Hattabaugh.

A review of Sisco’s offensive line: In the third inning, with runners on first and second, Sisco grounded into an inning-ending double play. In the fifth, with runners on first and third, he flied out to the warning track in left field to end the inning.

In the ninth, after The Citadel walked Frank Charles intentionally to put runners on first and second, Sisco struck out. He also began the 11th by striking out.

“I’m kind of thinking about my last few at-bats, wondering what I could have done differently,” Sisco said afterward. “I didn’t come through, and I’m dwelling on that. It’s being a little self-centered, but there’s not a whole lot to think about now. Our season is over.”

Hattabaugh, who replaced injured Rich Gonzales in the third spot in the batting order, experienced almost as much frustration.

In the fifth, he popped out to the catcher on a sacrifice-bunt attempt with runners on first and second. In the seventh, after failing to bunt Mate Borgogno to second, Hattabaugh struck out. He also struck out in the 10th.

“I choked, personally, but there’s nothing you can do about it now,” Hattabaugh said. “It’s over. I don’t think I’ve had a longer day than this one.”

Bump and no run: Fullerton ran itself out of a potential big inning in the fifth. With Nevin on second and Borgogno on first with one out, Charles hit a fly ball to right field that Billy Baker lost in the sun.

Both Nevin and Borgogno were running with the pitch, but when Nevin saw that the fly ball was catchable, he went back toward second to tag up. Borgogno, however, was at second base, waiting there to see if Baker would make the play.

When the ball dropped on the warning track, Borgogno headed for third, but Nevin was still on his way back to second. The two runners ran into each other, spinning each other around so that Borgogno was ahead of Nevin.

Borgogno was called out for passing Nevin, and Nevin was only able to advance to third. Sisco then flied out to end the inning.

“It was just one of those weird things that happens in baseball,” Nevin said. “It was one of the weird things to happen to us in the two games here.”

Nevin was alluding to Saturday’s 14-4 loss to Oklahoma State, during which left fielder Gonzales sprained his neck after slamming head-first into the outfield wall while attempting to catch Michael Daniels’ long drive.

Television replays showed that Gonzales made the catch, but the umpire ruled no-catch, claiming that Gonzales failed to properly present the ball. Daniels circled the bases for a three-run, inside-the-park home run. Gonzales, who remained on the ground for about 15 minutes because of the injury, was driven off the field in an ambulance.

“When you get to the College World Series, you need a lot of luck along with skill,” Nevin said. “We just weren’t getting the breaks when we needed them. We got a lot of breaks today, but not when we needed them most.”

Double loss: Gonzales, who leads the team with a .386 average, said Monday he was still sore from Saturday night’s collision. He spent most of Sunday in bed in his hotel room, but he was able to watch Monday’s game from the stands.

“I was confident the team was going to win today and tomorrow, and I was planning on playing Friday,” Gonzales said. “But things didn’t work out that way.”

Fullerton had 15 hits against The Citadel, but Gonzales’ absence was still felt. The senior had a knack for hitting in clutch situations, and the Titans, who stranded 13 runners Monday, could have used help in that department.

Two Titan players were selected in baseball’s draft Monday.

Kevin Farlow, shortstop, was picked on the 15th round by the Padres and Huck Flener, a left-handed pitcher, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays.