Titans Fall to No. 1 Stanford

A ground-ball single in the bottom of the ninth was the difference between college baseball’s two top-ranked teams Friday night.

Craig Thompson’s run-scoring hit between first and second gave No. 1-ranked Stanford a 5-4 victory over No. 2-ranked Cal State Fullerton in the opener of a three-game series before 1,942 at Sunken Diamond.

“It was a great job of two-strike hitting,” Titan Coach George Horton said. “He put it in play, and it found a hole.”

Reserve outfielder Billy Jacobson singled to lead off the inning and advanced on a throwing error by Titan catcher Jeff Gates and an infield out before the game-winning hit off Titan closer Kirk Saarloos.

The victory was Stanford’s third without a loss. It was the season opener for the Titans.

Fullerton was down to its last out in the top of the ninth when sophomore third baseman Shawn Norris lashed a home run to right center that tied the score, 4-4.

Stanford had taken a 4-3 lead in the eighth on John Gall’s single to left off Saarloos. Saarloos had walked Edmund Muth with one out, and Muth advanced to second on an infield out before Gall’s hit. Titan left fielder Robert Guzman made a good throw to the plate, but Muth ran safely past Gates.

The Titans were rolling along with a 3-0 lead before Stanford’s Joe Borchard ripped a three-run homer off Titan starter Adam Johnson in the sixth inning.

Johnson gave up only four hits in the seven innings before being replaced by Saarloos in the eighth. Johnson struck out nine and walked three.

Stanford starter Jason Young, the winning pitcher against the Titans in the College World Series last season, left in the fifth after giving up three runs on nine hits. Fullerton had 12 hits in the game to seven for Stanford.

“The shame of this one was that Adam really pitched well,” Horton said. “But Borchard is a a heck of a hitter, and he got a big hit.”

Johnson said: “We went with a slider, and it’s either the best pitch or the worst pitch, and it’s obvious what it was for me this time. That one hit was the painful one.”

Johnson walked two in the first inning but recovered and was strong until Borchard’s homer.

The Titans, however, got to Young quickly.

Fullerton threatened without scoring in the third. David Bacani doubled with two outs and Guzman walked, but Muth, the Stanford center fielder, went to the wall in left-center to haul in Chris Beck’s fly ball.

The Titans scored the game’s first run in the top of fourth with two out. Aaron Rifkin, who was three for five, singled to lead off the inning, but was forced at second by Gates’ ground ball. Matt Belfanti kept the inning alive with an infield hit. A ground ball single between first and second by freshman shortstop Mike Martinez drove in Gates.

The Titans picked up two more runs off Young in the fifth. Bacani beat out an infield hit to third and went to third when the base was left uncovered as Stanford infielders watched Guzman’s bunt single stay fair.

Bacani came home on Beck’s base hit to left, and Guzman scored on a close play when Rifkin singled to left. Norris walked, loading the bases, and Stanford Coach Mark Marquess went to the bullpen.

Reliever Mike Gosling got the next two batters to pop up.

Fullerton loaded the bases against Gosling with one out in the sixth, but Gosling struck out Beck and Rifkin to end the threat.

“Gosling pitched very well,” Horton said. “The difference in the game was that they capitalized on our mistakes and we didn’t capitalize on theirs.