For Openers, Titans Continue Their Tradition of Falling Flat

Cal State Fullerton hasn’t been successful in baseball season openers in recent years and the trend didn’t change Tuesday at Pepperdine.

The Waves got strong pitching from starter Daniel Haren and reliever Jay Adams along with a two-run homer from Jared Pitney en route to a 5-2 victory.

It was the fifth time in the last six seasons the Titans have lost the opener.

“We were really tentative,” Titan Coach George Horton said. “I think that’s a sign of guys trying too hard. Some of our best teams have done that early too. Tentativeness is unacceptable.”

Fullerton had only four hits in the first eight innings, and freshman outfielder Shane Costa had three of those. Catcher Brett Kay had a home run in the second and a double in the ninth. Outfielder Jason Corapci had the only other Titan hit leading off the ninth.

“Pepperdine played more aggressively than we did,” Horton said. “They took advantage of everything we gave them, and their pitchers pitched well.”

Senior Kirk Saarloos, who led the Big West Conference with a 2.32 earned-run average last season as the Titan closer, moved into the starting rotation for the first time and took the loss, giving up five hits and four runs in five innings.

Two of the runs were unearned. Errors on routine ground balls by Titan shortstop Mike Martinez helped Pepperdine score runs in the first and third innings.

In the first, Saarloos struck out leadoff batter Woody Cliffords, but Martinez’s error put Danny Garcia on base. Garcia eventually scored on a single by Haren, the designated hitter as well as Pepperdine’s starting pitcher.

In the third, Cliffords led off with a hit and stole second. Martinez’s error moved him to third, and he scored later on an infield out.

Saarloos gave up the one-out homer to Pitney in the fifth that extended Pepperdine’s lead to 4-1.

“I thought the pitch he hit out was a decent pitch,” Saarloos said. “But it got up in the wind and carried out.”

Freshman Darric Merrell pitched a scoreless sixth after replacing Saarloos, but Shane Waroff gave up another run in the seventh.

The Titans host Stanford in a three-game series beginning Friday night.