Too little, too late for Fullerton

Cal State Fullerton got a second chance against a team that doesn’t often give second chances.

But the Titans couldn’t get the necessary clutch hit, a recurring theme in their 3-2 loss to Oregon State on Saturday night in the opening round of the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium.

After an Oregon State error started a two-out Titans rally in the ninth, pinch hitter Joel Weeks grounded to shortstop with runners at first and third, ending a Fullerton comeback bid and the game.

Fullerton (38-24) will face Big West rival UC Irvine Monday in an elimination game of the double-elimination tournament. Oregon State (45-18) meets Pacific 10 Conference rival Arizona State in the winner’s bracket.

“We pitched good enough to win and our defensive effort was good enough to win, but they were just a little better,” Fullerton Coach George Horton said. “We battled back in the ninth and we just came up a little short against a quality team.”

Oregon State is the defending national champion and second in the nation in defense with a fielding percentage of .977. The Beavers had committed only 55 errors all season, but a defensive blunder almost cost them Saturday.

The Titans trailed, 3-2, and were down to their final out with nobody on when Evan McArthur lifted a fly ball to shallow left field. There was confusion between Oregon State left fielder John Wallace and shortstop Darwin Barney over who should make the play. Wallace then misplayed the ball and it fell to the ground, allowing McArthur to reach first.

Pinch-hitter Jon Wilhite then singled to right field, sending pinch-runner Matthew Fahey to third base and setting up the final at-bat for Weeks, who had batted only once since March 14 because of a broken ankle.

Fullerton, a four-time College World Series champion, scored 38 runs in its first four postseason games, but has scored only four in its last two combined.

“We weren’t able to string together anything,” said Fullerton right fielder Nick Mahin, who had a solo home run and drove in both Fullerton runs. “We weren’t being selective at the plate. There is a thrill playing here in this atmosphere and I think we got a little anxious.”

Fullerton left runners in scoring position in the first, fifth and eighth innings. In the eighth, they had runners at first and third and nobody out when Horton called for a safety squeeze.

Josh Fellhauer bunted right back to the pitcher and Joe Scott was caught in a rundown before he was tagged out. Mahin hit a run-scoring fly, but the Titans ended the eighth trailing, 3-2.

It wasted a solid effort from starting pitcher Wes Roemer, who went eight innings, giving up seven hits and three runs with seven strikeouts and no walks. He broke the team record for career strikeouts with 366. Adam Johnson set the previous record from 1998 to 2000.

But Roemer gave up solo home runs to Mike Lissman and Scott Santschi and also made an error on a pickoff attempt to first base that led to another run.

“Any time you get the ball up, it’s going to go a long ways here and unfortunately I left a few up,” Roemer said. “I thought I pitched a decent game today, I just made two mistakes and unfortunately those mistakes were the difference in the game.”

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peter.yoon@latimes.com