Weaver's Gem Puts an End to Titans' Season June 1, 2002 – Palo Alto, Calif.
Box Score and
Play by Play
Freshman Jered Weaver pitched seven shutout innings as Long Beach State
shut out the Titans, 4-0, in an NCAA regional elimination game at Stanford's
Sunken Diamond Saturday night.
The fourth-seeded Titans finished the regular season with an overall record
of 37-22, while second-seeded Long Beach State improved to 39-20. After
being swept at Goodwin Field in a nonconference series in March, the 49ers
beat the Titans four times in a nine-day span, which started with a sweep
at Blair Field last weekend. Saturday's game marked the first time the
two long-time rivals had matched up in NCAA tournament play.
Titan starter Darric Merrell (7-5) was peppered for six singles by the
first 11 batters he faced, but it was the 12th batter that finally cashed
in. Jeremy Reed blasted a three-run shot over the left field fence with
no outs in the third to put the 49ers on top, 3-0. Reed also put his speed
on display, stealing second after a one-out walk in the fifth, which allowed
him to score Long Beach's fourth run on Nick Covarrubias' single.
The Titans, meanwhile, had trouble getting anything going against the
righthanded Weaver (8-4). He scattered just three hits over his seven
innings and extinguised a few Titan rallies. Fullerton stranded runners
in scoring position in the first, second, fifth and sixth innings. Chris
Demaria came on to pitch the final two innings
The Titans, who were shutout for the first time in 118 games, finished
with a season-low four hits – a double by Shane Costa, a single
by Richie Burgos and a pair of singles by Chris Stringfellow, playing
in the final game of his four-year career.
