Designated hitter Drew Moffitt blasted a two-out two-run homer to left
field in the bottom of the 15th inning to send No. 9 Wichita State to
a 3-1 win over 13th-ranked Cal State Fullerton in a nonconference baseball
game at Eck Stadium Friday afternoon.
The win kept the Shockers (7-0) perfect on the season, while the Titans
fell to 10-7 and have lost four of their last six games.
Moffitt's blast made a loser out of Travis Esquibel (0-1), the sixth Titan
pitcher on the day, while Wichita State's Trenton Henderson (2-0), who
threw one pitch, was credited with the win.
Fullerton, which stranded 17 runners and couldn't capitalize on any of
the Shockers' six errors, had its best opportunity in the top of the 15th.
Wichita State's Tommy Hottovy walked three consecutive Titans, but Henderson
came on and induced a double-play groundout from pinch-hitter P.J. Pilittere
on his first pitch.
The Titans also appeared ready to take the lead in the 13th. With one
out, Chris Stringfellow broke from third base on an apparent suicide squeeze
play, but Kurt Suzuki took ball four and Stringfellow was tagged out between
third and home.
But to the Titans' credit, they also escaped some big jams. Jordan DeJong
got out of a first-and-second, no out situation in the 12th and Chad Cordero
struck out back-to-back batters in the bottom of the ninth with the winning
run on third base.
The story through the first eight inning was the pitching of the two starters
– Fullerton's Wes Littleton (8.0 innings, six hits, one run) and
Wichita State's John Tetuan (7.0 innings, five hits one run).
Tetuan faltered only in the seventh, when Suzuki drove a two-out RBI-single
through the left side to plate Stringfellow. But the Shockers pounced
on Littleton for back-to-back doubles to open the bottom half of the inning.
Fullerton got two hits a piece from Jason Corapci, Richie Burgos (who
extended his hitting streak to 11 games) and Suzuki, while Brian Burgamy
and Moffitt were each 3-for-7 for Wichita State.
The two teams will continue their three-game series at Eck Stadium on
Saturday at 2 p.m. CST.
