Cal State Fullerton senior right-hander Mike Martinez tossed his first
career complete game and shutout, scattering 10 hits and striking out
seven to lead the host Titans to a 5-0 blanking of top-seeded Arizona
State, eliminating the Sun Devils from the NCAA Regional Championships
on Saturday night at Goodwin Field.
Cal State Fullerton improved to 38-21 overall and earn a rematch with
No. 4 Pepperdine on Championship Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. The Titans
must beat the Waves twice on Sunday in order to advance to the Super Regional
round while Pepperdine needs only one win in two games.
Arizona State finished its season with a 41-18 overall record and a 1-2
mark in regional play. It was only the third time in the last 560 games
that the Sun Devils have been shutout and the second straight year that
Arizona State has been eliminated from postseason play by Cal State Fullerton
(the Titans took 2-of-3 in the 2003 Super Regionals at Goodwin Field).
Martinez (8-2) was stellar on the mound for the Titans, helping to strand
eight ASU runners on base. Erik Averill (4-4) suffered the loss for Arizona
State, allowing five runs on 12 hits and striking out four in 6 2/3 innings.
Quentin Andes threw 2 1/3 innings of perfect relief for the Sun Devils.
The Titans finally broke through against Averill in the fourth as P.J.
Pilittere singled to lead off the frame and scored two batters later on
Felipe Garcia's double down the left field line for the 1-0 lead.
Cal State Fullerton added another in the sixth when Danny Dorn smacked
a one-out solo shot over the left field fence, his fourth of the season,
to make it 2-0.
Fullerton broke things wide open in the seventh as Kurt Suzuki had a sacrifice
fly with one out after Justin Turner singled to lead off the inning and
Pilittere and Dorn followed with back-to-back RBI doubles to give the
Titans a comfortable 5-0 advantage.
That's all the support Martinez would need as he retired eight of the
final 11 batters he faced and did not allow a batter to reach third in
the game as the Titan defense turned three double plays on the night.
POSTGAME QUOTES Cal State Fullerton Head Coach George
Horton: On the pitching depth for Sunday…
“We’re running a little thin. If we can get deep enough into
the innings, he (Jason Windsor) will want the ball obviously. We have
some guys that haven’t had a whole lot of innings this year, but
they are going to have to. Someone is going to need to step up.”
Cal State Fullerton starting pitcher Mike Martinez: On the team’s comeback after a tough loss…
“It was a tough loss for sure, but we’ve been knocked down
before and have always gotten back up. We’ve been taking blows all
year and have overcome them all year. Once we got a run on the board,
we felt pretty good.”
On throwing a complete game…
“It was big. It was the best time of my life. I tried to throw strikes,
scattered some hits but got the big outs when I needed to. I was able
to get my offspeed and changeup over for strikes. I kept them (Arizona
State) off balance and needed to because they’re good hitters.”
Arizona State Head Coach Pat Murphy: On decision to keep Erik Averill in the game…
“We wanted to go with Erik as long as we could. He pitched great
for six, but one run was enough to beat us. He had been here before and
had good experience, and pitched his butt off. He deserved a better fate.”
On the performance of Mike Martinez…
“He was on it. They had a huge zone. When you’ve got a guy
with a 93-94 mile per hour fastball with that much movement and getting
both sides of the plate, it’s pretty hard.”
On Cal State Fullerton’s program…
“There’s no disappointment getting beat by Cal State Fullerton.
They have a great tradition and are one of the elite programs."
