Cal State Fullerton freshman righthander Wes Roemer allowed just two hits
through seven innings of work and junior Danny Dorn blasted a pair of
home runs while driving in seven to lead the top-seeded Titans to a 19-0
win over fourth-seeded Harvard in NCAA regional action on Friday night
in front of 3,604 fans at Goodwin Field.
Cal State Fullerton improved to 42-15 overall and will meet second-seeded
Arizona in a winners bracket game on Saturday night at 8 p.m. (PDT). Harvard
falls to 29-16 overall and will meet Missouri in the regionals' first
elimination game at 4 p.m. (PDT).
Roemer (6-3), making his first career postseason start, carried a no-hitter
into the fifth before Schuyler Mann led off the frame with a single to
right, and faced just one over the minimum through six innings. Roemer,
whose longest outing was eight innings twice this season, finished with
five strikeouts without a walk in the victory.
Harvard starter Mike Morgalis (5-1) suffered the loss, surrendering five
earned runs (eight overall) on nine hits in five innings of work, walking
four and striking out five.
Fullerton scored in every inning but the first and second before opening
the floodgates in the third, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring
five runs. The big blow in the frame was dealt by Dorn, who slugged his
ninth home run of the season with the bases full of Titans over the centerfield
fence for the 4-0 lead.
The grand slam was the fourth of the season for the Titans as Brandon
Tripp, Blake Davis, and Trevor Mortensen have also accomplished the feat.
Fullerton added another run in the inning with the bases loaded as John
Curtis' sacrifice fly with the bases loaded made it 5-0 and it was all
Titans from there on out.
Adam Jorgenson allowed one hit in his inning of work, entering in relief
of Roemer in the eighth, while Lauren Gagnier worked the ninth, working
out of a bases-loaded jam to preserve the shutout.
Ronnie Prettyman finished 4-for-5 on the night with four RBI and a home
run while three other Titans also finished with multiple hits.
NOTES: Friday night marked Fullerton's 18th game this
season with 10 or more runs and the 34th game with 10 or more hits...
The attendance total was the second-largest figure in the history of Goodwin
Field – standing behind only the 3,611 fans for the 2005 season
opener against Stanford on Feb. 4... The 19 runs scored are the second-most
for the Titans this season (24 vs. Cal State Northridge, Apr. 9).
CAL STATE FULLERTON QUOTES Cal State Fullerton Head Coach George Horton:
(On the game) “Obviously we played very well. Wes (Roemer) did a
good job of keeping us in the game early. We had some frustrating at bats
early but after Danny Dorn’s at bat the game kind of opened up.
I was pleased with our performance.”
(On the matchup with Arizona) “They are very well-coached. We have
a lot of respect for Coach (Andy) Lopez and his staff. We knew they would
be a very formidable opponent and we’re looking forward to the game.”
(On what it will take to beat Arizona) “We’re going to have
to be at the top of our game to be successful. The best thing I can say
is two top 10 teams are playing baseball and either one of us is worthy
of going to Omaha, so it should be a good contest.”
Cal State Fullerton Pitcher Wes Roemer:
(On his approach to the game) “There was a little bit of nerves,
but no more than usual. I tried to treat this as a regular game. I was
also confident that we were going to hit and we did.”
(On Arizona) “They are most likely a better team now than when we
played them earlier in the season.”
Cal State Fullerton Outfielder Danny Dorn
(On his grand slam) “Coach (Horton) told me in the dugout ‘If
he throws you a fastball, you had better get it.’ I put a good swing
on it and the ball carried out. At first I didn’t think it was going
out actually.”
HARVARD QUOTES
Harvard Head Coach Joe Walsh
(On the game) “We got hammered tonight. This was the most difficult
loss of my career. Our guys have to bounce back tomorrow and see if we
can at least show what we’re capable of doing. We just didn’t
make the plays tonight.”
