Dillon Persinger hits a home run to left field in the 7th inning. Saint Mary’s defeated CSUF 12-4, Fullerton, CA, May 15, 2017. Photo by Steve Cheng, BHEphotos.
Game 1: Cal State Fullerton 13 BYU 2
STANFORD, Calif. — A season-high 22 Titan hits including a 4-hit performance by Dillon Persinger and 3-RBI efforts by Hank LoForte and Hunter Cullen pushed No. 2 seed Cal State Fullerton (35-21) to a dominating 13-2 NCAA Stanford Regional victory over No. 3 seed BYU (37-20) Thursday afternoon at Sunken Diamond.
The Titans will face the winner of tonight’s Stanford-Sacramento State match-up on Friday night at 6 p.m. BYU will face the loser of that contest in an elimination game with the first pitch slated for 1 p.m. All games from the Stanford Regional will be streamed on ESPN3.
Titan starter Connor Seabold (11-4) was nearly untouchable over his first four innings of work, retiring 12 of the first 13 Cougars he faced. He limited the designated visitors to just one hit in that span while his offense built up a 7-0 lead. The junior right-hander wound up surrendering eight hits over his 7 innings of work while striking out eight en route to his 11th win of the year. An RBI-double by Nate Favero in the 5th and a Colton Shaver solo home run in the 7th were the only real blemishes to Seabold’s final line.
Game 2: Stanford 10 Sacramento State 0
Quinn Brodey – Photo By David Cohen, BHEphotos
STANFORD, Calif. – No. 8 seed Stanford blanked Sacramento State 10-0 on Thursday night in the opening game of the NCAA Stanford Regional.
Stanford (41-14) was dominant throughout, with Quinn Brodey slugging two of the Cardinal’s four home runs while Kris Bubic scattered five hits over eight shutout innings while striking out 11.
Brodey’s four hits paced a 13-hit Stanford attack while Jack Klein and Matt Winaker also homered. All three players finished with two RBI.
The Cardinal took control early, scoring one run in each of the first four innings before a four-run seventh put the game out of reach.
Stanford, which entered the postseason as one of the nation’s hottest teams, has now won eight in a row and 22 of its last 24.
“I have coached a lot of years, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a team that’s made a run like that, especially in conference,” said head coach Mark Marquess. “We have had a good run and I think we have grown, no question. Guys have really stepped up. That makes it special. Everybody is contributing. I’m really proud of this group and they’ve learned how to win.”
