We open another Thursday Thoughts: Stanford Opening Weekend edition with cautious optimism. Many longtime and even newer Titan Baseball fans have become familiar with getting too excited about a young season after a small sample size of games. Who remembers the last time the Titans opened the season 2-1, winning the first two games at Stanford?
For those that answered the ill-fated 2020 season cut short by the COVID-19 Pandemic, you are correct. Can anyone tell me how that season went up until March 12, the point where the remaining games were canceled?
If you answered 4-12 you would also be correct. So, you can see why we are not getting ourselves too worked up over a three-game opening weekend performance. Granted, Peyton Jones is the only player on this year’s roster to have been on the 2020 roster and he performed well up in Palo Alto. Also, not only is the roster completely different from 2020 but the coaching staff as well.
However, cautious optimism still abounds but that caution could turn into reckless abandon quickly based on the next few weeks before Big West Conference play starts in 22 days.
Join us as we yet again look at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly that was the Stanford Opening Weekend series.
The Results
Overall Record: 2-1
Conference Record: 0-0
Streak:Lost 1
Last 10: 2-1
Offense
Runs Scored: 20
Hits: 27
Doubles: 9
Triples: 1
Home Runs: 3
RBI: 20
Team Batting Avg: .252
On-Base %: .339
Slugging %: .439
Walks: 11
Extra base hits: 13
Total bases: 47
Hit by pitch: 4
Stolen Bases: 2
Strikeouts: 37
Defense
Errors: 2
Fielding %: .981
Double Plays turned: 2
Passed Balls: 0
Stolen Bases allowed: 0
Pitching
Team ERA: 2.77
WHIP: 1.46
Batting average against: .260
Hits allowed: 26
Total Runs Allowed: 10
Walks Issued: 12
Strikeouts: 18
Home runs allowed: 2
Polls and RPI Tracker
Polls
D1Baseball: Not Ranked
Baseball America: Not Ranked
NCBWA: Not Ranked
College Baseball Nation: Not Ranked
USA Today Coaches Poll: Not Ranked
11.7 Mid-Major Power Rankings: 19
RPI
NCAA: No RPI Ranking
Warren Nolan: 210
D1Baseball.com: No RPI Ranking
Titans of the Week
Winners chosen via Twitter/X poll
Pitcher of the Week
Christian Rodriguez: 6 IP – 3 H – 0 ER – 3 BB – 2 K – 0.00 ERA – W
Also considered:
Chad Gurnea: 4.1 IP – 4 H – 1 ER – 1 BB – 0 K – 2.08 ERA
Peyton Jones: 3 IP – 1 H – 0 ER – 2 BB – 4 K – 0.00 ERA – S
Seth Tomczak: 2.1 IP – 1 H – 0 ER – 0 BB – 5 K – 0.00 ERA – W
Vote on the #CalStateOmaha Pitcher of the Week Nominees:@chad_gurnea: 4.1IP – 4H – 1ER – 1BB – 0K – 2.08ERA@peytonjonesy: 3IP – 1H – 0ER – 2BB – 4K – 0.00ERA – S@Christian_Rod00: 6IP – 3H – 0ER – 3BB – 2K – 0.00ERA – W@SethTomczak: 2.1IP – 1H – 0ER – 0BB – 5K – 0.00ERA – W
— Cal State Omaha (@CalStateOmaha) February 21, 2024
Batter of the Week
Colby Wallace: 6/13 – .460 – 2R – 5RBI – 1BB – 4K – 2HR
Also considered:
Maddox Latta: 5/13 – .380 – 2R – 2RBI – 0BB – 1K
Draven Nushida: 4/13 – .310 – 3R – 4RBI – 2BB – 3K – 3XBH
Marcos Rosales: 3/10 – .300 – 3R – 1RBI – 0BB – 2K – 1HR
Vote on the #CalStateOmaha Batter of the Week Nominees*:@LattaMaddox: 5/13 – .380 – 2R – 2RBI – 0BB – 1K@Dnushida808: 4/13 – .310 – 3R – 4RBI – 2BB – 3K – 3XBH
Marcos Rosales: 3/10 – .300 – 3R – 1RBI – 0BB – 2K – 1HR
Colby Wallace: 6/13 – .460 – 2R – 5RBI – 1BB – 4K – 2HR— Cal State Omaha (@CalStateOmaha) February 21, 2024
The Good
2 out of 3 gets you to Omaha
Yes, we opened this column stating we will approach this early season with cautious optimism but it’s hard not to get excited about taking two of three at Stanford. No matter your thoughts on the dissolution of the PAC-12, Stanford is still Stanford.
Whether it is Stanford or UC Riverside, taking a series in college baseball is a big deal. Enjoy it.
(Photo courtesy of Don Hudson)
Welcome Back C-Rodder
We may be showing our age making a pun on the old 1970’s TV series Welcome Back Kotter, but it has been two years since Christian Rodriguez pitched. After undergoing Tommy John Surgery after the conclusion of the 2022 season, C-Rod sat out the entire 2023 season rehabilitating.
With such a long layoff, we’re confident Christian may have had some jitters Stanford Opening Weekend and his first time back. If he had jitters, he surely did not show them.
Christian opened the season throwing six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, three walks and striking out two Stanford batters. He gave way to lefty Peyton Jones who preserved the shutout with three innings of one-hit ball while striking out four Cardinal. Christian’s performance was quite good and earned him the Cal State Omaha Pitcher of the Week honor.
The way C-Rod was going in Game 1, could he have gone longer? Probably. But smart of Jason Dietrich to let him leave after six innings with high confidence and not put stress on his arm.
Good thing the scoreboard is already broken 💣#TusksUp pic.twitter.com/xI3OHzCCwb
— Titans Baseball (@FullertonBSB) February 17, 2024
Colby Wallace Break Out
After playing in just over half of the Titan games in 2023, Outfielder Colby Wallace’s performance Stanford Opening Weekend demonstrates it will be difficult to keep him off the field in 2024. In three games, Wallace stats included going 6-for-13, .460 average, 2 runs scored, 5 RBI, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts and two home runs. Good enough to make him the runaway winner of the Cal State Omaha Better of the Week.
Of the two home runs, the first on Friday was reminiscent of the famous Jace Chamberlin “Jumbo Jack” that hit the scoreboard in Klein Field’s Right-center field. His second home run of the season came on Sunday and accounted for the only run scored in the 4-1 loss. His two home runs on the season doubles his homer output for all of 2023.
After three games, Wallace slash line sat at .462 / .500 / 1.000. You can bet that Fresno State has Wallace’s name circled on the line-up card all three days this weekend when the Bulldogs visit Goodwin Field.
T1 | Marcos Rosales with a standup double in his first collegiate at-bat! #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/ASprvM2qbK
— Titans Baseball (@FullertonBSB) February 16, 2024
Fabulous Frosh
In previous columns, we stressed patience is needed with this 2024 squad. After a return to the post-season and losing eight major contributors to either the draft or graduation last spring, the 2024 Titans will be young and talented but short on experience. Several freshmen would have the opportunity to contribute in 2024 and a handful did at Stanford Opening Weekend.
Two Frosh snuck into the Batter and Pitcher of the Week polls, and we have no doubt they will get future considerations before the year is out. On the offense, Marcos Rosales, an infielder from South Hills High School, had to wait until the second game of the Friday double-header but announced his presence with authority.
Batters
Rosales batted second in Game 2 and recorded three hits including a double in his first collegiate at-bat. Rosales also recorded his first collegiate home run in the top of the ninth inning, tacking on a solo bomb to make the game 15-6.
Tyler Holley, the freshman from Bonita High School, did not record a hit but did get on base and scored a few runs this weekend.
Arms
Chad Gurnea, the freshman from Pacifica High School, got the ball in Sunday’s start. Although the start did not result in a win, Gurnea lasted 4.1 innings and gave up four hits and only 1 earned run.
For those in the know, remember back to 2018 when another promising freshman by the name of Tanner Bibee made his collegiate debut during Stanford opening weekend in Game 3 of the weekend series. Let’s just say it was downright dreadful and Gurnea’s performance was light years ahead of that one. (We’d like to think that Bibee rebounded nicely from that and went on to have a decent career for the Titans and later professionally.)
Frosh arms Jason Krakoski and Derek Turner saw action on Sunday. Krakoski went 1.2 innings giving up a hit and recording a strikeout. Turner pitched one inning and surrendered a hit and walked two with a strikeout.
Max getting Mr. Momentum back on our side
Titans lead 14-6#TusksUp | @_MaxOrtega_ pic.twitter.com/1Sy9ISNd7z
— Titans Baseball (@FullertonBSB) February 17, 2024
Battle for Catcher Spot
Both Waldie Perez and Max Ortega were tasked with replacing Cole Urman who left for professional baseball after 2023. Who would win the starting spot was a bit of a discussion among fans and the battle still rages.
Perez started Game 1 and Game 3 while Ortega started Game 2. Because Friday was a double header, it’s unclear if Ortega got the start because catching back-to-back games is murder on a catcher. Had the series gone Friday, Saturday and Sunday, could Perez have gotten all three starts? We may see this weekend against Fresno State.
No matter, competition is a good thing and to have two capable backstops available, can only help the team.
Bardo puts the Titans up 7-1!#TusksUp | @BardowellJ pic.twitter.com/YYW4J4cXd2
— Titans Baseball (@FullertonBSB) February 17, 2024
Transfer Tracker
Much like the freshman, we’re keeping our eyes on the transfers, both direct from the D1 transfer portal and the Junior College ranks, to gauge their level of contribution.
With just a three-game sample size, it appears a dead heat between Mikai Negrete and Matthew Bardowell for the biggest impact transfer in 2024. We’ll start with Bardowell just because he played first in Game 1.
Big Stick Bardo
Bardowell, a transfer from Riverside City College, batted in the middle of the line-up all weekend and finished 3-for-12 with three RBI, a walk and two extra base hits. Bardowell looks like a middle linebacker playing First Base and the outfield and his power numbers should improve as the season progresses.
Just Call Him Kai
Negrete, a transfer from University of San Diego, got the start in Game 2 Stanford opening weekend. Kai went 4.2 innings and gave up eight hits, four earned runs including a home run, walked one and struck out two. Although not a stellar performance in his Titan debut, the coaches see enough in Negrete to give him the Saturday starter role to start the season. (Seeing how much time Trevor Hinkel received last season, we’re confident Negrete will get plenty of time improve those numbers.)
The other transfers that saw action in Palo Alto, Nico Regino, played in Game 2. Regino, the transfer from Charleston Southern, played First Base and went 1-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. Regino along with Bardowell can play 1B and outfield.
The Bad
Mid 8 | Titans leave the bases loaded.
🐘 1
🌲 4#TusksUp— Titans Baseball (@FullertonBSB) February 18, 2024
Game 3 – Top 8th Inning
The Titans had a real threat going in the top of the 8th inning on Sunday to potentially sweep the series. Unfortunately, they could not capitalize, and the Titans dropped that game 4-1.
With one out, Maddox Latta hit a single, Matthew Bardowell and Colby Wallace both walked to load the bases. Luke Mistone’s spot was due up. Mistone was 0-for-3 on the day and Jason Dietrich put in Jakob Schardt to pinch hit.
Stanford goes to the bullpen and brings in Toran O’Harran to face Schardt. On a seven pitch at-bat, Schardt strikes out swinging to record two outs and bases remain loaded. Another pinch hitter, Tyler Holley, replaces Jack Haley who was 0-for-3 on the day with a strike out.
Holley proceeds to strike out looking to end the inning, stranding all three game tying runs on the bases.
Yes, that is the game of baseball but in a close game with runners in scoring position and less than two outs, it’s tough to swallow non-productive outs on back-to-back strikeouts.
The Ugly
(Photo courtesy of Henry Tran)
Evan Yates to miss “significant amount of time”
Many saw the tweet from Kendal Rogers of D1Baseball praise Christian Rodriguez’s Friday performance while also breaking the news that Evan Yates will miss a “significant amount of time”. Outside of rumors and whispers, this marked the first time it had been spoken or written publicly that Yates would miss time.
Yates, the junior from Riverside, has been a weekend starter since his freshman year and many, including us, projected Yates to compete with Christian Rodriguez to earn the coveted Friday night starting role. Yates chose not to play summer ball in 2023 and looked good in fall and spring practices and intrasquad scrimmages.
Then comes the bombshell Rogers tweet:
Outstanding pitching in a series-opening win over rival Stanford. The #Titans continue to make strides under Diets. The only bad news is that it sounds like the projected Friday starter Evan Yates will miss a significant amount of time. https://t.co/tRUDzpO4DS
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) February 16, 2024
What does that mean? Significant amount of time…?
As an avid follower of Rogers on social media, whenever a player is lost for the season or a significant amount of time due to injury, Rogers reports it as such. Rogers typically breaks news that a college player has broken a bone or needs Tommy John Surgery. That was not the case Friday.
Hearing Yates’ absence was non-injury related, we reached out to the Cal State Fullerton Sports Information Department via text message for an official statement as to the reason. The response received:
“He is out due to a personal matter.”
Ugh. Just enough information to confirm Yates is not injured but opens another discussion.
Possibilities
Whenever a player is out and it is non-injury related, it can be a few circumstances in college baseball. The most common speculations range from academic eligibility, violation of team rules, a failed drug test or the player needs time away from the team to address family or personal issues.
You may recall in 2022, Cameron Repetti missed a few weekends to start the season due to an academic eligibility issue. That resolved itself and Repetti missed only two weekends.
You may recall in 2021, outfielder Jason Brandow missed several games at the end of the season for “personal reasons”. Many later found out that Jason’s mother, Sue, was battling breast cancer again and he requested time away from the team to be with her.
On to the potential of a violation of team rules like missing curfew or showing up late to a meeting or practice. That may call for sitting out and missing a start, carrying all the equipment to and from the bus and a 4 am dawn patrol running of foul poles to hammer home to not violate team rules again. That typically does not hold a “significant amount of time” punishment and certainly does not fit the personal matter narrative.
Which leaves us with the dreaded Performance Enhancing Drug (PED) scenario. If this is because of a failed drug test, that could mean Yates not only misses a significant amount of time but could mean he is suspended for the entirety of the 2024 season. The NCAA Official stance on PEDs:
The NCAA bans the use of performance-enhancing and recreational drugs to protect the health of college athletes and to ensure fair play. The risks for student-athletes using these drugs are high; a positive drug test will result in loss of eligibility and suspension from sport, could negatively impact health, and in some cases, is just plain cheating.
Based on your perception of what a “personal matter” may entail, we’ll leave it up to you to decide what could be the issue.
No matter the reason, losing Yates is a monster blow to the Titans as he was projected to be a major contributor to the Titans weekend rotation.
Looking Ahead
The Titans open the 2024 home season hosting the Fresno State Bulldogs for a three-game series starting on Friday, February 23rd. The Bulldogs come into Goodwin Field with a 3-1 record, sweeping the Milwaukee Panthers over the weekend but dropped their mid-week game to Sacramento State.
Series History
The term “Fresno State” appears in the Titans media guide over 200 times. That means the Titans have a long history with the Bulldogs dating all the way back to 1975; the first year Cal State Fullerton competed as a Division 1 program. The last time the Titans played Fresno State came in 2019 during the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament, losing 5-2. The Titans hold a 52-33 advantage over the Bulldogs which includes non-conference, conference and postseason games.
At the Plate
In just four games to open the season, two Bulldogs have gotten off to a hot start offensively. Both Tommy Hopfe (.462) and Grady Morgan (.429) leads the Bulldogs with averages above .400. Eddie Saldivar is not far behind, batting .353 and leads the Bulldogs in at-bats. Morgan leads the Bulldogs with two home runs early in the season and has recorded 13 total bases and five RBI, both lead the team.
On the Bump
Jake Dixon got the start on Friday, February 16th to open the season and it stands to reason he will get the ball again on Friday nights. A fifth-year graduate, Dixon brings his 1.80 ERA in five innings into Goodwin Field.
The Sunday starter, Jack Anker boasts a 0.00 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP after going six innings vs. Milwaukee. Anker struck out five Panthers and did not walk one to secure the series sweep.
The aforementioned Hopfe is the two-way threat, recording the only save on the team.
Outlook
Titan fans may think the Titans should easily handle the Fresno State Bulldogs given the early competition, Milwaukee and Stanford, that both faced to open the season. Leave no doubt, the Titans will have a dog fight, pardon the pun, for all three games.
Hopefully, the Titans did not get too full of themselves after the Stanford series and will take the Bulldogs very seriously. We have a feeling the Bulldogs are antsy to put to rest the speculation that they can only beat up on inferior competition.
Weekend Probables
Friday, February 23: RHP – Christian Rodriguez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP – Jake Dixon (1-0, 1.80 ERA)
Saturday, February 24: LHP Mikiah Negrete (1-0, 7.71 ERA vs. RHP – Noah Beal (1-0, 3.00 ERA)
Sunday, February 25: RHP – Chad Gurnea (0-1, 2.08 ERA) vs. RHP – Jack Anker (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Times listed are Pacific time:
February 23, 2024 (Friday) vs. Fresno State – 6:30 PM
February 24, 2024 (Saturday) vs. Fresno State – 5:00 PM
February 25, 2024 (Sunday) vs. Fresno State – 1:00 PM