Box Score | Interactive Bracket | Regional Central
STANFORD, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton had its offense working early and often and beat San José State University, 9-5, in the first elimination game at the Stanford Regional of the 2023 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship on Klein Field at Sunken Diamond Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, No. 3 seed Fullerton keeps its season alive and improves to 32-23 overall. Fourth-seeded San José State, the Mountain West’s automatic qualifier as its first-time tournament victor and regular-season co-champion, sees its 2023 campaign conclude at 31-27.

Cal State Fullerton moves on to a second elimination contest on Sunday, June 4, at 12 p.m. on ESPN+ against the losing side from Saturday night’s winner’s bracket matchup between nationally-ranked 2022 College World Series participants Stanford and Texas A&M.

The designated home team, Fullerton used a two-out rally in the first to score first for the second straight day, as Nate Nankil shot a double into the right field corner, and Brendan Bobo followed with an RBI single.

Titan starter Evan Yates cleaned up a nine-pitch walk to begin the second by dialing up a 6-4-3 double play, but Dalton Bowling’s team-leading 12th home run of 2023 tied things up.

Moises Guzman led off the home second by lining a double over the leftfielder’s head, moved to third on a groundout, and scored when Jack Haley put down a perfect squeeze bunt. The Titan shortstop reached on the pitcher’s throwing error, and raced all the way around to make it 3-1 on Caden Connor’s two-out double into the right field corner.

The Titans added a fourth tally when Maddox Latta lifted a fourth home run high and deep to left with one away in the third. The Spartans struck right back via the long ball as well. Charles McAdoo powered a first-pitch blast to straightaway center to begin the fourth, with Jack Colette going back-to-back big fly three tosses later to pull within one at 4-3.

Connor’s opposite-field, three-run blast to left with one gone in the bottom of the fourth gave the Titans some considerable separation at 7-3. It was the junior first baseman’s career-best fifth long ball of the year.

SJSU got a fourth solo bast, this one from leadoff hitter Robert Hamchuk, with two gone in the fifth.

Fullerton went back to work in the home fifth and loaded the bases with nobody out on three successive singles, the last one another solid bunt from Haley. Zach Lew’s opposite-field sacrifice fly made it 8-4.

The Titans made it a perfect six-for-six in innings with a run scored, as Nankil was plunked for starters, advanced to third on Bobo’s double to right, and trotted home on Carter White’s groundout up the middle.

The Spartans threatened to cut into the lead in the seventh as a one-out double and subsequent single chased Yates from the contest, but Seth Tomczak took over and induced an around-the-horn twin killing.

Yates (3-2) went 6.1 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks, fanning six. The sophomore right-hander cruised through an eight-pitch first with two flyouts and a groundout, and posted another 1-2-3 frame in the third with a pair of strikeouts. Tomczak needed nine pitches for a 1-2-3 ninth, ending with a second strikeout.

Connor wound up 2-for-5 with a double, home run, run and career-high-tying four RBI. The Anaheim Hills product’s last four-RBI game ironically also came at Sunken Diamond, in an 11-0 rout of Stanford on Feb. 19, 2022. Latta was 3-for-4 with a walk, double, home run, run, RBI and stolen base. Bobo added a double among three hits to go with one RBI and two steals. Nankil went 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch, double and two runs. Guzman and Haley also each scored twice. Saturday marked Fullerton’s first multiple-homer game since April 29.

For SJSU, Jack White (6-3) gave up seven runs, all but one of them earned, on seven hits and two walks over 3.1 frames. The All-Mountain West First Team redshirt senior left-hander and first-year Michigan transfer punched out three in just a second start as a Spartan.

San José State finished with a season-high five home runs, all of them solo, with McAdoo adding a second in the eighth.

In a 41st all-time NCAA Championship appearance, Fullerton is 128-58 (.688). The Titans are in the field for the first time since winning the Stanford Regional in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018.