Tech Drops Finale 4-1, Goes to 8-5 on the Year

1. Red Raider of the Game

Robert Dugger. After a rough opening to the season in the season opener, Dugger has been lights out, out of the bullpen posting a 1.93 ERA. On Sunday, he continued his excellent work going 2 and 2/3 scoreless innings to close out the game and keep the Red Raiders in striking distance.

2. Play That Impacted the Game

3rd pitch of the game, Fullerton leadoff man, Timmy Richards, took a 1-1 fastball to left center for a homerun. Pretty much set the tone for the game.

3. Stat of the Game

4. Number of hits the Red Raider offense managed against the Fullerton pitching staff.

4. Forgotten Play of the Game

With one on and one out in the 4th, Tyler Neslony stroked a double to Center plating Stephen Smith to cut Fullerton's lead to 2-1. It would end up being Tech's only run of the game.

5. Big Reason Tech Loss the Game

For the third straight game, Tech's starting pitcher was unable to get past the 5th inning as Ty Damron exited after 3 innings and only 45 pitches. Unsure if this was injury related, or just strategy, but its not a good sign if your starter can't get deep into games. I stated in yesterday's recap that Damron would have to go deep to give Tech a chance to win and take pressure of the bullpen. Though the bullpen stayed strong yet again, it's not a great trend heading forward.

Series Impact:

People will talk about Cal State Fullerton being 4-3 coming into the game, being 0-3 on the road and only hitting .203 for the season as to reasons Tech should have played better. But let's be honest. Fullerton is GOOD. They have history and pedigree and no one in their right mind would have thought Fullerton would continue such poor play as they had been coming out of the gate. They were bound to turn it around. In a way, it's a good series, because it points out this team's weaknesses and what it needs to address if they want to get back to Omaha. Fullerton will undoubtedly be in the chase, so these types of games are good experience going forward. 

Next up for the Red Raiders is a quick pit-stop in Frisco, which probably won't be played if the forecast holds and then off for a HUGE series against Cal-Berkeley out in California. It's a 4 game series and I expect Tech to split.

We'll have that preview for you and more later in the week.

Tech drops to 8-5 on the year, but this is just their first series loss of the season and not a terrible start at that. The inconsistency on offense and starting pitching issues is what really bothers me so far. We'll see if it changes or if that trend continues.