June 5, 2010
FULLERTON, Calif.-- Top-seeded and No. 4-ranked CS Fullerton (42-16) eliminated Stanford (31-25) from postseason play following a 6-5 win in an elimination game on Saturday.
Christian Colon twice hit two-run homers off Brett Mooneyham (3-7). The likely first round pick on Monday, hit a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 5-2, while his two-run homer in the third broke a 1-1 tie.
Stephen Piscotty's three-run homer in the seventh cut the CS Fullerton lead to 6-5 in the seventh. The freshman drove in four, twice closing the gap to within one run.
Noe Ramirez (11-1) gave up a leadoff single to Tyler Gaffney, his second hit of the game, before yielding to Nick Ramirez, no relation, with the tying run at first. Ramirez then got the next three batters out for his tenth save, stranding Gaffney at second base.
Ramirez struck out eight and walked one, scattering nine hits for the win.
Mooneyham pitched into the sixth, giving up the first six runs on five hits, striking out five and falling one strikeout shy of the century mark (99) on the season. Danny Sandbrink retired the first seven batters he faced, tossing 2.2 shutout innings to keep it close.
After left fielder Casey Watkins could not field a fly ball in the fifth, Piscotty cut the deficit to within 3-2 with an RBI single to score Colin Walsh from third.
Gaffney led off the second straight game with a home run, his third of the season.
NOTES: Ben Clowe extended his hit streak to 11 games with a single in the fourth... under Mark Marquess, the Cardinal had gone 0-2 in an NCAA first round regional just once, 1994 in Austin and had a losing record just six previous playoff rounds (44)... Kenny Diekroeger finished as the team leader in batting at .356, the first Cardinal freshman to lead the team in hitting since Edmund Muth in 1997... Diekroeger and Walsh led the team in RBIs(41), as Diekroeger became the first freshman ever to lead the team in RBIs.