Baseball Recap: Fullerton Comes Up Short

Fullerton had lost three straight on the road, but on Friday they dropped down to 14-8 to make it four. They fell 6-1 to the Costa Mesa Mustangs. The Indians were not able to repeat the success they had when they faced the Mustangs earlier this season, when they won 5-2.

Fullerton got a good showing from Gavin Talavera, who pitched two innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Talavera has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.

At the plate, Fullerton saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Caleb Brown, who went 1-for-3 with one double.

As for Costa Mesa, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten games. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-6 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.9 runs over those games.

On Costa Mesa's side, Felix Tiquia was excellent, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Those three RBI gave Tiquia a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ben Quintero, who went 1-for-3 with one home run.

Fullerton and Costa Mesa should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps California Rankings. The Indians will take on Laguna Hills at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday with a big rank advantage (129 vs. 406). Meanwhile, Costa Mesa (ranked 156th) will meet Ontario Christian (ranked 530th) at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.