Box Score

FULLERTON, Calif.--With a flawless performance on the mound, junior Eli Morgan shut down the Cal State Fullerton offense Friday night, holding the Titans to just two hits while fanning 15 as the Bulldogs beat Cal State Fullerton 1-0 at Goodwin Field in Fullerton.

Morgan was masterful, notching career highs in both strikeouts and hits allowed in a start. Only three Titan batters reached base, and no one made it as far as second. The Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., native only faced one three-ball count all night, which turned into a walk issued to JT McLellan in the third for CSUF's first baserunner. Morgan kept the Titans hitless until the fifth but stranded that runner by fanning McLellan to end the frame.

The crafty righty tossed all nine innings and was just as effective in the ninth as he was in the first. In that final frame, he got Dillon Persinger to fly out to left before striking out the final two batters on consecutive 0-2 counts. It's the first complete game this season by a Bulldog pitcher and Morgan's fifth in his three years as a Zag.

Gonzaga's offense gave Morgan all the support he'd need in the fourth. Tyler Frost led the frame off with a single to right field. After a flyout, the centerfielder stole second, giving Daniel Fredrickson a runner in scoring position. Fredrickson then hit a double to right field, allowing Frost to score for the game's only run. Fredrickson was then stranded on second after a strikeout and a groundout ended the inning.

Only two other Bulldogs saw a hit Friday night: Jeff Bohling hit a single in the first inning and Sam Brown knocked a single with two down in the third. The top of the fourth inning was the only frame of the contest to feature multiple base hits due to Morgan's - and his counterpart Connor Seabold of Cal State Fullerton - dominance on the mound.

Seabold too went the distance for the Titans, allowing just four hits. He struck out 11 batters and walked two Zags in the loss, his third of the year. Morgan, however, out-dueled his fellow junior for his second victory of 2017.

Bulldog Bites:

• Morgan's 15 strikeouts are tied for second-most in a single game since 2008, when game-by-game records are first available. Morgan now has five games with 10 or more strikeouts in his career, but he saw the second of his initial back-to-back 10 K outings Friday in Fullerton. He struck out 12 in a win March 3 at California, at the time a career high.
• Morgan's two hits allowed are also a career high in games he's started. He allowed just three hits twice during the 2016 campaign.
• Fredrickson's RBI double was his first extra-base hit of the season and his first extra-base hit as a Bulldog. He transferred in from Washington State and was forced to redshirt in 2016. In his first year in Spokane, the sophomore is hitting .318 with seven hits, two RBIs, and a .444 on base percentage.
• Cal State Fullerton, ranked No. 7 in the nation by D1Baseball.com and No. 11 by Baseball America, entered the game hitting .259 on the season and averaging 5.5 runs a game. The Titans had not been shut out since April 29 of last season. This is the Zags' first win over a ranked team since March 9, 2016, a 15-10 win at then-No. 14 Arkansas.

Mac Talk: Thoughts from Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf

"That ranks up there with one of the best pitching performances in recent memory. Morgan was electric with all three pitches, and he was ahead in the count all night."

"[The ranked win] is a nice confidence boost early in the season. We scheduled this tough schedule early with the intention of winning games while also preparing ourselves for a tough WCC campaign."

Next Up:

The Zags (6-6) and Titans (7-5) continue the three-game series Saturday, March 11 with a 6:00 p.m. contest. Senior RHP Justin Vernia will toe the rubber for Gonzaga, while the Titans will counter with fellow righty Gavin Velasquez.