The Stanford baseball team knew it would have to start the season sharp in order to succeed in one of the nation’s most demanding opening schedules. Faltering in the late innings, though, the young Cardinal’s defensive errors and inconsistent pitching gave No. 8 Cal-State Fullerton a weekend sweep.

Stanford (0-3) found itself in a deep hole early on, as the Titans (3-0) jumped out to an 11-0 lead by the fourth inning in Friday night’s season opener. The Cardinal mounted a rally, but fell short, losing 11-5.

The team appeared rejuvenated the next day, leading 5-0 in the fourth inning of Saturday’s game. At that point, however, Stanford’s pitching staff started showing chinks in its armor, surrendering six unanswered runs for the 6-5 loss in a demoralizing defeat.

Up 2-1, and holding another late-inning lead on Sunday, the Cardinal let Cal State-Fullerton explode with an 11-run seventh inning. The Titans completed the sweep with a 12-10 offensive slugfest in which Stanford once again fell one step short.

In the season opener, sloppy Stanford play set the tone early as the Cardinal gave up six runs in the first two innings. Junior starter Nolan Gallagher (0-1) hit Fullerton’s leadoff man, junior outfielder Clark Hardman (2-4, 3 R, 2 RBI), and plunked another Titan in the second, while sophomore and second baseman Austin Yount was charged an error for failing to step on first base on a sacrifice bunt attempt in the first frame.

The leadoff men for the Titans proved nasty once again after back-to-back doubles by Hardman and second baseman Joel Weeks (2-4, 3 R, 4 RBI) broke the game open in the second inning, scoring four runs. Gallagher was pulled after giving up eight hits, seven runs and recording an 18.00 ERA by the third inning.

Unfortunately, the relievers did not fair much better against the Fullerton bats, giving up four more runs in the fifth inning.

Stanford attempted a rally on Wes Romer (1-0), one of the nation’s top starters, but it wouldn’t be enough. After four scoreless innings, the Cardinal led off the fifth with three straight singles from the bottom of the order in junior Brian Juhl (1-4), sophomore Cord Phelps (1-3) and freshman Adam Gaylord (1-3). Stanford would touch up Romer for only five hits and three runs surrendered over six innings. The Cardinal mustered two more runs off the bullpen, but it proved to be too little, too late for Stanford.

The most frustrating game of the weekend series for Stanford proved to be the second. The Cardinal jumped out early on Fullerton and appeared to be in control on Saturday. After back-to-back singles by sophomores Sean Ratliff (2-5, 1 R) and Joey August (1-5, 1 R) to lead off the game, junior outfielder Michael Taylor (1-4, 2 RBI) hit a two-RBI triple down the right-field line in the first inning to plate two. Yount scored Taylor with an RBI groundout to take a 3-0 first-inning lead.

Juhl (1-3) then hit a homerun off a 0-1 pitch over the right-field fence to kickstart the second inning. The homerun was Stanford’s first this year.

But even with the 5-0 cushion, the Cardinal couldn’t put the game out of reach. Freshman hurler Jeff Inman, who started off brilliantly with three scoreless innings, began to show signs of fatigue. The right-hander was able to wiggle out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam by inducing a double play and a ground out to escape giving up only one run.

The near-miss proved to be a sign of things to come as the Titans did not let up in the fifth. Fullerton took advantage of two Taylor errors, which turned Hardman’s one-out single into a run-scoring triple. Three batters later, right fielder Chris Jones’ two-run double tied the game at five.

Reliever Max Fearnow (0-1), who replaced Inman, was able to stave off the Titans until the bottom of the eighth when Hardman got the eventual game-winner, an RBI single. In the top of the ninth, Stanford would have one more chance to even the score, but Taylor’s game-ending ground out stranded sophomore pinch runner J.J. Jelmini, who had reached second on a balk by Titan reliever Adam Jorgenson.

Except for that slip-up, Jorgenson was the key to the Titans’ come-from-behind victory. Taking over for starter Adam Kaplan in the third, Jorgenson pitched 6.1 innings of scoreless baseball with seven strikeouts.

For the second-straight game, the Cardinal appeared in the driver’s seat into the seventh inning on Sunday. Sophomore lefty Jeremy Bleich (0-1) had pitched six innings of one-run ball, pacing Stanford to a 2-1 lead. But the Titans emerged from their funk in the seventh to plate 11 runners against seven Cardinal pitchers.

It all started to unravel for the southpaw when he gave up two singles and a walk to start the inning, and was pulled for Yount.

But the bullpen did not live up to its name, providing little relief. Instead, the sophomore righty and second baseman gave up two hits and two earned runs to put the Titans up for good, 7-2. Stanford finally got out of the inning when freshman Rex Petrill threw one pitch in his first appearance to record a double play, but the damage had been done, as the Cardinal was down 12-2.

Despite the demoralizing inning, Stanford fought back with a leadoff homerun in the eighth from Taylor. The offensive rebuttal would prove to be not enough as the Cardinal would get six in the final two innings, falling 12-10.

Stanford will try to rebound with its home opener against Fresno State this Friday, Feb. 9. First pitch is at 5 p.m. on the Sunken Diamond.