Towering over his competition is nothing new for 6’6” and 230-pound Tanner Pinkston. A first baseman from Dougherty Valley High School, Pinkston hit .418 as a senior as was a two-time Diablo Foothill Athletic League first-teamer. He also starred on the football field as an all-league tight end.

But baseball was Pinkston’s future. And went on to Cal State Fullerton, where he studies Kinesiology and plays for Goldpanners hitting coach, Anthony Hutting. He was a steady contributor to this year’s Titans team that fell in the Regionals of the College World Series. Pinkston hit .298 in 50 starts (54 games) with a .365 on-base percentage. He was as sure-handed as any at first base and committed just one error all season.

Pinkston delivered one of the more important hits of Titans’ 2014 season in a game against Hawaii. In the midst of a six game losing streak where Fullerton had scored just seven total runs, they found themselves in a 0-0 game. With the offense at its most stagnant, Pinkston delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th. The clutch hit ignited a Fullerton sweep and carried them into postseason play.