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2003 Baseball
TITANS ’02: Proved a steady second baseman after replacing a fixture in David Bacani • Struggled to replicate his freshman and sophomore seasons offensively and finished last among Fullerton’s regulars with a .259 average • Was 0-for-20 over one stretch and capped the season with just four hits in his last 34 at bats • Started 54 games, all at second base • Turned a team-high 47 double plays (three more than Bacani in 2001) • Had two eight-game hitting streaks and a 10-game streak • Scored three runs in each of the Titans’ come-from-behind wins over LMU • Drove in all three runs in the Titans’ 3-0 shutout of Fresno State on Feb. 8 (second-inning RBI-groundout and eighth-inning two-run homer) • Was 2-for-4 with a career-high tying four RBI (a pair of two-run singles) vs. UNLV on Feb. 16 • Was 2-for-4 with a season-high eight assists at Wichita State on Mar. 9 despite going to the hospital in the morning with a 103-degree temperature • Was 4-for-6 with three RBI vs. Pacific on Apr. 14 • Homered and doubled twice in a four-inning span at UC Irvine on May 5 • Sat out the last two games of the NCAA Regional after he was hit in the head by a pitch from Stanford’s Jeremy Guthrie in the opener. TITANS ’01: Was an All-Big West Conference selection for the second consecutive season, earning honorable mention honors as a utility player • Appeared in 62 games and started 61, fourth most on the team • Collected multiple hits in the Titans’ final five regular season games and took a .370 average into postseason play • Batted .419 during the Titans’ 27-5 run to finish the regular season • Third on Fullerton with 49 RBI • Batted a team-high .431 in conference play (and had the most at-bats of any Titan) • Had seven, eight and nine-game hitting streaks during the season and hit safely in 48 of 62 games • Sixth on the Titans with 22 multiple-hit games and tied for fourth with 10 multiple-RBI games • Titans were 20-3 with Corapci as the starting right fielder • Perhaps the Titans’ most consistent situational hitter (.325 average vs. lefties/.338 average vs. righties & .333 with runners on base/.333 with bases empty) • Hit .341 (56-for-164) in the No. 3 spot in the line-up • Had the game-tying single in the sixth and the game-winning single in the eighth vs. Wichita State on March 3 • Batted .417 (5-for-12) in the Kia Baseball Bash, tying him for the second-best tournament average • Drove in the first run in the Titans’ 3-1 win over Pacific on April 7 • Had a career day in the Titans’ 8-2 win over Sacramento State on April 14, collecting career highs in hits (four) and RBI (four) while hitting his first homer of the season and reaching base five times • Also had four hits vs. Long Beach State on May 18 and was 8-for-14 with four RBI and four runs in the season-ending series vs. the 49ers. TITANS ’00: One of two freshmen to earn All-Big West Conference honors (second-team) • Corapci proved to be one of Fullerton’s most versatile and consistent players • Saw starts at second base, shortstop, third base, right field and DH and also batted in six different spots in the order as a starter • Batted nearly the same in Big West Conference play (.336) as out of conference (.321) • Was the team’s best hitting DH by far, batting .412 (21-for-51) in 12 games • Was the team’s regular No. 3 hitter (if the Titans had such a thing), with 109 at-bats in that spot, more than three times as many as Shawn Norris’ 32 • Hit home runs against Cal (March 10) and Long Beach State (April 14) • Finished third on the Titans with 18 multiple-hit games and tied for fourth with seven multiple-RBI games • Finished the season by hitting safely in 16 of 19 games, batting .352 (25-for-71) during that span • Batted .333 (4-for-12) and had an on-base percentage of .467 (7-for-15) in the NCAA Regionals • Endured a 7-for-40 stretch from March 31 through April 21 that saw his average drop from .406 to .317 • Grounded into a team-high 10 double plays. CANYON H.S.: Four-year varsity infielder for Coach Mike Najera at Canyon H.S. in Anaheim Hills • Helped the Comanches to CIF titles his freshman and sophomore years • Won All-Orange County and All-CIF honors in addition to Century League MVP honors both his junior and senior seasons • Tagged on all-state honors his senior year • Batted .582 as a senior with nine home runs, 38 RBI, 16 doubles and 23 stolen bases • Also hit better than .400 in each of his freshman (.440), sophomore (.445) and junior (.405) seasons • Also played freshman basketball. PERSONAL: Born on Oct. 11, 1981, in Santa Ana • Parents are Harry and Trix Corapci • Has a younger sister (Jasmine) • Majoring in business/marketing • Nickname is “Little” • Most memorable sports thrill was playing in the Titans’ College World Series opener against Nebraska in 2001 • Was a bat boy for the Titans’ 1995 national championship team • Wears No. 4 because “smaller numbers look better on middle infielders” • Also considered attending Loyola Marymount and Florida, but was impressed by the Fullerton baseball program and wanted to play close to home • Says Fullerton Assistant Coach Rick Vanderhook has had the most influence on his career and that his parents have always been his biggest supporters • Says the most impressive thing about Coach Horton is his persistence to become a national champion • Always eats pancakes on game days • Would like to meet David Eckstein (“we are a lot alike in many ways”) • Best player he’s competed against is former Stanford pitcher Jeremy Guthrie (who actually knocked him out of the NCAA Regional after hitting him in the head) • Most prized possessions are his two high school CIF championship rings • Has never gone on a roller coaster • Enjoys playing beach volleyball and bowling among other sports • Favorites...Atlanta Braves and Anaheim Angels (teams), Alex Rodriguez and Bret Boone (players), mashed potatoes and fish (food), Varsity Blues (movie), BaseballAmerica.com (web site).
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