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2003 Baseball
TITANS ’02: Lived up to his Collegiate Baseball third-team preseason All-American billing • Finished among the top 10 in the Big West Conference in 11 offensive categories and was a first-team all-conference selection • Had a career-high 22 game hitting streak, the longest by a Titan since 1999 • Three-time Big West Conference Player of the Week and also the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Hitter of the Week for his efforts in a March sweep of Long Beach State (8-for-12 with a double, triple, homer and five RBI and the game-winning two-run single in a 7-6 win on Mar. 23) • Five times, he was one hit shy of the cycle • Hit by 26 pitches, tied for the eighth most in NCAA history in a single season • Just the fourth Titan to collect 20 or more doubles and five or more triples in the same season • Had one prolonged slump in late February/early March when he batted just .111 (4-for-36) • Started a two-out, game-winning ninth-inning rally vs. LMU on Mar. 13 with a single to left • Named Big West Player of the Week on Feb. 19 for his blistering weekend vs. UNLV (8-for-10, 1.300 slugging percentage, reached base 11 of 13 appearances) • Also collected a pair of doubles and his first career home run during the Titans’ sweep of the Rebels • In the Feb. 16 game, he had a double, single and homer (all in the first three innings) and in the Feb. 17 finale, he was 3-for-3 and reached base all five times • Was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBI to key a 6-3 win over No. 1 Stanford on Feb. 3 • Earned his third Big West Player of the Week award after the Titans’ sweep at UC Santa Barbara (he went 8-for-14 with four extra-base hits and six RBI) • Named to the NCAA Regional all-tournament team at Stanford after going 4-for-12 with a pair of doubles in the Titans’ three games. TITANS ’01: A true freshman outfielder who had an explosive postseason to lift his average to .380, tops on the team (but a few at bats shy of qualifying for the conference race) • Batted .550 (11-for-20) in the Titans’ postseason run, including an 8-for-10 showing with three runs in the NCAA Regional, good for all-tournament honors • Had three doubles in a span of four innings in Fullerton’s regional-clinching 9-2 win over Texas Tech on May 27 • Started 28 games, but appeared in 61 • Had just 11 RBI in 129 at-bats • Puts the ball into play 82 percent of the time (just six walks and 12 strikeouts) • Hit by 11 pitches, tops on the team • Batted .455 (10-for-22) in Big West Conference play • Had a 12-game hitting streak, the longest by any Titan, from March 3 through April 8 • Batted .433 (13-for-30) in games where he appeared as a substitute • Was 3-for-3 in his collegiate debut at Pepperdine on Jan. 30 • Went 3-for-4 and had his only multi-RBI game of the season when he drove in three in a 28-0 win over Pacific on April 8 • Came up with a game-winning two-out RBI-single in the bottom of the 14th vs. UCLA on April 18 to help the Titans extend their winning streak to 14 games • Had a career-best four-hit game vs. Long Beach State on May 18. GOLDEN WEST H.S.: Was a three-year varsity outfielder for Coach Tom Buckley at Golden West H.S. in Visalia, Calif. • Had his best season as a junior, when he batted .443 (47-for-106) with three homers, 23 stolen bases and 33 RBI • Earned West Yosemite League Most Valuable Player and first-team all-area honors for his efforts • Also a first-team all-league and all-area pick as a senior, when he batted .404 with five home runs, 19 stolen bases and 17 RBI • Twice broke the single-season school record for runs (40 as a junior, 41 as a senior) • Had his best game against Lemoore H.S. his junior year, when he went 4-for-5 with a homer, triple, two doubles, four runs and five RBI • Helped his team to the CIF semifinals his sophomore year and to the section finals his junior year • Also a standout football and soccer player. PERSONAL: Born on December 12, 1981, in Visalia, Calif. • Parents are Leo and Wendy Costa • Has an older brother, Josh • Major is undecided • Selected by Tampa Bay in the 37th round of the 2000 MLB Draft • Also considered attending Fresno State, Cal State Northridge, Clemson and Arizona State • Says the most impressive thing about Coach Horton is “the way he keeps his cool” • Says his parents have had the most influence on his career • Favorites...Atlanta Braves (team), Chipper Jones (player), SportsCenter (TV show).
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