The Best Two-of-Three For Omaha: CSF vs. ASU June 9, 2005– Fullerton, Calif.
Current Record (45-16 overall, 16-5)
Championships: Big West Conference, Fullerton Regional
Record Last Week: 4-1
Current Streak: Won 3
Record Last Five Games: 4-1
Record Last 10 Games: 6-4
******************************************************************** NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH
Ricky Romero, Jr., East Los Angeles, Calif, LHP
#1 Draft Pick (6th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays
Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year
Big West First Team All-Conference
Collegiate Baseball All-American
12-5, 2.95 ERA, 125.0 IP, 132 SO, 33 BB, B/Avg .220
Sergio Pedroza, Jr., Covina, Calif. RF
3rd-round Draft Pick (106th overall) of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Big West Conference Co-Player of the Year
Big West First Team All-Conference
Collegiate Baseball All-American
.330, 60 G, 209 AB, 69 H, 46 R, 12 2B, 2 3B, 15 HR, 54 RBI, 6 SB
THIS WEEK’S SUPER REGIONALS
June 10-12, NCAA Super Regional (Fullerton, Calif.)
Friday, June 10 vs. Arizona State at 7 pm
Saturday, June 11 vs. Arizona State at 4 pm
Sunday, June 12 vs. Arizona State at 3 pm (if necessary)
LAST WEEK'S FULLERTON REGIONAL RESULTS
Win, 19-0 vs. Harvard
Loss, 5-6 vs. Arizona
Win, 8-6 vs. Missouri
Win, 7-2 vs. Arizona
Win, 6-3 vs. Arizona
TITANS ON THE AIR: Cal State Fullerton baseball games
will be broadcast live on www.titansports.org. Follow the play-by-play
action with Justin Alderson and Todd Reeves as they bring you all the
post-season action.
TITANS ON THE TUBE: ESPN’s Gary Thorn and former
Los Angeles Dodger Eric Karros will bring all the action as ESPN will
broadcast all three games live from Goodwin Field. Both Friday night’s
and Saturday afternoon’s contests will likely air on ESPN2 with
the third game’s home yet to be determined (ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU).
TITANS IN THE TOURNEY: The Titans are 72-33 (.686) all-time
in NCAA regional play, 8-2 (.800) in the Super Regionals, 32-21 (.604)
at the College World Series for an overall record of 112-56 (.667) in
postseason action…even more amazing, the Titans have never gone
winless (0-and-2-and-BBQ) in their 27 appearances. This season marked
the fifth time in the last six seasons that Fullerton played host to a
Regional round, and has posted a 16-5 record in those contests. 2005 also
marks the fourth time the Titans will host Super Regional action at Goodwin
Field. The Titans are 6-1 in Super Regional play, with their only loss
coming to Arizona State in 2003.
The Titans will try for the third time to advance to Omaha to defend a
national championship. After the 1979 national title, the 1980 Titans
were eliminated in a regional tournament at Arizona. After the 1984 title
season the 1985 team failed to make the playoffs. After the 1995 championship,
the 1996 Titans were eliminated in a regional tournament at Wichita State.
The Titans will be making their 27th NCAA Regional appearances in their
31-year Division I history and have not missed the playoffs since 1991.
Their 14-year run is the fifth-longest active streak in the nation. The
only schools with longer current streaks of consecutive NCAA post-season
play are Miami (33), Florida State (28), Clemson (19) and LSU (17). Fullerton
has advanced to Omaha 13 times, with College World Series titles in 1979,
1984, 1995 and 2004.
VERSUS ARIZONA STATE:
*ASU records show them leading all-time, 23-22
*CSF records show ASU leading 22-19 beginning with the 1975 season
*In post-season play, Fullerton leads, 7-6, including 1-1 in Omaha
*Fullerton is 9-3 vs. ASU in the Horton/Murphy Era, dating to a 1999 meeting
in Fullerton, which was the first confrontation since a 1985 series in
Tempe (Garrido vs. Brock)
*ASU has had opportunity to visit Fullerton regularly as of late (01 Regional,
03 Super Regional, 04 Regional) evening the score from a generation ago...
Fullerton went to Tempe for Regionals in 1977 (eliminated by Washington
State), in 1981 (eliminated by ASU), in 1982 (CSF eliminated ASU) and
in 1983 (eliminated by Fresno State)... Fullerton has not been back to
Tempe for postseason play since.
YEAR-BY-YEAR SEASON SERIES RECORD SINCE 1975
(Fullerton’s first Div. I season):
1975 – ASU 2-1 in Tempe, ASU 0-1 in Fullerton, ASU 1-0 in Omaha
1976 – ASU 3-0 in Tempe
1977 – ASU 2-1 in Tempe, ASU 1-0 in Tempe Regional
1979 – ASU 2-1 in Tempe
1980 – ASU 3-0 in Tempe
1981 – ASU 0-2 in Fullerton, 2-0 in Tempe Regional
1982 – ASU 0-2 in Tempe Regional
1983 – ASU 1-0 in Tempe Regional
1984 – ASU 0-1 in Omaha
1985 – ASU 2-1 in Tempe
1999 – ASU 0-1 in Fullerton (Goodwin Field)
2000 – ASU 0-1 in Tempe
2001 – ASU 1-1 in Fullerton (Goodwin Field), 0-1 in Fullerton Regional
(Goodwin Field)
2002 – ASU 1-2 in Tempe
2003 – ASU 1-2 in Fullerton Super Regional (Goodwin Field)
2004 – ASU 0-1 in Fullerton Regional (Goodwin Field)
CSF vs. ASU HOME AND AWAY
*At old Titan Field, ASU was 0-3
*In Tempe, ASU is 19-9 vs. CSF
*At Goodwin Field, ASU is 2-6 vs. CSF (1-4 postseason) and 4-8 overall
including 0-1 vs. Pepperdine, 1-0 *vs. Minnesota and 1-1 vs. Texas Tech
in Regional play
CSF vs. ASU POSTSEASON PLAY SUMMARY:
1975 - ASU 1-0 in Omaha at the CWS
1977 - ASU 1-0 in Tempe Regional
1981 - ASU 2-0 in Tempe Regional
1982 - CSF 2-0 in Tempe Regional
1983 - ASU 1-0 in Tempe Regional
1984 - CSF 1-0 in Omaha at the CWS
2001 - CSF 1-0 in Fullerton Regional
2003 - CSF 2-1 in Fullerton Super Regional
2004 - CSF 1-0 in Fullerton Regional
*Titans lead the Sun Devils 7-6 all-time in the postseason
*Both Teams are tied 1-1 in play in Omaha
*The Sun Devils lead 4-2 in postseason games played in Tempe
*The Titans hold a 4-1 edge in postseason games played in Fullerton.
*As of today, since the 1975 season, Fullerton has played 83 games vs.
Arizona, but only 45 vs. ASU
ROMERO NAMED TO NATIONAL HONOR ROLL: Pitcher Ricky Romero
was named to the College Baseball Foundation’s 2005 Honors Team
as announced by the Lubbock, Texas-based foundation June 1. Starting in
March, the CBF released a weekly National Honor Roll, saluting the finest
performances of that past week's action as nominated by conference and
university baseball media contacts. Romero, a junior from East Los Angeles,
Calif., earned the weekly honor four times throughout the regular season
and joins fellow Big West pitchers Cesar Ramos (Long Beach State) and
Garrett Olson (Cal Poly) on the season-end list that features 30 of the
nation’s best collegiate baseball players.
A WINNING TRADITION: Fullerton, with its 30th win of
the year on Sunday Apr. 24 against UC Davis, marked the 31st Div. I season
in a row that the Titans have reached the 30-win plateau. Fullerton has
never had a losing season since 1975 with a 30-27 overall record by Larry
Cochell’s 1989 Titans being the lowest win total in the program’s
history. On May 22, the Titans captured their 21st 40-win season as they
shut out Long Beach State, 10-0.
SERIES BUSINESS: The Titans lost just their second series
of the year as UC Riverside took 2-of-3 from the Big West champs two weeks
ago. The only other series defeat came when Long Beach State went 2-1
earlier in March in a non-conference series at Blair Field. The UCR series
loss was also the first time since 2003 that the Titans have lost a conference
series.
TITAN ALL-AMERICANS: So far three more Titans have been
named All-Americans increasing the Cal State Fullerton baseball’s
total to 64. Ricky Romero and Sergio Pedroza were named to LouisvilleSlugger/Collegiate
Baseball’s All-American second- and third-teams respectively. Wes
Roemer has earned Freshman All-American honors form the same publication
becoming the 13th Titan to earn the first-year player honors.
THE COMMISH GETS 400: “The Commissioner,”
Head Coach George Horton picked up his 400th career victory Saturday night
with the 7-2 victory over Arizona. Horton in 9 years at the helm of the
Titans has compiled a 401-170-1 overall record, good for a .702 winning
percentage. He averages over 44 wins and less than 19 wins a season.
BEST OF THE BIG WEST: Head Coach George Horton has earned his
fourth Big West Coach of the Year nod as he has guided the Titans to his
sixth Big West Conference championship (21st overall), and their 21st
40-win season in the schools 31-year history. Horton, 51, has earned the
honor twice in back-to back years, taking it home in 1998 and 1999, and
now 2004 and 2005… Left-handed ace Ricky Romero (East Los Angeles,
Calif.) was named Big West Pitcher of the Year, marking the first time
in three seasons that a lone player has been bestowed the honor…
Sergio Pedroza (Covina, Calif.) was named Co-Big West Player of the Year
after leading the Titan offense from the third spot in the line-up all
year long, sharing this year’s honor with Cal Poly’s Kyle
Blumenthal. Wes Roemer earned Big West Conference Freshman Pitcher of
the Year honors as he made his presence felt when he was pressed into
action by an injury to teammate Ryan Schreppel in March. The Titans took
four of the five highest honors leaving only the Freshman of the Year
honor without a player in Navy and Orange in it.
BIG WEST ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS: The Big West Conference
unveiling its all-conference selections for 2005 last Tuesday. Ten Titans
were named to one of three All-Big West Teams, leading both the first-
and second-teams with four players apiece. First-Team All-Big West Conference,
3B - Ronnie Prettyman, SS - Blake Davis, OF - Sergio Pedroza. SP - Ricky
Romero. Second-Team All-Big West Conference, 1B - Brett Pill, 2B - Justin
Turner, DH - Felipe Garcia, SP - Scott Sarver. All-Big West Honorable
Mention, OF - Danny Dorn, RP - Vinnie Pestano.
TITANS IN THE DRAFT: Cal State Fullerton made its presence felt
on the first day of the 2005 First-Year Major League Baseball Amateur
Draft, with six Titans being selected within the first 18 rounds on Tuesday.
Day One featured Fullerton’s 10th first-rounder in its 31-year history,
Ricky Romero. Romero was the sixth player chosen in this year’s
draft with the Toronto Blue Jays making him their top pick. Romero was
followed by the 106th player chosen, right fielder Sergio Pedroza, who
was taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round. Center Fielder
Bobby Andrews was taken by the Baltimore Orioles in the seventh round
(213), with left-handed pitcher Ryan Schreppel right on his tail in the
eighth round, the 231st overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Infielders
Ronnie Prettyman (Seattle, 10th round, 293) and Neil Walton (Tampa Bay,
16th round, 478) were the final two Fullerton players taken before the
organizations broke for the day. Day Two saw eight more Titans selected,
making this years draft class the largest group of players ever taken
off of any one Titan squad. The 1984 Titans formerly held the record for
most players drafted by one squad (13, including Bob Caffrey, the Titans’
second No. 1 draft pick). Scott Sarver (Houston Astros, 21st round, 644
overall), Danny Dorn (Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 23rd round, 688 overall),
John Curtis (Cleveland Indians, 29th round, 874 overall), Justin Turner
(New York Yankees, 29th round, 889 overall), Trevor Mortensen (Cleveland
Indians, 33rd round, 994 overall), Felipe Garcia (New York Yankees, 34th
round, 1039 overall), Brett Pill (New York Yankees, 45th round, 1362 overall),
and Blake Davis (Cleveland Indians, 46th round, 1377 overall) were all
taken on the second day that concluded the final 32 rounds of the draft….
Romero joins a fraternity of first-rounders including: Tim Wallach (1979),
Caffrey (1984), Mike Harkey (1987), Brent Mayne (1989), Phil Nevin (1992),
Dante Powell (1994), Mark Kotsay (1996), Aaron Rowand (1998), Adam Johnson
(2000) and Chad Cordero (2003).
ALL-REGIONAL: Cal State Fullerton dominated the Fullerton Regional
All-Tournament Team as they nabbed seven of the eleven openings voted
on by the media in attendance. Both Danny Dorn and Sergio Pedroza earned
outfield spots, with Brett Pill (1B), Ronnie Prettyman (3B) and Blake
Davis (SS) earning the honors from the infield. Starting pitchers Ryan
Schreppel and Wes Roemer took both available pitching spots with Roemer
earning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Matt Vance of
Harvard (OF), Brad Boyer of Arizona (2B), Nick Hundley of Arizona (C)
and Derek Chambers of Missouri (DH) rounded out the all-tournament team.
TOUGH TO ELIMINATE: Cal State Fullerton has emerged victorious
in eight consecutive elimination games without being eliminated from any
Regional or Super Regional at Goodwin Field since 2001.
WOMEN DON’T GET WOOLY… Crash Davis himself,
Kevin Costner, made an appearance at Monday night’s championship
game to see his Titans take care of the Arizona Wildcats. The long-time
supporter caught a glimpse of the defending national champs as they advanced
to the Super Regionals with a 6-3 victory behind the pitching of Wes Roemer
on 2 days rest. The actor, known for his baseball movies, Bull Durham,
Field of Dreams and For Love of the Game even went on air with ESPN’s
Dave Barnett and Kyle Peterson for an inning to talk Titan Baseball. With
one sighting now in 2005, the “Costner Count” on titansports.org
is sure to make an early appearance as every year numerous inquiries to
his whereabouts surface around College World Series time.
RECORD CROWDS: The Titans in five Regional games at Goodwin
Field last weekend set records in attendance drawing 14, 936 for the tournament,
averaging 2,987. The Titans played Harvard in the opening game of the
tournament Friday night drawing 3,604 fans, good for second-largest in
Goodwin Field history. Just one night later, Arizona and Fullerton brought
‘em out as they set the all-time attendance mark for a single game
at Goodwin Field with 3,654, breaking the previous mark of 3,611 set on
Feb. 4 versus Stanford. For good measure, Fullerton and Arizona brought
out 3,654 for the second time when they met up in the championship game
on Monday night. Four of the top five all-time crowds at Goodwin Field
came during the 2005 season. Prior to this season, the largest gathering
came when Arizona State came to Orange County for the 2003 Super Regional.
1. 3,654, June 6, 2005 vs. Arizona, Win, 6-3
2. 3,654, June 4, 2005 vs. Arizona, Loss, 5-6
3. 3,611, February 4, 2005 vs. Stanford, Win, 5-3
4. 3,604, June 3, 2005 vs. Harvard Win, 19-0
5. 3,581, June 7, 2003 vs. Arizona State, Loss, 6-7
SUPER TITANS: Fullerton has played host in the Super
Regionals three times (2001, 2003 and 2004) with the team compiling a
6-1 record with series victories over Mississippi State, Arizona State
and Tulane. The only Titan loss was a 7-6 victory by the 2003 Arizona
State squad in the middle game of the three-game series.
POWER SERG AT A GOOD TIME: Despite going just 4-for-21
(.190) for the entire Fullerton Regional Sergio Pedroza came through with
two of the largest hits in the tournament. Just three outs away from elimination
on Sunday, trailing 6-5 to Missouri in the top of the ninth inning, Pedroza
connected for his 14th and biggest home run of the season, driving in
two to give the Titans a 7-6 lead. Not only did Pedroza save the game
with his bat, but he made a spectacular catch in the bottom of the ninth,
sprawling for a high pop up down the right field line, saving the the
game as three Missouri runs would surely have scored…In the Sunday
nightcap, with just a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning, Pedroza hit a three-run
blast giving the Titans a commanding 4-0 lead, propelling them to Monday’s
championship game.
FRESHMAN NO MORE: Freshman All-American (Collegiate Baseball)
Wes Roemer pitched two of the finest games of his young career going a
combined 2-0 over 15 innings of work allowing just 10 hits and surrendering
just three runs. Roemer struck out 10 without allowing a free pass en
route to picking up the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honor.
Roemer came out firing Friday night in the Regional throwing seven strong
innings allowing just two hits while striking out five as the Titans downed
Harvard 19-0. Then on just two days rest, the righty came back to pick
up his second win of the tournament going eight innings against a good-hitting
Arizona team to lift the Titans to their third consecutive Regional championship.
GET ‘EM ON, GET ‘EM OVER, GET ‘EM IN? The Titans
did a great job of putting themselves in a position to succeed last weekend
but had a hard time getting the runners across the plate. Fullerton reached
base as a leadoff hitter almost 40 percent of the time (17 times in 43
chances) and also hit .411 with nobody on base (30-for-73) but left 55
runners on base in their five games including a season-high 17 against
Arizona on June 4. The Titans hit just .241 (20-for-83) with runners in
scoring position but prevailed, outscoring their opponents 70-45.
RUNNING MAN: Sophomore shortstop Blake Davis scored 10
of the Titans’ 70 runs in the 5-game regional second-best only to
Texas’ Will Crouch, who scored 11 times as the runnersup to last
year’s national championship also advanced to the Super Regionals.
Davis hit .381 (8-for-21) and had an on base percentage of .480, walking
three times while getting plunked once.
SCHEDULE: The Titans’ schedule again ranks among
the toughest in the nation. The Titans played 24 games against teams in
the 2005 NCAA Tournament and complied a 14-10 record against those teams
accounting for all but six of their losses.
TITANS IN THE BIGS: Shane Costa (2001-2003) was called
up last Tuesday afternoon to the Kansas City Royals’ big club making
him the 41st Titans to be called to the show. Had former Titan reliever
Luis Estrella made an appearance in 2003 with the San Francisco Giants
all the numbers would be consistent, but his cup of coffee in the bigs
ended before throwing a pitch. Eight former Titans currently occupy roster
spots in the Major Leagues: Chad Cordero (WAS), Reed Johnson (TOR), Mark
Kotsay (OAK), Mike Lamb (HOU), Phil Nevin (SD), Aaron Rowand (CWS), Kirk
Saarloos (OAK), and Matt Wise (MIL) are all on active rosters with former
Titan first baseman and assistant coach Tim Wallach (1978-79) serving
as the hitting coach for the the Los Angeles Dodgers and Andre David (1979-1980)
the new hitting coach for the Kansas City Royals.
WHAT REALLY MATTERS: On April 27 the entire Cal State Fullerton
baseball team participated in a two-hour clinic featuring the Yorba Linda
Challenger Little League. Between 50-100 disabled youngsters came to Goodwin
Field to go through drills (hitting, fielding, pitching, throwing catching)
and share a pizza dinner with all the players and coaches. KOCE-TV (Channel
50 in Orange County) aired a report on the clinic Friday night (Apr. 29)
at 6:30 and 11 pm with Rick Mielke reporting. The Orange County Register
was also there covering the event for Saturday morning’s edition.
ROMERO A SEMI-FINALIST FOR THREE NATIONAL AWARDS: The
field of candidates for the Brooks Wallace Award, the Roger Clemens Award
and the Xanthus-Dick Howser Trophy were reduced to a semi-finalist list
two weeks ago with Cal State Fullerton pitcher Ricky Romero (East Los
Angeles, Calif.) included on all three lists. Romero is currently 12-5
with a 2.95 ERA. His 12 victories tied him for the conference lead in
wins while striking out a conference best 132 and posting a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk
ratio (132-to-33).
The Wallace Award, in its second year, was narrowed to 13 semi-finalists
who are vying for the award given to the nation’s top collegiate
baseball player by the College Baseball Foundation based in Lubbock, Texas.
Three finalists will be announced following the Super Regional on June
16 with the winner of the award being named in a televised ceremony on
the Fox Sports Network on June 30.
Also created in 2004, The Clemens Award honors the nation’s top
college pitcher and is awarded by The Greater Houston Baseball Association
based in Houston, Texas. The Clemens watch list was reduced to 10 semi-finalists
on May 20 and will be reduced again before the winner is chosen on July
14.
The Xanthus-Dick Howser Trophy is in its 19th year of existence and celebrates
the nation’s top college baseball player based on his performance
on the field, leadership, moral character and courage. The award given
by The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association will be announced
at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, on Jun 17.
UNANIMOUS: The eight head coaches of the Big West Conference
teams chose Cal State Fullerton to take the conference title in the annual
preseason coaches poll. Cross-town rival Long Beach State was listed as
the unanimous No. 2. The two teams have finished one-two the last two
seasons with Long Beach winning the conference in 2003.
2005 Coaches Poll Results
1. Cal State Fullerton 64 (8)
2. Long Beach State 56
3. UC Irvine 45
4. Cal Poly 35
5. UC Santa Barbara 33
6. UC Riverside 29
7. Pacific 15
8. Cal State Northridge 11
( ) First-place votes
REPEAT OF 2004? In a preseason survey of 160 Div. I head coaches
by Baseball America, 21 said that Cal State Fullerton would repeat their
2004 performance and win the 2005 College World Series. The Titans finished
second in voting behind Texas who got 47 votes (almost 30 percent of the
votes), including one from Titans skipper George Horton. Stanford, which
dropped out of the Top 25 for the first time since 1993, came in third
place with 20 votes.
WEARING RED, WHITE AND BLUE: Junior Ricky Romero (East
Los Angeles, Calif.) went 3-1 with a 1.57 ERA in five starts as a member
of the 2004 USA Baseball National Team - helping the United States earn
a gold medal at the 2004 FISU World University Baseball Championships
in Tainan, Taiwan this past August.
RETURN of ROMERO: Preseason All-American Ricky Romero’s
14 wins in 2004 is tops among returning Division I pitchers. He is one
of only eight returners with 12 or more wins returning to help their team
in 2005.
CLASH OF THE TITANS: Juniors Ricky Romero and Ryan Schreppel
combined for seven scoreless innings and eleven strikeouts as the 2005
baseball team defeated the Titan Alumni 4-1 on Jan. 29 at Goodwin Field
... Romero looked sharp going four innings allowing only two hits, one
of which came from former teammate Kurt Suzuki in the third inning. Romero
also struck out the first four batters of the game including Reed Johnson
(Toronto), Mark Kotsay (Oakland) and Aaron Rowand (Chicago White Sox),
all current Major Leaguers... Bobby Andrews and Danny Dorn both went 2-for-2
with Andrews knocking in one of the four Titan runs. Freshman Jared Clark
added a two-run single in the seventh inning to solidify the 2005 squad’s
lead ... Other current Major Leaguers on hand were Phil Nevin (San Diego),
Mike Lamb (Houston) and Chad Cordero (Washington), who pitched a scoreless
ninth inning.
DID YOU KNOW? The Titans have never returned to Omaha
the season following a national championship. In 1980, the team lost two
games to Gonzaga at the Regional at Tucson – host Arizona went on
to win the national championship that year... In 1985 Fullerton won the
PCAA South and had to meet the winners of the North – Fresno State.
Fresno took two games in a row to win the conference and the automatic
bid to the Regionals ... That 1985 team saw the likes of seven Major Leaguers
(Mike Schooler, Mike Harkey, Larry Casian, Jose Mota, John Fishel, Shane
Turner, and Kevin Reimer)... The 1985 team also had the No. 2 all-time
passer in professional football history in pitcher Damon Allen. He is
the No. 1 passer in CFL history... The 1996 team started off the season
with a bang taking 34 of their first 42 games before hitting an inexplicable
slump that saw them lose 12 of their last 19 games. They snuck into the
Wichita State Regional by an at-large NCAA berth but were eliminated with
losses to Wichita State and Rice. That team had six major leaguers (Mark
Kotsay, Jeremy Giambi, Brent Billingsly, Aaron Rowand, Matt Wise and Mike
Lamb)... Cal State Fullerton has also never made it to Omaha three consecutive
years. And with trips to Nebraska in 2003 and 2004 for the big dance under
their belt, 2005 would mark the first time any Titan team would have accomplished
that feat.
