ON DECK:The Titans will have a mid-week tune up with
the Matadors of Cal State Northridge before a huge weekend clash with
the No.1 Green Wave in New Orleans. The Matadors are 5-5-1 on the season,
being led offensively by John Voita (.395, 2, 6) and Michael Paulk (.306,
2, 11). CSUN is hitting .287 as a team and is bringing a pitching staff
with an ERA at 4.77. The Northridge Fullerton match up is an added game,
replacing the rained out game versus Fresno St.
On Thursday the Titans will skip town and head to New Orleans to take
on Tulane. The Green Wave are 13-1 and are bringing quite an offense.
The team is hitting .323 with five players with more than two home runs.Tommy
Manzella (.305, 4, 16) and Micha Owings (.275, 6, 15) are packing the
power leading the team in homers. The weekend series will prove to have
some good pitching duels highlighted by possibly the best match-up in
the nation this year between Ricky Romero (4-0, 1.92 ERA) and Brian Bosbusevic
(3-0, 0.90 ERA).
CAL STATE FULLERTON
11-2 Overall
0-0 Conference
IN THE POLLS
3 Baseball America
5 Collegiate Baseball
3 ESPN/Sports Weekly
4 NCBWA
PROBABLE PITCHERS
WEB: J. Clark (0-0, 4.76 ERA)
FRI: R. ROMERO (4-0, 1.93 ERA)
SAT: R. SCHREPPEL (2-0, 1.29 ERA)
SUN: S.SARVER (3-1, 5.94 ERA)
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
6-5-1 Overall
0-0 Conference
IN THE POLLS
NR Baseball America
NR Collegiate Baseball
NR ESPN/Sports Weekly
NR ESPN/Sports Weekly
PROBABLE PITCHERS
TUE: C. BAKER (3-0, 2.25 ERA)
TULANE 14-1 Overall
0-0 Conference
IN THE POLLS
1 Baseball America
2 Collegiate Baseball
2 ESPN/Sports Weekly
2 ESPN/Sports Weekly
PROBABLE PITCHERS
FRI: B. BOGUSEVIC (3-0, 0.90 ERA)
SAT: M. OWINGS (2-1, 2.89 ERA)
SUN: TBA
PRIOR MEETINGS: Last season the Titans swept CSUN in
a three game series at Goodwin Field (3-2, 10-3, 4-3) The Titans have
a 29-14 edge over the Matadors all-time including a current five game
winning streak. The two teams first met in 1975 and have never met in
the post season.
Fullerton eliminated Tulane with two consecutive wins in last year’s
Super Regional in Fullerton to advance to the College World Series. Jason
Windsor retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced, including the first
eight, to down the Green Wave 9-0 in the first game. And in game two,
Kurt Suzuki’s two-run homer in the sixth provided Fullerton the
go-ahead runs, and his leadoff triple ignited a four-run ninth inning
to advance the Titans to the College World Series with a 10-7 victory.
Fullerton advanced to the CWS back-to-back years for only the second time
in the school’s history.
The Titans have an all-time 8-0 record against Tulane with six of those
wins coming in the post season (one in the CWS). The two teams first met
in 1987.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK IN BIG SHOWDOWN: It was announced
March 8 that junior left-handed pitcher Ricky Romero (East Los Angeles,
Calif.) earned Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for his
performance Saturday night (March 5) against Oklahoma. It is Romero’s
first pitcher of the week nod from the Irvine-based conference office
this season. Romero compiled 13 strikeouts over seven innings of work,
while walking only one Oklahoma batter. He scattered five hits along the
way earning his fourth victory of the year without a loss. The Titans
went on to defeat the Sooners 8-0, the Titans‚ second shutout of
the day.
All eyes will be looking to Louisiana this coming weekend as two of the
nations top hurlers will go head-to-head. Romero (4-0, 1.92 ERA) is scheduled
to pitch Friday night vs... Brian Bogusevic (3-0, 0.90 ERA) as the No.
3 Titans take on the No. 1 Tulane Green Wave in what is sure to be an
exciting weekend of college baseball.
ANOTHER BEING WATCHED: A watchful eye is now on two Titans
instead of one. The College Baseball Foundation announced Mar. 8 that
sophomore first baseman Brett Pill (Covina, Calif.) was added to the revised
2005 Wallace Watch, which annually presents the Brooks Wallace award to
the top collegiate baseball player of the year. Last season, Titan catcher
Kurt Suzuki was the inaugural recipient. Pill joins teammate Ricky Romero
as the second Titan named to the 2005 Wallace Watch.
Pill is having a superb sophomore season at first base hitting .431 on
the season including three home runs while knocking in a team-leading
14 RBI. Pill is currently riding a season-long, 13-game hitting streak
contributing to Fullerton’s 11-2 overall record.
HONORABLE LEFTIES: Southpaw juniors Ricky Romero and
Ryan Schreppel were recognized for their performances this past weekend
at the Kia Baseball Bash by the College Baseball Foundation as they were
named to the National Honor Roll saluting last week’s finest performances.
Both pitchers combined for 15 innings of scoreless pitching, with 21 strikeouts
between the both of them, earning Co-Kia Bash Most Outstanding Pitcher
honors along the way.
Schreppel was dominant Saturday morning as he tossed eight scoreless innings
giving up only four hits while striking out eight Nevada Wolf Pack hitters.
He improved to 2-0 on the season and dropped his team-leading ERA to 1.29.
Fullerton went on to beat
Nevada 5-0 with freshman Wes Roemer picking up the ninth inning for Schreppel.
For an encore, Romero came out Saturday night against Oklahoma and pitched
seven innings without allowing a run while striking out a season-high
13 Sooners. Romero improved to 4-0 by giving up just five hits and walking
only one. The Titans went on to claim their second shutout of the day
as Vinnie Pestano worked a scoreless eighth and ninth to close out an
8-0 victory.
STREAK SNAPPED: Fullerton held their opponents scoreless
for 23 straight innings (including back-to-back shutouts against Nevada
and Oklahoma) going back to the fifth inning of the San Diego State game
before UCLA managed to get a run off of Scott Sarver in the first inning
on Sunday.
OH YEAH, THE OTHER GUY: Not to be out-done by Romero, Ryan Schreppel
(Jr. LHP) is putting together quite a season. Schreppel has been no less
than superb from the hill going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA. In 28 Innings of
work he has put away 24 opponents by way of strikeout and allowing only
11 hits. Opponents are hitting only .120 against the lefty, whose change-up
has been a key factor to his success.
“FLIP” FANTASIA: He’s back. Since breaking
out of his 1-for-18 season-starting slump on Feb. 25, designated hitter
Felipe Garcia has hit .500 in seven games since. Over the past seven games,
Garcia has collected fifteen hits, four of them doubles, while driving
in a team-leading 11 runners. He was recently named the Kia Baseball Bash’s
Most Outstanding Player for his performance in the three-game tourney.
He hit an even .500 (6-for-12) in the tournament with a double and four
RBI.
STREAKERS: No, not that kind of streaker... Senior Ronnie
Prettyman and sophomore Brett Pill have some modest hitting streaks going
right now. Prettyman has hit safely in the past 12 games while Brett Pill
has hit safely in all 13 games this year. Both are atop the Titan leader
board in hitting with Prettyman leading the Big West Conference at .438
and Pill right behind him at .431. (*Side note – Blake Davis is
just behind Pill in the conference batting leaders with a .395 average
to complete the Titan trifecta.)
QUICK NOTE ON THE PEN: The Titan bull pen has only allowed
one earned run in its last 15.2 innings pitched (since Feb. 25 vs.. UNLV)
Only one earned run was allowed by John Estes and that cam in the fourth
inning of the San Diego State game on Mar. 1.
THREE LEFTS MAKE A RIGHT: The three Titan southpaws that
comprise the weekend rotation have been superb up to now. Ricky Romero,
Ryan Schreppel and Scott Sarver have compiled a 9-1 record with an ERA
of 2.60 . In 72.2 innings of work the trio has allowed just 21 earned
runs and struck out 77. Schreppel is leading the group with a 1.29 ERA
while Romero is taking care of the strikeout department, fanning 39 in
his 28 innings ... If you take out Sarver’s bad outing vs. Stanford
(.1 IP, 5 ER) the three lefties are 9-0 with a 1.99 ERA.
UNANIMOUS: The eight head coaches of the Big West Conference
teams have chosen 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
TOURNAMENT TALK: The Titans have made 26 NCAA Regional
appearances in their 30-year Division I history and have not missed the
playoffs since 1991. Their 13-year run is the fifth-longest active streak
in the nation. Only Miami (32), Florida State (27), Clemson (18) and LSU
(16) have longer streaks. Fullerton has advanced to Omaha 13 times, with
College World Series titles in 1979, 1984, 1995 and 2004 .
PREDICTIONS: Baseball America has looked into they Cal State Fullerton
will repeat as conference champions again in 2005 in their annual conference
preview. They have the Titans coming out on top with Long Beach State
and Cal Poly in tow, with all three teams heading to postseason play.
Junior lefty Ricky Romero's name was thrown around quite a bit as he was
predicted to be Pitcher of the Year as well as on of the Big West's Top
prospects in the 2005 MLB Draft. The preview also named Titan freshman
Jared Clark and junior Trevor Mortensen as Top Newcomers to the conference
with Clark as the Freshman of the Year. Juniors Justin Turner, Danny Dorn,
and Romero along with senior Ronnie Prettyman were all predicted to make
the all-conference team.
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 team
came in third place with 20 votes.
WALLACE WATCH LIST: Cal State Fullerton junior Ricky
Romero (East Los Angeles, Calif.) has been named one of the 58 baseball
student-athletes on the 2005 Wallace Watch released by the College Baseball
Foundation. The Brooks Wallace Award (formerly the Smith Award) is presented
annually to the national college baseball player of the year in Lubbock,
Texas. Fullerton’s Kurt Suzuki was the 2004 recipient of the Wallace
Award in its inaugural year. The Wallace Watch List will be trimmed to
12 semi-finalists by May 24. Thelist will be narrowed down to three finalists
following the Super Regionals on June 16. The finalists, their head coaches,
and their parents will be invited to Lubbock, TX, for a golf tournament
and banquet. Dedicated to the memory of former Texas Tech shortstop and
assistant coach, Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech
from 1977 to 1980. In 1984 he was diagnosed with cancer and fought the
disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27.
CLEMENS WATCH LIST: Romero leads a list of 42 college
pitchers who have been named to the initial Watch List for the 2005 Roger
Clemens Award. The winner of the second annual honor, designating the
top pitcher in college baseball, will be announced on July 14 in Houston,
Texas. Additional nominees will be added to the ballot based on notable
performances and rankings in the NCAA statistical rankings. The Roger
Clemens Award was named after future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, who
began his march to stardom while leading the University of Texas to the
College World Series title in 1983. The Roger Clemens Award is the only
award of its kind, honoring the finest pitchers in college baseball. The
second Clemens Award will be presented to the nation’s top college
pitcher at the conclusion of a gala dinner in Houston on July 14. All
Division I head baseball coaches will take part in the voting for the
honor, in addition to a selected panel of national media and all past
winners of the Rotary Smith Award, which was retired after the 2003 dinner
by the committee that is sponsoring the Clemens Award.
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 Div. 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 stuck 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 ... 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 Cassian, Jose Mota, John Fischel, 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 the first 34 of their 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 NCAA berth but were eliminated with losses to
Wichita State and Deleware. That team had three major leaguers (Mark Kotsay,
Jeremy Giambi, 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.
INJURY REPORT: 2003 All-American Dustin Miller will be out most
of, if not the entire season after undergoing shoulder surgery to clean
and tighten his right shoulder. He underwent the procedure in November
and will be out from six to nine months...Catcher Jon Wilhite has been
cleard to play following a collision with infielder Blake Davis in practice
where he was diagnosed with a contused spleen and a broken rib. Wilhite
will likely make the road trip to Tulane this weekend.
ATTENDANCE:
Home Attendance 16,224
Home Average Attendance 2,028
Home Dates 8
Away Attendance 4345
Away Average Attendance 869
Away Dates 5
Total Attendance 20,569
Total Average Attendance 1,582
