THIS WEEK
Friday afternoon vs. UCSB, 7 p.m.Listen
| Gametracker
Saturday afternoon vs. UCSB 6:00 pm.Listen
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Sunday afternoon vs. UCSB 1:00 pm. Listen
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ON DECK: The Titans held onto their No. 2 national ranking going
into a Big West Conference series with this weekend with UC Santa Barbara.
Fullerton, now 30-11 on the year, look to somehow pull away from Cal Poly
in the Big West pennant race as both teams sporting an 8-1 conference
record while Santa Barbara holds the seventh place spot with just one
win in six conference games. The Gauchos are 19-22 overall in 2005 and
are bringing a .264 team batting average and a collective 4.95 ERA from
their pitching staff.
PRIOR MEETINGS: The Titans hold a 77-27 all-time records
against the Gauchos dating back to their first meeting in 1976 with the
two teams never meeting in the post season. Last season Fullerton took
two of three games at Caesar-Uyesaka Stadium in Santa Barbara. Jason Windsor
tossed his first career shutout and Kurt Suzuki homered in his third straight
game as the Titans defeated UCSB 8-0 in game one of the series. On Saturday
Felipe Garcia and Danny Dorn each homered and drove in two with Ricky
Romero tossing eight innings to improve to 8-3 as the Titans came out
on top 9-2. Romero allowed just a run while striking out seven. On Sunday,
the Gauchos trailed by one going into the bottom of the eighth, but rolled
an eight-spot in their half of the inning giving the Titans their first
Big West Conference loss of 2004 by a score of 14-7.
LAST WEEK: Fullerton's bats were mostly silent in a 6-2 loss
at Pepperdine on Tuesday and then on Wednesday the Titans absorbed the
loss in the completion of a Feb. 20 rain-delayed game in which they were
trailing USC, 7-2, in the eighth inning. The final score was 11-2, but
the Titans came back to win the make-up of the Feb. 19 rainout by a 5-3
count as Trevor Mortensen and Justin Turner each drove in two runs and
Lauren Gagnier, Dave Pherrin and Vinnie
Pestano did the mound work … For the weekend the Titans ventured
to UC Davis to meet the Big West-bound Aggies for the first time in a
non-conference series that opened on Friday in Raley Park, the AAA stadium
in Sacramento. Ricky Romero, with last-out help from Pestano, stopped
the Aggies, 5-1. Mortensen's grand slam was the big blow as the Titans
rallied from a 5-1 deficit to give freshman Wes Roemer another win on
Saturday, 12-7, with Pherrin getting a save in what was a 1-run game in
the eighth. On Sunday, Covina products Scott Sarver and Sergio Pedroza
were the stars. Sarver improved to 6-2 with 7 innings of solid work, allowing
only one earned run, and Pedroza drove in 3 runs in a 5-2 victory over
former Titan outfielder Rex Peters, now in his second year as Davis head
coach.
BASEBALL WEBCASTS: Cal State Fullerton baseball games will be
broadcast live on www.titansports.org. Follow the play-by-play action
with Justin Alderson, Todd Reeves, Troy Bardy and Patrick Alog all season
long. You can also follow all the action from your computer with GameTracker.
Follow the links from the Titans’ homepage or schedule page for
an animated play-by-play.
ESPN2 COVERAGE: Cal State Fullerton’s Tuesday evening
non-conference game against San Diego State will be televised on ESPN2
with the game starting at 5:00 pm. It will mark the first TV game for
the Titans at home this year. Dave Barnett will bring the play-by-play
with former Stanford standout pitch Kyle Peterson doing analysis. It will
be the fourth televised game for the Titans with Fullerton coming out
on top two of the three (Tulane and Davis) so far. They dropped a
midweek match-up with USC at Dedeaux Field a few weeks back. Check your
local listings for broadcast channel information, as individual cable
providers are different.
BIG WEST PLAY: The Titans are coming into the weekend
with an 8-1 conference record (5-1 in games at Goodwin Field) having won
their last eight, tied with Cal Poly for the lead. The Titans are hitting
.323 as a team over those nine games whil holding their opponent to just
a .247 average. Fullerton has outscored its conference opponents 84-23.
They have out homered (10-3) and drove in more runs (76-21) than the competition
to date (UC Irvine, Cal State Northridge and Pacific). Sergio Pedroza
has been tearing it up in conference hitting at a .552 clip blasting 3
of his 11 home runs and knocking in 14 RBI while carrying an .658 OB%,
leading the team in all four categories. From the hill, the Titans have
been dominant allowing only 19 earned runs in 81 innings (2.11 ERA) while
holding the opponents to a .247 batting average. Wes Roemer is 3-0 in
Big West starts and has given up just two earned runs in 23.0 innings
of work for a 0.78 ERA. Roemer has struck out 17 while walking only three.
FRIENDLY CONFINES: The Titans are 16-5 on their own turf this
season with a 5-1 record against conference opponents at Goodwin Field.
The Fullerton lineup will feature seven of their starters with an average
of .310 or better at home with Justin Turner (.274) and John Curtis (.277)
the only two below the .300 mark. Sergio Pedroza is leading the team with
seven round-trippers and 22 RBI and Ronnie Prettyman is leading the team
with a .377 average in front of the home crowd. Injured Ryan Schreppel
has been superb going 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA. Wes Roemer (2-0, 1.99 ERA)
and Vinnie Pestano (1-0, 4 SV, 2.40 ERA) have also
been successful with Ricky Romero coming up as the surprising hard-luck
pitcher on the squad. Romero has posted a 4-3 record in seven starts at
Goodwin Field despite holding the opponent to a .200 average while striking
out 58 in 51 innings.
INJURY BUG: The Titans have already lost three former freshman
All-American players (Dustin Miller, Clark Hardman and Ryan Schreppel)
to injury this season. But Wednesday prior to the resumption of a rain-delayed
game versus USC, designated hitter Felipe Garcia fractured his fifth metatarsal
in his left foot as he was taking ground balls at first base. Garcia will
be in a cast for no less than four weeks and could be stuck in it for
up to six weeks. Garcia has been the Titans‚ everyday designated
hitter compiling a .304 average with 10 doubles and 24 RBI...Ryan Schreppel
was seen throwing in the outfield prior to games at the Dobbins Baseball
Complex this past weekend at UC Davis. Schreppel is strengthening the
knee with a designed weight program and is looking to get back on the
mound for the first time early this coming week. Dustin Miller and Clark
Hardman (shoulders) are both
out the remainder of the season.
DESIGNATED POWER: Not only did Trevor Mortensen’s
grand slam on Saturday afternoon tie the game at five runs apiece, but
also it marked only the second home run hit by any designated hitter in
the Fullerton lineup this year. Jared Clark had the other with a home
run at Cal State Northridge. Garcia, who had done most of the DH-ing this
season, has yet to hit a round-tripper in over 104 at bats after hitting
six in 2004 and 15 at Santa Ana College in 2003. Mortensen’s slam
also marked the Titans‚ second grand slam of the season. The other
was supplied by unlikely power source of Blake Davis at UNLV.
THE 30/31 CLUB: Fullerton won its 30th game of the year
on Sunday against UC Davis marking the 31st Div. I season in a row that
they have accomplished the feat. 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.
FILL-IN FINE: Opportunities have become more available
to a couple that might not have seen as much time had key injuries not
happened to Felipe Garcia and Ryan Schreppel. Trevor Mortensen has stepped
into the DH spot with the loss of Garcia, and has done exceptionally well.
In four games, Mortensen has hit .412 (7-for-17) with a home run and a
team-leading 7 RBI over that span. Wes Roemer, having had four starts
in Schreppel‚s absence, has gone 4-0 with a 2.35 ERA,
striking out 21 while walking only three in 30.2 innings. Hitters against
Roemer have hit just .232.
GOOD JUMPS: On Saturday afternoon that Titans stole five
bases against the UC Davis Aggies‚ battery without drawing a throw
including back-to-back SBs by Justin Turner on back-to-back pitches. Fullerton
was 8-for-10 in swipes on the weekend vs. UC Davis.
CHALLENGER CLINIC: On Wednesday evening 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 (Chanel 50 in Orange County) will air 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 and will run a story with the publication date unknown.
DC BOUND: The 2004 Titans will gather once again for a trip to
Washinton DC to meet President George Bush at the White House to honor
their 2004 National Championship. The travel party will leave May 11 and
return on May 14 with the ceremony to take place on Friday the 13th. That
weekend the 2005 Titans will be enjoying their bye weekend with no games
scheduled.
GREENLEE’S PESTANO WATCH IS OVER: Former Titan pitcher
and current Sports Information Director Mike Greenlee has been watching
anxiously as current Titan closer Vinnie Pestano as he has been chalking
up the saves. Greenlee, who had seven career saves form 1996-97, was holding
down the No. 10 spot on the all-time Titan saves list and has been hanging
on by a thread to remain in the media guide. But with one save his freshman
campaign, and eight this season, Pestano has caught and zoomed past Greenlee,
erasing his
predecessor him from printed existence. A sad story huh?
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.
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 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.
