AROUND THE HORN: Cal State Fullerton regained
its No. 1 status in the Baseball America poll this week by sweeping conference
foe UC Santa Barbara last weekend, improving to 33-11 overall and 11-1
in league to lead the conference. Fullerton has swept its last four weekend
series with its only conference loss coming on April 1 versus UC Irvine.
The Titans are in the midst of their second longest winning streak of
the season at eight games dating back to April 20 versus USC. All three
weekend starters were successful improving their records, including Ricky
Romero (9-4) who earned his team-leading ninth win while striking out
eight on Friday night. Wes Roemer improved to 5-1 and Scott Sarver to
7-2. Blake Davis had a solid weekend with the stick posting a .571 average,
going 8-for-14 including two doubles and a triple with seven runs scored
and five RBI. Fullerton defeated the Gauchos by scores of 9-1 on Friday,
10-5 on Saturday and 16-2 on Sunday (35-8 in the series), out-hitting
them 41-21. Four Titans hit better than .500 in the three-game series
collecting 25 hits between them. Davis hit .571 (8-for-14), Trevor Mortensen
.556 (5-for-9), Brandon Tripp .545 (6-for-11), and Brett Pill .500 (6-for-12).
The Titans got off on the right foot this week as in a Tuesday night meeting
with San Diego State, the Titans used a two-run home run from Sergio Pedroza
to tie the game at 3-3 and a walk-off RBI single by Evan Mc Arthur to
beat the Aztecs in eleveing innings on ESPN 2. Vinnie Pestano pitched
a season high 3.1 innings in relief to pick up the win against Tony Gwynn’s
struggling ballclub.
ON DECK: Fullerton heads north to face Cal Poly head-to-head
in a three-game weekend series against the only other team with one loss
in conference. Cal Poly (30-14, 8-1), ranked No. 20 by Collegiate Baseball,
just finished sweeping Sacramento State in a three game series in San
Luis Obispo and is riding a six-game winning streak (its longest of the
year). The Mustangs are led offensively by Kyle Blumenthal (.393, 4 HR,
42 RBI) and Jimmy Van Ostrand (.385, 4 HR, 22 RBI). Van Ostrand is currently
riding a 15-game hitting streak. As a team Cal Poly is bringing with them
a .302 team batting average and 51 team stolen bases. From the mound Garret
Olsen is 10-2 with a 2.70 ERA tallying 103 strikeouts in 103.1 innings
to lead the team. Collectively the Mustangs have a 4.34 ERA and a .251
batting average against. Cal Poly is 14-6 this year at Baggett Stadium
and is 12-2 in night games and 18-12 during the day. Friday and Saturday
night’s games will be played at 6 p.m. with Sunday’s affair
starting at 1 p.m.
PRIOR MEETINGS: Fullerton has dominated Cal Poly since
their first meeting in 1984 as they hold an 36-4 all-time edge over the
Mustangs. The Titans are looking to extend their current six-game winning
streak over Cal Poly having swept them the last two seasons including
last year when they outscored the Mustangs 39-8 in the three-game series.
Jason Windsor, Ricky Romero and Mike Martinez all earned wins with Kurt
Suzuki showcasing his offensive prowess as he reached base in 11 consecutive
plate appearances.
BASEBALL WEBCASTS: 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 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.
TITANS ON THE TUBE: Cal State Fullerton’s Tuesday
evening non-conference game against San Diego State was broadcast nationally
on ESPN2. It was the first TV game for the Titans at home this year. With
the win, it imprved Fullerton’s record to 3-1 on television this
year with wins versus SDSU, Tulane and UC Davis. Their only loss was a
midweek match-up with USC at Dedeaux Field a few weeks back on KVMD.
BIG WEST CONFERENCE PLAY: The Titans will take an 11-1
conference record to San Luis Obispo having won all three conference games
they had on the road (Cal State Northridge). After losing the first game
to Dave Serrano’s UC Irvine Anteaters, the Titans have strung together
11 straight victories to lead the conference with a .917 winning percentage
... The Titans improved their conference batting average from.323 to .337
with their sweep of Santa Barbara last weekend. The Titan pitching staff
on the other hand has held the opponents to just a .239 batting average
over the 12 games. Fullerton has outscored its conference opponents 119-31.
They have ou-homered (15-4) and driven in more runs (109-29) than the
competition to date (UC Irvine, Cal State Northridge, Pacific and Santa
Barbara). Sergio Pedroza has been tearing it up in conference hitting
at a .514 clip blasting 3 of his 12 home runs and knocking in 15 RBI while
carrying an .647 OB%, leading the team in all four categories. From the
hill, the Titans have been dominant allowing only 26 earned runs in 108
innings (2.17 ERA) while holding the opponents to a .239 batting average.
Wes Roemer is 4-0 in Big West starts and has given up just four earned
runs in 30.0 innings of work for a 1.20 ERA. Roemer has struck out 23
while walking only four.
FRIENDLY CONFINES: The Titans are 20-5 on their own turf
this season with a 8-1 record against conference opponents at Goodwin
Field. The Fullerton lineup features seven of their starters with an average
of .340 or better at home with Justin Turner (.295) and John Curtis (.253)
the only two below the .300 mark. Sergio Pedroza is leading the team with
seven round-trippers and 23 RBI and Blake Davis is leading the team with
a .380 average in front of the home crowd. Injured Ryan Schreppel has
been superb going 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA. Wes Roemer (3-0, 2.12 ERA) and
Vinnie Pestano (1-0, 4 SV, 2.25 ERA) have also been successful with Ricky
Romero coming up as the surprising hard-luck pitcher on the squad. Romero
has posted a 5-3 record in eight starts at Goodwin Field despite holding
the opponent to a .189 average while striking out 66 in 59 innings.
ON THE ROAD: Heading to Cal Poly the Titans are carrying
a 14-6 road record. Each of the three weekend starters have a loss away
from Goodwin Field but have ERAs under 2.70 (Romero 2.15, Roemer and Sarver
2.67). The staff has held the opponents to just a .245 batting average
in their own yards and have two shutouts. Sergio Pedroza is on fire on
the road as well as hitting an even .400 (26-for-65) away from Goodwin
Field. He has collected four of his eleven round-trippers and has walked
10 times (including five in one game at CSUN on Apr. 8) in his road grays.
SMILIN’ ON SATURDAYS: The Titans are a perfect
8-0 on Saturdays this season. Over those eight games the team is hitting
at a .347 clip with 18 doubles, four triples and six home runs. Blake
Davis is leading the way going 15-for-30 (.500) on Saturdays with John
Curtis (.419) and Ronnie Prettyman (.406) in tow behind him. The Titan
pitching staff has been almost unhitable with opponents hitting just .180.
Ricky Romero, 2-0, has pitched 14 innings of scoreless baseball to lead
the Titan starters with a 0.00 ERA, while Wes Roemer (3-0, 1.35 ERA) and
Ryan Schreppel (2-0, 1.33 ERA) have started the remaining Saturday starts.
DESIGNATED POWER: In Sunday’s 16-2 route over UC Santa
Barbara, Trevor Mortensen hit his second home run of the year giving the
Titans only their third homer from the designated hitter’s spot
in the line up. Mortensen’s last home run was a big one. He hit
a grand slam last Saturday (Apr. 23) afternoon to tie the game at five
runs apiece, marking just the second home run hit by any DH. Jared Clark
had the other with a home run at Cal State Northridge. Garcia, who has
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 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.
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 and recently Bobby Andrews.
Trevor Mortensen has stepped into the DH spot with the loss of Garcia,
and has done exceptionally well. In seven games as the DH, Mortensen has
hit .462 (12-for-26) with two home runs and a team-leading 12 RBI, reaching
base via the hit in all seven games. Wes Roemer, having had five starts
in Schreppel’s absence, has gone 5-0 with a 2.37 ERA, striking out
27 while walking only four in 37.2 innings. Hitters against Roemer have
hit just .237. Brandon Tripp received three consecutive starts this past
weekend as Bobby Andrews was down with a hamstring pull. Tripp did nothing
but hit .556 (6-for-11) with a home run and five RBI on the weekend.
GOOD JUMPS: On Saturday afternoon, April 23, the 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: Last 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 (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.
DC BOUND: The 2004 Titans will gather once again for
a trip to Washington 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 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 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 their crystal
ball and have predicted that 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 one 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
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... 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 Cassian, 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 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 Rice. 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.
WALLACE WATCH LIST: Cal State Fullerton junior Ricky
Romero (East Los Angeles, Calif.) has been named one of the original 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. The list 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.
PILL ADDED TO WALLACE WATCH: A watchful eye is now on two Titans
instead of one. March 8, the College Baseball Foundation announced 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.
