Regional Preview: Indiana State

Eugene Regional (PK Park, Eugene, Ore.)

Titans vs. Indiana State, Game 1: Friday, 2 p.m.

By FullertonBaseballFan


#3 Seed – Indiana State Sycamores

• Overall Record – 40-17
• Conference Record – 14-7 (1st place)
• How they qualified for a regional – At-large
• Last regional appearance – 1995 (1-2 at Oklahoma regional)
• RPI/ISR – 49/41 (Big West ISR comparison – Cal Poly 27, Long Beach 48)
• SOS – 141 (RPI)/135 (ISR)
• Record vs. tournament field – 7-6
• Record vs. top 50/top 100 RPI – 5-5/14-12

Season Summary

Indiana State was usually a doormat in the Missouri Valley Conference before athletic director Ron Prettyman hired Lindsay Meggs away from Chico State prior to the 2007 season.  Meggs turned things around and had the Sycamores in second place in 2009 with a 33-21 record (15-7 in MVC games) before moving on to coach Washington and he was replaced by Rick Heller, the coach of fellow MVC member Northern Iowa, a program that was discontinued after that season.  Indiana State had a solid year in 2010 at 35-19, 10-10 (3rd in the conference) before sliding back in 2011 to 29-28, 8-13 and finishing 6th in the MVC.  The Sycamores only hit .272 as a team and averaged just over four runs a game in conference games and had a team ERA of 4.33 that went up to 4.78 in MVC games.

Indiana State thought they would be improved this season because they returned their ten leading hitters from 2011 but probably because they returned only one starting pitcher, they were predicted to finish anywhere from fifth (by the MVC coaches) to seventh (by Baseball America and Easton College Baseball) and only Perfect Game, who predicted they would finish in third, had them end up in the top half of the MVC standings.  The Sycamores started the season off on the wrong foot by getting swept at Southeastern Louisiana, a bubble team that was left out of the NCAA tournament, before going 16-1 against the soft underbelly of their schedule and played only four teams who finished with RPI’s under 100 during that run – Missouri, Indiana and Notre Dame.

Indiana State’s schedule didn’t get much more difficult during the first part of their conference schedule as they started out 8-4 in MVC games against the lower level teams and they were sitting at 29-9 going into a home series with regional qualifier Dallas Baptist, who played series against each of the MVC teams this season.  The Sycamores won that key series and won another series at home two weeks later against traditional MVC heavyweight Wichita State that pretty much cemented an at-large bid.  The only series that Indiana State lost after the opening weekend was against Missouri State during the final weekend of the regular season after the Sycamores won the opening game against Nick Petree, snapping his 38 inning scoreless streak, to clinch their first conference title since 1985 and their first 40 win season since 1992.  Indiana State was nervous on selection day after losing two straight games in the MVC tournament but the selection committee rewarded them for winning their conference with an at-large bid for their first regional appearance since 1995.


Offense

·       Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 88 (decreases offense by 12%).
·       Batting Average – .290 (NCAA ranking - 61, conference - 3).  .257 in MVC games.
·       Runs – 369 (34, 2), 6.4 per game.  4.9 per game in MVC games.
·       Home Runs – 35 (63, 3).  8 in MVC games.
·       Stolen Bases – 48-63 (170, 6).  12-16 in MVC games.
·       Slugging Percentage – .402 (77, 3).  .348 in MVC games.
·       On Base Percentage – .376 (67, 2).  .342 in MVC games.
·       Walks – 197 (148, 6), 3.4 per game.  61, 3.0 per game in MVC games.
·       HBP’s – 104 (4, 1).  36 in MVC games.
·       Sac Bunts – 53 (68, 3).  23 in MVC games.
·       Strikeouts – 343 (DNR, 7), 5.9 per game.  137 (6.5 per game) in MVC games.

Indiana State is an aggressive team at the plate with six players with over thirty strikeouts and only three players with over twenty walks.  The Sycamores hit .307 and averaged over seven runs a game with 36 SB’s against their soft non-conference schedule but had trouble once they got into MVC play, when they hit only .257, ran much less and they were held to two runs or less eight times and were shutout in the opener of the conference tournament.  One area that they do excel in, and it’s probably not a coincidence with former Fullerton 3B Ronnie Prettyman on the coaching staff, is getting hit by pitches and the Sycamores were fourth nationally with 104 HBP’s.

Sending the Dirtbags Home

Before we start the postseason, let's take one more look on how the Titans won the Big West title outright and sent Long Beach State packing for another early offseason.

Video of the key 4-run 7th that put the game away. (Thanks, Roxko!)



And yeah, get rid of cable. Don't be a Dirtbag.

NCAA Regional Seed Analysis

By Samuel Chi

So just how much of a role did RPI play in the selection and seeding of the NCAA baseball tournament's 64 teams?

In a word: huge.

We have put together all the teams that are in the NCAA tournament field as well as teams ranked in the top 50 in the RPI but were left out, and the picture that emerged is that, with one or two exceptions, the seedings were done almost entirely by RPI. The selections process was slightly less so, but still RPI had significant sway.

How else to explain a Miami team that by any measure wasn't really a top 16 team and deserving of a 1 seed and hosting its own regional? But its final RPI ranking of No. 12 trumped it all.

We broke down the seeding with helpful color-coding to make this chart easy to read. Judge for yourself on who got lucky and who got screwed in this year's postseason field.

Keys
Boldface - automatic qualifiers
NE - not eligible (on NCAA probation)
NS - not selected

Rankings
RPI (Ratings Percentage Index), ISR (Boyd's World's Iterative Strength Ratings), BA (Baseball America), CB (Collegiate Baseball), PG (Perfect Game USA - not available), USA (USA Today Coaches Poll), BWA (NCBWA Writers Poll)

Sorted by seeds

Sorted by RPI

Note: If you're interested in having the sortable spreadsheet sent to you, contact media@bcsguru.com.

Titans Put Dirtbags Out of Their Misery

By Don Hudson

The Cal State Fullerton Titans went all the way down to the final game of the regular season to clinch the Big West Conference (BWC) championship by winning their best-of-three series against their dreaded rivals, the Long Beach State Dirtbags.  With the 5-1 BWC-clinching win, the Titans earned their 21st consecutive NCAA tournament invitation and their 34th in 38 seasons as a Division I baseball program.

The Titans will begin Regionals action against Michigan State on Friday in Eugene, OR.  That is the last place I saw the NCAA committee sending the Titans, but I guess they couldn’t resist the storyline of matching George Horton’s Oregon Ducks against his former team. There are additional back plots with Ronnie Prettyman on the coaching staff at Indiana State (volunteer assistant) and his father, Ron, is the Athletics Director against the Titans’ opening round opponent.  Also, Titans assistant Mike Kirby was on Horton’s staff at Oregon until joining Rick Vanderhook this season in Fullerton.

Game 1:  “Zero Never Wins”

Cal State Fullerton Titans 000  103  000  -    4   8   0
Long Beach State Dirtbags 000  000  000  -    0   6   2

The series opener featured the winningest pitcher in the BWC, Dylan Floro of the Titans, matched up with righthander Matt Anderson of the Dirtbags.  Floro generally has pinpoint control and Anderson is tough to hit but is known for streaks of wildness and high pitch counts, so it was a matchup seemingly favoring the Titans.

The hand played out almost as expected.  The first three innings were scoreless, although the Titans had runners on base every innings and went deep into the counts.  The Titans also threw some good leather behind Floro, with Michael Lorenzen making a great diving catch on a sinking line-drive in the first inning and Richy Pedroza snaring a hot-shot line-drive on a hit-and-run play in the third inning and converting it into a double-play.

The Titans scored the game’s first run in the top of the fourth, but momentarily let Anderson off the hook when they could not take greater advantage.  Anthony Hutting and Matt Chapman led off with singles.  A wild pitch negated the need for J.D. Davis to sacrifice, and he ended up walking to load the bases with nobody out.

Something unusual then happened.  Matched against a Dirtbags’ team with one of the best pitching staffs in the country, the value of each run was magnified.  With second-baseman Derek Legg due to hit, Coach Rick Vanderhook motioned him back to the dugout and Clay Williamson emerged from the dugout with a bat and helmet.  But before a pinch-hitter was announced, Dirtbags’ skipper Troy Buckley made his way to the mound for a conference.  During that break, Vanderhook and Legg conferred and Legg got a reprieve when he convinced his coach that he would have a good at-bat.  And Legg made good on his word, stroking a clean base-hit into rightfield to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Long Beach State Series Preview

Titans at Long Beach State (Blair Field)

Friday 6:30 p.m., Saturday 5:30 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m.

By FullertonBaseballFan

Fullerton entered last week with a good deal of momentum after winning eleven straight series and taking a two game lead into the week.  The Titans had their worst week of the season and lost their midweek game to UCLA 6-3 and followed that up by losing their first weekend series since the season opener at Florida when they were upset by Riverside in the final two games of the series 6-3 and 1-0 after Fullerton won the opener 3-2.  The Titans had their lead in the conference standings over Long Beach cut to one game when the Dirtbags won their series at home against Pacific.  Fullerton dropped its first weekend series at home since 2010 against TCU, its first conference series at home since 2009 against Pacific and its first series at home to Riverside after five previous series wins against the Highlanders at Goodwin Field.

UCLA got the better of Fullerton for the second time this season with a 6-3 win as the Titans lost for the sixth time on a Tuesday after winning a series the previous weekend.  UCLA scored twice off of Koby Gauna in the second inning and Fullerton stranded four runners over the first three innings before scoring a run in the fourth but stranding three more.  Matt Chapman singled and Anthony Hutting bunted him over and he advanced to third on a passed ball.  J.D. Davis walked and Anthony Trajano singled in Chapman.  Richy Pedroza’s two out single into the hole at short loaded the bases but the Titans weren’t able to push anybody else across.  Fullerton tied the game in the fifth with a two out rally off of Bruin starter Grant Watson when Chapman singled, Hutting walked and Davis singled in the run but poor baserunning in the fifth and sixth innings kept the Titans from taking the lead.  UCLA made it a 3-2 game with a run in the seventh off of Dave Birosak and Jose Cardona kept the Bruins from scoring any more runs.  Fullerton tied the game in the eighth without the benefit of a hit when Hutting walked and advanced on a SAC bunt by Matt Orloff, Trajano walked and when Clay Williamson grounded to short, the UCLA SS tried to throw out pinch-runner Austin Diemer at third but the throw got away and allowed Diemer to score with Trajano advancing to third.  Pedroza tried to give the Titans the lead with a safety squeeze but Trajano was thrown out at the plate.  The Bruins scored three runs in the top of the ninth off of Cardona to take the lead and Fullerton went down quietly in the bottom of the inning.  Chapman led the Titans with three hits and two runs and Pedroza and Trajano each had two hits.

Fullerton won their ninth straight game against Riverside on Friday behind an outstanding pitching performance from Dylan Floro, who allowed a run on three hits in the first inning but allowed only two batters to reach base on a single and a HBP over the next seven innings.  The Titans got a hit in each of the first three innings but were held off of the scoreboard by Highlander starter Eddie Orozco until the fourth when Lorenzen and Hutting walked, Chapman bunted them over and Williamson’s groundout scored the run.  Fullerton took the lead with two runs in the fifth when Jared Deacon led off with a single and Pedroza’s single was misplayed by the RF, allowing Deacon to score and Pedroza to advance to third.  Greg Velazquez’s grounder scored Pedroza with the second run of the inning.  Both teams were held scoreless until the ninth when Riverside rallied and their first two batters got hits.  Lorenzen came into the game and a double play scored one run and after a walk he got a flyout to end the game for his Big West leading sixteenth save.  Floro moved into a tie for first in the conference with his ninth win by allowing two runs on six hits with no walks and five strikeouts.  Carlos Lopez and Pedroza were the only players with two hits for the Titans.

A Lost Weekend for Titans

By Don Hudson

The Cal State Fullerton Titans squandered an opportunity to keep pace or extend their Big West Conference (BWC) lead over the second place Long Beach State Dirtbags when they dropped two-out-of-three games at home against the eighth-place UC Riverside Highlanders.  The losses came in the wake of a 6-3 midweek home loss to the UCLA Bruins last Tuesday, making the Titans losers of three-out-of-four games for the week (and four-of-their-last six, dating back to the UC Santa Barbara series.)

The Titans’ lead in the BWC was reduced to one game over the Dirtbags, who took two-out-of-three at home against the hapless University of the Pacific Tigers.

With the 1-3 record last week, the Titans dropped from #8 to #12 in the Baseball America rankings – still more generous than I would rank them.  In all of the other recognized national rankings, the Titans are in the #15 to #19 range.  As of today, the Titans are #20 in RPI, as calculated by Boyd’s World.

Prologue:  We didn’t recap the UCLA Bruins game (I have to work once in a while) but there seemed to be some “carry-over” effect going into the weekend series against UCR, so I’ll go back and make a few observations.

My overall take-away from the game was actually pretty positive, with my thinking that “if we can make this many mistakes and still be tied going into the ninth inning against an outstanding team like UCLA, we should win games like that if we just play to the level of our capability.”

Make no mistake – UCLA is an excellent team, deserving of their lofty (#3) RPI status.  Their win last Tuesday against the Titans made them 11-0 in midweek games, which they extended to 12-0 last night by beating UCI.  I love their “foot to the throat” attitude to win those games, even to the point of using their closer in the eighth inning of a tie game in the midweek.  Time will tell if that proves to be a good long-term strategy, but you certainly can’t deny that a 12-0 midweek record greatly enhances UCLA’s 2012 resume.

In no particular order of sequence or importance, let’s recap what we saw:

College Baseball BCS (May 22)

By Samuel Chi

One more week before the regional pairings announcement, the top of the standings look pretty solidified with all but one of the national seeds spoken for. The top six teams in the current standings should be locks for national seeds, as well as No. 9 UCLA, leaving the final spot up for grabs among No. 7 Rice, No. 8 North Carolina and No. 9 Texas A&M.

Florida State, ranked No. 1 in four of the five polls, appears to be the odds-on favorite to be the top-seeded team in the upcoming 64-team field. This is the fifth straight week the Seminoles are on top of the BCS standings. Florida, Baylor, Oregon, LSU and South Carolina, the other national seed locks, round out Nos. 2-6.

The Titans, who lost their first weekend series since the season-opener at Florida, dropped three spots to No. 15, teetering on the edge of a regional host bid. Kentucky likewise had a precipitous fall, plummeting seven spots to No. 13.

There is a remarkable consensus among the five polls as to the top 26 teams. Only Collegiate Baseball's stubborn ranking of Texas and Oklahoma fell outside of this consensus. Each of the top 25 teams in the standings are ranked by at least four polls and No. 26 Mississippi State is on three ballots.

The conference breakdown: SEC (7), Pac-12 (6), ACC (6), Big 12 (4), Conference USA (3), West Coast (3), Big East (1), Big Ten (1), Big West (1), Mountain West (1), Independent (1).

Click to enlarge

West Coast Late-Season RPI Report (May 21)

By FullertonBaseballFan

(Titans' opponents in blue)

Big West 

Fullerton 20 (-5) - 33-18, 15-6 (0-1 vs UCLA, 1-2 vs. Riverside) 
Long Beach 67 (-8 ) - 27-25, 14-7 (0-1 vs. P'dine, 2-1 vs. Pacific) 
Irvine 73 (-4) - 30-22, 12-9 (0-1 vs. USD, 2-1 vs. Bakersfield) 
Cal Poly 74 (+12) - 33-20, 13-8 (1-0 at Bakersfield, 3-0 vs. UCSB) 
Northridge 133 (-19) - 23-26, 10-11 (1-2 vs. UC Davis)
UCSB 138 (-12) - 24-27, 10-14 (0-3 at Cal Poly)  
Riverside 145 (+19) - 21-28, 9-12 (2-1 at Fullerton)
UC Davis 186 (+2) - 20-27, 8-10 (1-0 vs. Hawaii, 1-1 at San Jose, 2-1 at Northridge) 
Pacific 247 (+1) - 12-37, 2-16 (0-1 at Santa Clara, 1-2 at Long Beach)

IN (1) - Fullerton.  The Titans are a lock to be in a regional for the 21st straight season and have a chance at being a regional host if they win the first two games at Long Beach before the final game of the series (the hosting sites are announced before that game will be played) is played.  If they split the first two games at Long Beach they will probably be a 2 seed at a regional hosted by a Pac 11 team.

BUBBLE (1) - Long Beach.  Long Beach will win the conference by winning the series with Fullerton but will not be an at-large if they lose the series to Fullerton.

OUT (7) - Irvine, Cal Poly, Northridge, UCSB, Riverside, UC Davis, Pacific.  Cal Poly could finish in a three-way for the Big West title at 16-8 but cannot win the autobid and has too low of an RPI to be considered for an at-large.


Pac 11

UCLA 3 (NC) - 38-14, 17-10 (1-0 at Fullerton, 2-1 at Cal)  
Oregon 5 (NC) - 41-14, 19-8 (1-0 vs. USC, 3-0 vs. Seattle)
Stanford 13 (-1) - 36-15, 17-10 (1-0 vs. USF, 3-0 at Utah)
ASU 17 (+4) - 35-18, 17-10 - INELIGIBLE (0-1 vs. Arizona, 3-0 vs. UW)  
Arizona 18 (-1) - 36-16, 18-9 (1-0 at ASU, 2-1 at USC)
OSU 38 (-4) - 35-18, 15-12 (1-0 vs. Portland, 2-1 at WSU)
Washington 55 (-3) - 27-24, 11-16 (1-0 vs. Portland, 0-3 at ASU)
Cal 66 (+9) - 27-24, 10-17 (1-0 vs. WSU, 1-2 vs. UCLA)
WSU 80 (+1) - 26-26, 11-16 (0-1 at Cal, 1-0 vs. USC, 1-2 vs. OSU)
USC 86 (-8 ) - 23-27, 8-19 (0-1 at Oregon, 0-1 at WSU, 1-2 vs. Arizona)
Utah 190 (+13) - 14-38, 6-21 (1-0 at Utah Valley, 0-3 vs. Stanford)

IN (5) - UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, Arizona, OSU.  UCLA and Oregon have the inside track on national seeds - UCLA due to their RPI and Oregon due to series wins AT UCLA, Stanford and Arizona that have them in first place.  Stanford is a lock to host by winning at least one of the first two games vs. Cal.  Fullerton and Arizona are probably battling for the last western regional host site with the other likely to end up as a 2 seed.  OSU is going to be a 2 or 3 seed, depending on how they finish, wherever the NCAA tells the plane to fly to.

BUBBLE (1) - Washington.  The Huskies played their way into at-large consideration by going 5-1 in their two previous Pac 11 series before being swept at home by UCLA and at ASU.  They probably need to sweep WSU to get into a regional.

OUT (5) - ASU, USC, Cal, WSU, Utah.


WCC

San Diego 28 (+1) - 39-13, 14-7 (1-0 at Irvine)
P'dine 33 (NC) - 32-20, 14-7 (1-0 at Long Beach, 2-1 at LMU) 
Gonzaga 45 (+6) - 32-22, 12-9 (3-0 vs. Portland)
LMU 101 (-9) - 24-26, 12-9 (0-1 at SDSU, 1-2 at Pepperdine) 
St. Mary's 107 (-3) - 23-26, 7-14 (DNP)
USF 118 (+1) - 26-29, 12-9 (0-1 at Stanford)
Portland 123 (-26) - 23-23, 12-12 (0-1 at OSU, 0-1 at Washington, 0-3 at Gonzaga)
BYU 149 (-4) - 21-25, 9-12 (2-1 vs. Santa Clara)
Santa Clara 172 (-15) - 22-25, 4-17 (1-0 at Pacific, 1-2 at BYU)

IN (2) - San Diego, P'dine.  The Toreros and Waves play for the WCC title this weekend at P'dine.  The winner will probably be a 2 seed and the loser will probably be a 3 seed at regionals in CA (UCLA, Stanford or Fullerton if the Titans host).

BUBBLE (1) - Gonzaga, LMU.  Gonzaga played their way back onto the good side of the bubble with a sweep last weekend and needs to go at least 2-2 this week (at WSU, at BYU) to stay there.

OUT (6) - LMU, St. Mary's, Portland, LMU, USF, Santa Clara, BYU.


WAC

New Mexico State 26 (+4) - 35-20, 11-7 (0-1 at UNM, 1-0 at Bakersfield, 3-0 at San Jose)
Nevada 65 (+3) - 31-22, 11-7 (1-2 at Hawaii)
Hawaii 70 (+3) - 30-23, 10-8 (0-1 at UC Davis, 2-1 vs. Nevada)
Fresno State 108 (+13) - 25-26, 8-10 (2-1 vs. La Tech)
Sac State 111 (-23) - 27-26, 11-7 (0-3 vs. UNLV)
La. Tech 119 (-10) - 24-25, 6-9 (0-1 at Arkansas, 1-2 at Fresno)
San Jose State 208 (-14) - 22-27, 5-13 (1-1 vs. UC Davis, 0-3 vs. NMSU)

IN - None.  The only guarantee is the winner of the conf tournament getting the automatic bid.

BUBBLE (1) - NMSU.  The Aggies lost nine of ten before winning four straight to go from being a lock to being on the bubble.  Their RPI is still keeping them in the at-large conversation and they will probably be in a regional unless they go 0-2-BBQ in the WAC tournament.  If they are in a regional they are likely to be a 3 seed at Arizona (if they host) or at a regional in Texas (Baylor, Texas A&M or Rice).

OUT (6) - Nevada, Hawaii, Sac State, La Tech, Fresno, San Jose.  San Jose will miss out on the WAC tournament and the other five are hoping the roulette wheel lands on their number in the WAC tournament to win the automatic bid.


MWC

TCU 30 (+2) - 35-17, 18-6 (1-0 at Oklahoma, 2-1 vs. SDSU)
New Mexico 62 (+18 ) - 33-22, 18-6 (1-0 vs. NMSU, 3-0 vs. Air Force)
San Diego State 140 (+22) - 24-32, 12-12 (1-0 vs. LMU, 1-2 at TCU)
UNLV 209 (+14) - 26-29, 7-17 (3-0 at Sac State)
Air Force 258 (+2) - 12-39, 5-19 (1-0 at Northern Colorado, 0-3 at New Mexico)

IN (1) - TCU.  The Horned Frogs fought thru a ton of injuries but are getting healthy and playing well at the right time.  They are looking like a 2 or 3 seed, depending on how they finish, in a regional in Texas (Baylor, Rice or Texas A&M).

BUBBLE (1) - New Mexico.  The Lobos nearly buried themselves by starting 2-9 but will be an interesting study for the selection committee if they lose in the MWC tournament final.

OUT (3) - SDSU, UNLV, Air Force.


Independents/Others

Utah Valley 68 (-2) - 43-12, 28-0 (0-1 vs. Utah, 4-0 vs. Northern Colorado)
Bakersfield 175 (-16) - 22-28 (0-1 vs. NMSU, 1-2 at Irvine)
Seattle 202 (-4) - 18-22 (0-3 at Oregon)

BUBBLE (1) - Utah Valley.  They had their 32 game winning streak snapped by Utah and could end finish 46-12 and if they do, the NCAA selection committee will have an interesting decision on their hands.

OUT (2) - Bakersfield, Seattle.

UC Riverside Series Preview

UC Riverside at Titans (Goodwin Field)

Friday 7 p.m., Saturday 6 p.m., Sunday 6 p.m.

By FullertonBaseballFan

Fullerton looked to build on the momentum they got going coming out of their bye week in the Big West schedule when they won all four games against USC and Pacific by a combined score of 40-8 when they went on the road for a second straight conference series when they traveled up the 101 to UCSB.  It was a hard fought series between the Titans and Gauchos and one that got testy at times and Fullerton won their eleventh straight weekend series by holding off UCSB in opener 9-7, seeing their five game winning streak broken in a 7-1 loss in the middle game before coming back with a late rally to win 9-3 in the deciding game of the series.

Fullerton got things rolling right away on Friday against UCSB starter Kevin Gelinas when Richy Pedroza walked and advanced to second on a bad pickoff throw, was bunted over to third by Ivory Thomas, Carlos Lopez doubled him in, Matt Chapman walked, Anthony Hutting tripled them both in and J.D. Davis launched one over the LF wall for a two run HR to wrap up a five run inning in the highest scoring first inning of the season for the Titans.  Fullerton was held off of the scoreboard until the fourth when Pedroza walked again and moved up to third on two wild pitches and was tagged out in a rundown on a fielder’s choice by Lopez before Michael Lorenzen ended Gelinas’ day with a two run HR that stretched the lead to 7-0.  The Titans scored again in the fifth when Anthony Trajano got on base on an error and Jared Deacon tripled him in and thought they would have an easy win when Chapman hit Fullerton’s third HR of the day in the sixth to increase the lead to 9-0.  Dylan Floro had cruised through the first five innings and allowed no runs on one hit thru the first five innings but the wheels started to fall off in the bottom of the sixth when UCSB rallied for four runs on four hits and a walk to cut the lead to 9-4 and things really got dicey when the Gauchos scored three more runs in the seventh to cut the lead to 9-7 before Koby Gauna restored order after balking in the third run of the inning by getting the next two batters out.  Gauna retired all three batters in order in the eighth and Lorenzen finished things off with a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his Big West leading fourteenth save and Floro picked up the win to improve his record to 8-3.  The Titans’ thirteen hit attack was led by Chapman with three hits and two runs, Hutting with two hits, two RBI and a run, Lopez with two hits, two runs and an RBI, Deacon with two hits and an RBI and Lorenzen and Davis with two run HR’s.

The second game of the series went much differently as Fullerton struggled to hit against Andrew Vasquez, as many teams have this season.  The Titans got two hits in the first but stranded both runners and got three walks in the next two innings and also stranded those runners.  UCSB scored in the third off of Kenny Mathews to take the lead and the Titans took advantage of more wildness by Vasquez to tie the game in the fourth when Hutting was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch, Casey Watkins was hit by a pitch, Pedroza walked to load the bases and a walk to Thomas forced in the run but Fullerton ended up leaving the bases loaded.  The Gauchos took the lead for good with a run in the bottom of the fourth.  Fullerton tried to come back in the fifth when Chapman bunted for a single and Hutting got the sixth walk of the game off of Vasquez to knock him out of the game.  Matthew Vedo came in a struck out the first two hitters he faced to stop the rally and UCSB scored two more runs in the sixth to stretch their lead to 4-1 when Mathews hit the first batter he faced and hit two doubles off of Dmitri De La Fuente and extended their lead to 6-1 in the seventh on a two run HR by Lance Roenicke and tacked on another run in the eighth to finish off the scoring.  Hutting walked three times and Lopez had two hits, and was the only Titan with multiple hits as Fullerton stranded thirteen runners after getting seven walks and two HBP’s.  Mathews lost the first game of his career to fall to 5-1 while Vedo picked up the win with three scoreless innings and five strikeouts.  About the only excitement to come out of the latter part of the game occurred afterwards when Vedo had some interesting things to say to the Santa Barbara newspaper when he said he enjoyed making the Fullerton hitters look stupid.

Titans' Great Escape Out of Santa Barbara

By Don Hudson

In a hard fought series played at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium in Goleta, CA against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, the Titans won an emotional rubber game on Sunday, bouncing back from a 3-1 deficit to win 9-3, motivated by some ill-advised remarks made to the media by a Gauchos pitcher after the middle game shellacking, 7-1, suffered by Cal State Fullerton.  The Titans belted three home runs to take a commanding 9-0 lead in the series opener on Friday, but barely held on to win 9-7.

It was the eleventh consecutive weekend series won by the Titans, which enabled them to maintain their #8 position in the Baseball America rankings for the fourth consecutive week.  They hold a two-game lead over their nemeses from Long Beach; the Dirtbags lost 2-out-of-3 this weekend at UC Davis, but are likely to sweep the hapless University of the Pacific Tigers next weekend.  The Titans will play their final regular season series this weekend against UC Riverside.

See complete photo gallery of UC Santa Barbara Series


Game 1:  “Pitchers’ Duel?”

Cal State Fullerton Titans 500  211  000   -   9   13   0
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 000  004  300   -   7     9   2

The expectations entering this series were that the Titans would be facing a formidable pitching staff that has quickly developed under first year coach Dave Checketts into one of the best in the Big West Conference, with three left-handed weekend starters, including two of the BWC’s best: Kevin Gelinas and Andrew Vasquez.  Unlike the “crafty” lefties known to give the Titans fits over the years, the Gauchos staff includes several power pitchers: they lead the conference in strikeouts, but also yield a high number of walks, hit-batters and wild pitches.

Gelinas took the bump Friday with a 1.69 ERA and .182 opponents’ batting average after coming back from early season injuries, so the outlook for Friday was that the Titans would need a gem from their ace, Dylan Floro, and hopefully win a low-scoring nail-biter.  Oops.

College Baseball BCS (May 15)

By Samuel Chi

The polls are a bit divergent this week, with three different teams crowned No. 1 in five polls. But Florida State, on the strength of three No. 1s and solid RPI and ISR scores, retained the top spot in the College Baseball BCS standings for a fourth consecutive week.

The Seminoles are followed by Sunshine State rival Florida, South Carolina, Baylor and Oregon in the top five. The Gamecocks and Ducks each received a No. 1 ranking this week. The Bears, losing their first three Big 12 games this season when they were swept by Oklahoma, fell out of the top five in three polls.

The Titans, who won their 11th consecutive weekend series, fell one spot to No. 12. Fullerton is two spots behind its likely Super Regional foe UCLA and one ahead of Stanford and three ahead of Arizona, two of the teams likely to be sent to the Fullerton Regional as a No. 2 seed.

TCU returns to the top 25, checking in at No. 24, displacing Louisville, last week's No. 24. Gonzaga and St. John's are out of the rankings while Appalachian State and Oklahoma check in.

The conference breakdown: SEC (7), Pac-12 (6), ACC (6), Big 12 (5), Conference USA (3), Big East (1), Big Ten (1), Big West (1), Mountain West (1), Southern (1), West Coast (1), Independent (1).

Click to enlarge

West Coast Late-Season RPI Report (May 14)

By FullertonBaseballFan

(Titans' remaining opponents in Orange, past opponents in blue)

Big West 

Cal State Fullerton 15 (-1) - 32-15, 14-4 (2-1 at UCSB) 
Long Beach 59 (-8 ) - 25-23, 12-6 (1-0 vs. LMU, 1-2 at UC Davis) 
Irvine 69 (-8 ) - 28-20, 12-9 (0-1 at USD, 1-2 at Northridge) 
Cal Poly 86 (-9) - 29-20, 10-8 (2-1 vs. Bakersfield) 
Northridge 114 (+11) - 22-24, 9-9 (2-1 vs. Irvine)
UCSB 126 (+8 ) - 24-24, 10-11 (1-2 vs. Fullerton)  
Riverside 164 (+4) - 19-27, 7-11 (1-0 vs. LMU, 2-1 at Pacific)
UC Davis 188 (+9) - 20-27, 8-10 (0-1 at Nevada, 2-1 vs. Long Beach)
Pacific 248 (-7) - 12-37, 2-16 (0-1 vs. USF, 1-2 vs. Riverside) 

IN (1) - Fullerton.  The Titans are a lock to be in a regional for the 21st straight season and have a good chance at being a regional host if they go 5-1 in their six games before the final game of the Long Beach series (the hosting sites are announced before that game will be played) but have almost no chance of being a national seed.

BUBBLE (1) - Long Beach.  Long Beach isn't listed in the RPI needs report with having a chance to get their RPI to 45 or better by winning their last seven games with three of them being played vs. RPI anchor Pacific.  The series loss at Davis pretty much assured Long Beach of only getting into the post-season by winning the automatic bid.  If Long Beach makes the field, they would end up being a 3 seed, probably at UCLA (if Fullerton hosts a regional) or Stanford.

OUT (7) - Irvine, Cal Poly, Northridge, UCSB, Riverside, UC Davis, Pacific.

Irvine probably needed to go at least 9-3 in their final twelve games going into the week to get into a regional.  After a loss at USD and three days in the Valley at Northridge and suffering a series loss, they will miss the post-season for the first time since 2005.


Pac 11

UCLA 3 (NC) - 35-13, 15-9 (1-0 at P'dine, 3-0 at Washington)  
Oregon 5 (NC) - 37-14, 18-8 (1-0 vs. OSU, 2-0 vs. USC - 3rd game Mon)
Stanford 12 (+3) - 32-15, 14-10 (0-1 at San Jose, 3-0 vs. WSU)
Arizona 17 (+3) - 33-15, 16-8 (3-0 at Cal)
ASU 21 (+9) - 32-17, 14-10 - INELIGIBLE FOR POST-SEASON (3-0 at Gonzaga)
OSU 34 (-6) - 32-17, 13-11 (0-1 at Oregon, 2-1 at Utah)
Washington 52 (-10) - 26-21, 11-13 (0-3 vs. UCLA)
Cal 75 (NC) - 25-22, 9-15 (0-3 vs. Arizona)
USC 78 (-5) - 22-23, 7-15 (0-2 at Oregon -3rd game Mon)
WSU 81 (+1) - 24-23, 9-14 (1-0 vs. Portland, 0-3 at Stanford)
Utah 203 (NC) - 13-35, 6-18 (1-2 vs. OSU)

IN (5) - UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, Arizona, OSU.  UCLA and Oregon have the inside track on national seeds - UCLA due to their RPI and Oregon due to series wins AT UCLA, Stanford and Arizona that have them in first place.  Fullerton, Stanford and Arizona are probably battling for two western regional host sites with the other likely to end up as a 2 seed at the one that is sent packing.  Arizona swept Stanford in Tucson but Stanford has an easy finishing stretch (at Utah, Cal) to shoot up in the conf standings.  OSU is going to be a 2 or 3 seed, depending on how they finish, wherever the NCAA tells the plane to fly to.

BUBBLE (1) - Washington.  The Huskies played their way into at-large consideration by going 5-1 in their two previous Pac 11 series before being swept at home by UCLA.  They probably need to go 4-2 in their last two series (at ASU, WSU) to get their conf record to .500 in order to get into a regional for the first time in eight years since Tim Lincecum pitched there.  They would be a 3 seed wherever the NCAA tells the plane to fly to.

OUT (5) - ASU, USC, Cal, WSU, Utah.


WCC

San Diego 29 (-4) - 38-13, 14-7 (1-0 vs. Irvine, 1-2 vs. LMU)
P'dine 33 (+5) - 29-19, 12-6 (0-1 vs. UCLA, 3-0 vs. BYU)
Gonzaga 51 (-14) - 29-22, 9-9 (0-3 vs. ASU)
LMU 92 (+6) - 23-23, 11-7 (0-1 at Long Beach, 0-1 at Riverside, 2-1 at USD) 
Portland 97 (-10) - 23-18, 12-9 (0-1 at WSU, 2-1 vs. St. Mary's)
St. Mary's 104 (-19) - 23-26, 7-14 (0-1 at Sac State, 1-2 at Portland)
USF 119 (+2) - 26-28, 12-9 (1-0 at Pacific, 3-0 vs. Santa Clara)
BYU 145 (-9) - 19-24, 7-11 (1-0 vs. Southern Utah, 0-3 at P'dine)
Santa Clara 157 (-26) - 20-23, 3-15 (0-3 at USF)

IN (2) - San Diego, P'dine.  The Toreros are looking like they will be a 2 seed at UCLA unless the roof caves in their last two series (LMU, at P'dine).  It almost did before they won the final game of the LMU series.  P'dine has won five straight conf series to move into the pretty safe category as long as they don't get run off the field in their last two series (at LMU, USD) to feel safe.  They are looking like they will be a 3 seed at Fullerton (if they host a regional) or UCLA.

BUBBLE (2) - Gonzaga, LMU.   Gonzaga looked like a lock a few weeks ago but they have lost 11 of their last 14 games and would probably be on the outside looking in if the selection committee was picking teams today.  They probably need to go at least 5-2 the next two weeks to play their way back into consideration.  LMU is listed here because they are still in the race to win the WCC title (no shot at an at-large) after winning the series at USD over the weekend.  They have a must win series at home with P'dine this weekend.  If they pulled off the miracle and finished ahead of USD and P'dine they would be looking at a 4 seed at UCLA or Fullerton.

OUT (5) - St. Mary's, Portland, USF, Santa Clara, BYU.


WAC

New Mexico State 30 (-3) - 31-19, 8-7 (1-2 vs. Fresno State)
Hawaii 73 (-8 ) - 28-12, 8-7 (0-3 at Sac State)
Nevada 68 (+12) - 30-20, 10-5 (1-0 vs. UC Davis, 3-0 vs. San Jose State)
La. Tech 109 (NC) - 23-22, 6-9 (DNP)
Sac State 88 (+26) - 27-23, 11-7 (1-0 vs. St. Mary's, 3-0 vs. Hawaii)
Fresno State 121 (+11) - 23-24, 6-9 (2-1 at NMSU)
San Jose State 194 (-7) - 21-23, 5-10 (0-3 at Nevada)

IN - None.  The only guarantee is the winner of the conf tournament getting the automatic bid.

BUBBLE (1) - NMSU.  The Aggies have lost eight of nine to go from being a lock to being on the bubble.  They have five road games to finish up the regular season (at New Mexico, at Bakersfield, at San Jose).  Their RPI is still keeping them in the at-large conversation despite falling to third in the conf standings.  If they are in a regional they are likely to be a 3 seed at Arizona (if they host) or at a regional in Texas (Baylor, Texas A&M or Rice).

OUT (6) - Nevada, Hawaii, Sac State, La Tech, Fresno, San Jose.  One of these teams will miss out on the WAC tournament and the other five are hoping the roulette wheel lands on their number in the WAC tournament to win the automatic bid.


MWC

TCU 32 (+1) - 32-16, 16-5 (3-0 at Air Force)
New Mexico 80 (+8 ) - 29-22, 15-6 (2-1 at UNLV)
San Diego State 162 (-4) - 22-30, 11-10 (0-3 at Texas A&M)
UNLV 225 (-1) - 23-29, 7-17 (1-2 vs. New Mexico)
Air Force 260 (-2) - 11-36, 5-16 (0-3 vs. TCU)

IN (1) - TCU.  The Horned Frogs fought thru a ton of injuries but are getting healthy and playing well at the right time.  They are looking like a 2 or 3 seed, depending on how they finish, in a regional in Texas (Baylor, Rice or Texas A&M).

OUT (4) - New Mexico, SDSU, UNLV, Air Force.  New Mexico buried themselves by starting 2-9 and will be a dangerous team for TCU in the MWC tournament (teams split series, each winning at home).  The other three teams look like they will just be opponents for TCU and UNM to play in the MWC tournament.


Independents/Others

Utah Valley 66 (-6) - 39-11, 24-0 (4-0 at New York Tech)
Bakersfield 159 (+8 ) - 21-25 (1-2 at Cal Poly)
Seattle 198 (-7) - 18-22 (1-2 at Ohio State)

BUBBLE (1) - Utah Valley.  Their RPI went up from 60 to 66 after playing an RPI anchor last week.  They have won 32 in a row and could end up winning 40 in a row to finish 47-11 and if they do, the NCAA selection committee will have an interesting decision on their hands.

OUT (2) - Bakersfield, Seattle.

UC Santa Barbara Series Preview

Titans at UC Santa Barbara (Caesar Uyesaka Stadium)

Friday 3 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m.

By FullertonBaseballFan

Fullerton returned to action after taking the weekend off due to a bye in the Big West schedule with a midweek game at Goodwin Field against USC before hitting the road to play Pacific last weekend.  The Titans won all four games last week with a 4-2 win against the Trojans before sweeping the Tigers 5-2, 21-4 and 10-0 to move one game ahead of Long Beach in the conference standings in Fullerton’s last visit to Stockton before Pacific leaves the Big West after the 2013 season.

Fullerton only had six hits against USC but took advantage of twelve walks and, despite leaving fourteen runners on base, was able to get enough guys around the bases and took advantage of some solid pitching to beat the Trojans and get their first Tuesday win against a Pac 11 team after losing to USC, WSU, UCLA and ASU previously on Tuesdays (the Titans did beat ASU in their second game in Tempe). USC scored a run in the second inning and the Titans stranded eight runners, five getting on base on BB's and HBP's, over the first four innings before they took the lead with two runs in the fifth when Carlos Lopez walked, Michael Lorenzen doubled him to third, Lopez scored on Anthony Hutting's ground out to tie the game and Lorenzen scored on J.D. Davis' ground out.  Fullerton put the game out of reach with two runs in the sixth when Richy Pedroza and Ivory Thomas led off the inning with walks and Lornenzen tripled them in.  The Titans used seven pitchers on a staff day that was used to get the pitching staff back in the groove after not playing last weekend.  Jose Cardona started and allowed a run in two innings, Koby Gauna threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win and Lorenzen finished things off in the ninth for his Big West leading thirteenth save.  Lorenzen was the hitting star of the night in his best game of the season with three extra base hits (two 2B's and a 3B), two RBI and a run and Pedroza was on base four times with two hits and two walks.

Fullerton got off to a lead in Friday’s game when Hutting led off the second with a double and Matt Chapman singled him in.  The Titans held the 1-0 lead until the fifth when Pacific got to Dylan Floro for two runs on three hits.  Fullerton came right back to tie the game in the sixth when Hutting led off the inning with a HBP, J.D. Davis walked and Anthony Trajano’s RBI single tied things up.  The Titans took the lead for good with three runs in the eighth when the wheels fell off for the Tigers on defense.  Hutting got things started again with a walk, Chapman bunted him to second, J.D. Davis hit a blooper that should have been caught but fell in and the runners moved up on an errant throw in from CF, Hutting and Davis scored on Trajano’s fielder’s choice grounder when Hutting’s hard slide dislodged the ball from the catcher’s glove (with the catcher leaving the game with an arm injury) with Trajano advancing to second on the play and he scored on back to back wild pitches that the backup catcher couldn’t keep in front of him.  Floro threw a complete game in his return to the area where he is from and held Pacific to two runs on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts to improve to 7-3 in front of many friends and family members.  Pedroza had three hits, Thomas had two hits and Chapman had two hits, a run and an RBI to lead the Titans offense.

Pacific came into the series a pretty banged up team and was even more shorthanded after losing two more players in Friday’s game and Fullerton took advantage of those injuries to bludgeon the Tigers over the next two games.  The Titans scored in every inning on Saturday except for the fifth on their way to scoring 21 runs on 21 hits and got things started with three runs in the first when Pedroza led off with a double, Thomas reached base on an error, a wild pitch moved them up and Lopez singled them in, Lopez stole second and Hutting drove him in.  Allen Riley hit a two run HR in the bottom of the inning for Pacific off of Kenny Mathews before the Titans extended the lead to 9-2 with a run in the second, two runs in the third and three runs in the fourth.   Trajano singled to lead off the second, Casey Watkins bunted him over and Thomas singled him in.  Lorenzen doubled to lead off the third, Hutting walked and Davis doubled them both in.  Thomas walked, Lorenzen singled, Thomas scored on a wild pitch, Chapman singled in Lorenzen, Chapman moved up on a wild pitch and Hutting singled him in for the three runs for Fullerton in the fourth and the rout was on.  The Titans continued to hammer the Pacific bullpen and scored eleven runs over the last three innings with Lopez topping things off with a grand slam.  Mathews picked up the win to improve to 5-0 with seven solid innings and allowed three runs on three hits with no walks and two strikeouts.  Fourteen Titans either got a hit, scored a run or drove in a run with Lorenzen, Chapman, and Watkins each getting three hits, Hutting driving in three runs, Davis and Matt Orloff both driving in two runs and Lopez driving in six runs on his way to winning Big West player of the week honors.

Titans Wipe Out Tigers in Clean Sweep

By Don Hudson

Cal State Fullerton Titans        241  010  002   -    10   17   1
University of the Pacific Tigers 000  000  000   -      0     3   4


The Cal State Fullerton Titans finished the job yesterday, scoring early and often and rode the complete game, three-hit pitching of Grahamm Wiest to defeat the University of the Pacific Tigers and complete the sweep.  It was the tenth consecutive weekend series win for the Titans and put them in sole possession of first place in the Big West Conference, one game ahead of the Long Beach State Dirtbags.  Wiest was brilliant in mowing through the Tigers’ line-up, throwing just 85 pitches and facing 29 batters, just two over the minimum.

By the time Wiest threw his first pitch, his teammates had already staked him to a 2-0 lead.  Ivory Thomas singled with one out and scored on a double by Carlos Lopez.  A two-out RBI single brought in Lopez, just ahead of the throw from UOP rightfielder Allen Riley.

Catcher Jared Deacon gave his team a “pick me up” in the bottom of the inning when he thwarted an attempted stolen base.  After getting their butts handed to them the night before, UOP Coach Ed Sprague seemed to be signaling a more aggressive posture on Sunday when he ran his leadoff man, who had reached on an error, despite trailing by a couple runs.  Deacon’s throw seemed to exhaust the Tigers’ early hopes.

All hope was lost when the Titans scored four runs in the second against starter Mike Hager.  Matt Orloff, starting at second-base after knocking out two hits off the bench on Saturday, led off with a single and went to second on a perfectly executed hit-and-run single by Deacon through the vacated shortstop hole.  A sacrifice by Richy Pedroza and a HBP to Thomas loaded the bases, before Lopez lifted a deep flyball towards rightfield.  The runners weren’t sure if it would be caught, but it carried and bounced off the wall, just missing his second grand slam in two days.  Orloff and Deacon scored on the play, with Thomas and Lopez subsequently scoring on another clutch two-out hit by Hutting.
The Titans made it 7-0 when they converted the extra point in the third inning, all with two out.

Deacon and Pedroza singled before Thomas delivered an RBI-single.

The lone bright spot for the Tigers was the outstanding relief work of lefthander Kyle Crawford, who entered the game in the top of the fourth and allowed no earned runs in six innings, although he was victimized by three unearned runs.  You had to feel badly for UOP third-baseman Taylor Murphy, an outfielder playing out of position due to the rash of injuries: he made four errors in the game.

There is no mercy rule in Division I baseball, but I’ll spare the rest of the details.  The Titans scored an unearned run in the fifth and two more in the ninth inning.  While Wiest was clearly the game’s top star, the offense spread the lifting around.  They posted 17 hits, with 3 by Pedroza and two each by Lopez, Thomas, Hutting, Orloff and Deacon.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So what did we learn this weekend?

College Baseball BCS (May 8)

By Samuel Chi

There isn't a lot of shakeups near the top of this week's Baseball BCS standings, as Florida State holds the No. 1 spot for the third straight week. The Seminoles are a unanimous No. 1 choice of all five polls and rank No. 1 in the ISR and No. 2 in the RPI.

Baylor is second, followed by a trio of SEC teams - Florida, South Carolina and LSU - followed by another Lone Star entry in Rice. Oregon, at No. 7, is the highest ranked West Coast team.

The Titans just missed being in the top 10, thanks to the continued low rankings in the USA Today coaches poll and NCBWA poll. UCLA checks in at No. 9 and Stanford at No. 13.

No new teams made it into the top 25, but several first-time entries are lurking. TCU is back in the picture at No. 26 and Dallas Baptist makes its BCS debut at No. 27.

The conference breakdown: SEC (7), Pac-12 (6), ACC (6), Big 12 (4), Conference USA (3), WCC (2), Big East (2), Big Ten (1), Big West (1), Mountain West (1), Independent (1).

Click to enlarge

West Coast Late-Season RPI Report (May 7)

By FullertonBaseballFan

(Titans' remaining opponents in Orange, past opponents in blue)


Big West 

Fullerton 14 (-1) - 30-14, 12-3 (1-0 vs. USC, 3-0 at Pacific) 
Long Beach 51 (+5) - 23-21, 11-4 (0-1 vs. UCLA, 2-0 vs. LMU H/A/H - GAME 3 MON) 
Irvine 61 (+6) - 27-17, 11-7 (1-0 at SDSU, 3-0 vs. UCSB) 
Cal Poly 77 (-11) - 27-19, 10-8 (1-0 vs. P'dine, 1-2 at UC Davis) 
Northridge 125 (-11) - 20-23, 7-8 (2-1 at Riverside)
UCSB 134 (-19) - 23-22, 9-9 (0-3 at Irvine)  
Riverside 168 (-19) - 16-26, 5-10 (1-1 at UNLV, 1-2 vs. Northridge)
UC Davis 197 (+2) - 18-25, 6-9 (0-1 at Fresno, 2-1 vs. Cal Poly)
Pacific 241 (-2) - 11-34, 1-14 (0-3 vs. Fullerton) 


IN (1) - Fullerton.  The Titans are a lock to be in a regional for the 21st straight season and have a good chance at being a regional host if they go 5-1 against UCSB and Riverside but have almost no chance of being a national seed.

BUBBLE (2) - Long Beach, Irvine.  The RPI needs report says Long Beach would need to go 10-1 the rest of the way to get their RPI down to 45 due to series with UC Davis and Pacific coming up. They probably need to go at least 5-1 in those series and 3-2 in their other games (LMU today, P'dine and the Fullerton series) to stay in the conversation for an at-large bid.  The RPI needs report says Irvine would need to go 11-1 the rest of the way to get their RPI down to 45 due to series with Northridge, Bakersfield and UC Davis coming up.  They also have three midweek games left with USD and UCLA to help boost their RPI. They probably need to go 2-1 in their midweek games and 7-2 in their weekend series to stay under consideration for an at-large.  One of these teams will probably make it into the regional field and end up being a 3 seed at UCLA.  If both make the field, the other one would end up being a 3 seed at Stanford/Arizona.

OUT (6) - Cal Poly, Northridge, UCSB, Riverside, UC Davis, Pacific.

Cal Poly played their way out of any at-large consideration with a series loss at UC Davis, their fourth straight series loss on the road.


Pac 11

UCLA 3 (+1) - 31-13, 12-9 (1-0 at Long Beach, 2-1 vs. Purdue)  
Oregon 5 (+11) - 34-14, 16-8 (2-0 at Gonzaga,  2-1 at Arizona)
Stanford 15 (+7) - 29-14, 11-10 (0-1 at San Jose, 1-2 at OSU)
Arizona 20 (-1) - 30-15, 13-8 (1-2 vs. Oregon)
OSU 28 (+1) - 30-15, 11-10 (2-1 vs. Stanford)
ASU 30 (-5) - 29-17, 14-10 - INELIGIBLE  (3-0 vs. Utah)  
Washington 42 (+7) - 26-18, 11-10 (3-0 at USC)
USC 73 (-20) - 22-21, 7-13 (0-1 at Fullerton, 0-3 vs. Washington) 
Cal 75 (-1) - 25-19, 9-12 (2-1 at WSU)
WSU 82 (-9) - 23-20, 9-11 (1-2 vs. Cal)
Utah 203 (-8 ) - 12-33, 5-16 (0-3 vs. ASU)


IN (5) - UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, Arizona, OSU.  UCLA and Oregon have the inside track on national seeds - UCLA due to their RPI and Oregon due to series wins AT UCLA, Stanford and Arizona.  Stanford and Arizona are probably battling for the fourth western regional host with the other likely to end up as a 2 seed at Fullerton.  Arizona swept Stanford in Tucson but Stanford has an easy finishing stretch (WSU, at Utah, Cal) to shoot up in the conf standings.  OSU is a solid 2 seed wherever the NCAA tells the plane to fly to.

BUBBLE (1) - Washington.  The Huskies have played their way into at-large consideration by going 5-1 in their last two Pac 11 series (at Utah and USC).  If they can go 4-5 in their last three series (UCLA, at ASU, WSU) they will probably get into a regional for the first time in eight years since Tim Lincecum pitched there.  They would be a 3 seed wherever the NCAA tells the plane to fly to.

OUT (5) - ASU, USC, Cal, WSU, Utah.  USC won home series with Cal and OSU within the last month but sweeps at ASU and at home this weekend to UW were the nail in the coffin.  Cal has a brutal finishing stretch vs. Arizona and UCLA and at Stanford and could play their way into the field by winning at least two of those series but it isn't likely.  WSU lost home series to ASU and Cal the last two weeks to end any at-large hopes they had.


WCC

San Diego 25 (+1) - 36-11, 13-5 (3-0 at BYU)
Gonzaga 37 (-7) - 29-17, 9-9 (0-2 vs. Oregon, 2-1 at St. Mary's)
P'dine 38 (-10) - 26-18, 9-6 (0-1 at Cal Poly, 2-1 vs. USF)
St. Mary's 85 (+5) - 22-23, 6-12 (0-1 at Nevada, 1-2 vs. Gonzaga)
Portland 87 (-1) - 21-16, 10-8 (DNP)
LMU 98 (-30) - 21-20, 9-6 (0-2 vs. Long Beach - H/A/H - 3RD GAME MON) 
USF 121 (+6) - 22-28, 9-9 (1-0 at Sac State, 1-2 at P'dine)
Santa Clara 131 (-1) - 20-20, 3-12 (2-0 at Seattle)
BYU 136 (-8 ) - 18-21, 7-8 (0-1 at Utah Valley, 0-3 vs. San Diego)


IN (1) - San Diego.  The Toreros are looking like they will be a 2 seed at UCLA unless the roof caves in their last two series (LMU, at P'dine).

BUBBLE (2) - Gonzaga, P'dine.  Gonzaga still has four non-conf games left to boost their RPI (series vs. ASU, midweek with WSU) and series vs. Portland and at BYU.  They need to improve their conf record to stay safely in the field.  They are looking like a 3 seed at Oregon.  P'dine's conf record is better and they probably need to win two of three conf series (BYU, at LMU, USD) to feel safe.  They are looking like they will be a 3 seed at Fullerton.

OUT (6) - St. Mary's, Portland, LMU, USF, Santa Clara, BYU.  The only team with even faint hopes would be Portland, who has a series left with Gonzaga and three games left with Oregon/OSU to boost their RPI.


WAC

New Mexico State 27 (-6) - 30-17, 7-5 (0-1 vs. Texas Tech, 0-3 at Hawaii)
Hawaii 65 (+28 ) - 28-18, 8-4 (3-0 vs. NMSU)
Nevada 80 (-16) - 26-20, 7-5 (1-0 vs. St. Mary's, 1-2 at Seattle)
La. Tech 109 (+15) - 23-22, 6-9 (3-0 vs. San Jose State)
Sac State 114 (-18 ) - 25-23, 8-7 (0-1 vs. USF, 1-2 at Fresno State)
Fresno State 132 (+2) - 21-23, 4-8 (1-0 vs. UC Davis, 2-1 vs. Sac State)
San Jose State 187 (-12) - 21-20, 5-7 (1-0 vs. Stanford, 0-3 at La. Tech)

IN (1) - NMSU.  The Aggies have lost six in a row and have the two worst teams in the WAC coming up (Fresno, San Jose) so they should be able to right the ship.  They are likely to be a 3 seed at Arizona (if they host) or at a regional in Texas (Baylor, Texas A&M or Rice).

BUBBLE (1) - Hawaii.  They would probably need to go 5-1 in their last two series (at Sac State, vs. Nevada) and play well in the WAC tournament to have any shot at an at-large bid.

OUT (5) - Nevada, La Tech, Sac State, Fresno, San Jose.  One of these teams will miss out on the WAC tournament and the other four are hoping the roulette wheel lands on their number in the WAC tournament to win the automatic bid.


MWC

TCU 33 (+8 ) - 29-16, 13-5 (1-0 vs. Oklahoma, 2-1 vs. New Mexico)
New Mexico 88 (-3) - 27-21, 13-5 (1-2 at TCU)
San Diego State 158 (+6) - 22-27, 11-10 (0-1 vs. Irvine, 2-1 vs. UNLV)
UNLV 224 (-13) - 22-27, 6-15 (1-1 vs. Riverside, 1-2 at SDSU)
Air Force 258 (+2) - 11-33, 5-13 (1-3 at Kansas Tournament)


IN (1) - TCU.  The Horned Frogs fought thru a ton of injuries but are getting healthy and playing well at the right time.  They are looking like a 2 or 3 seed, depending on how they finish, in a regional in Texas (Baylor, Rice or Texas A&M).

OUT (4) - New Mexico, SDSU, UNLV, Air Force.  New Mexico buried themselves by starting 2-9 and will be a dangerous team for TCU in the MWC tournament (teams split series, each winning at home).  The other three teams look like they will just be opponents for TCU and UNM to play in the MWC tournament.


Independents/Others

Utah Valley 60 (+17) - 35-11, 20-0 (1-0 vs. BYU, 4-0 at Houston Baptist)
Bakersfield 167 (-5) - 19-23 (0-3 at NC State)
Seattle 191 (-13) - 17-20 (0-2 vs. Santa Clara, 2-1 vs. Nevada)


BUBBLE (1) - Utah Valley.  They have their RPI down to 60 but will be playing some RPI anchors the rest of the way.  They have won 28 in a row and could end up winning 40 in a row to finish 47-11 and if they do, the NCAA selection committee will have an interesting decision on their hands.

OUT (2) - Bakersfield, Seattle.

'Black Jack' Titans Take Down the House

By Don Hudson

Cal State Fullerton Titans      312  301  236  -   21   21   0
University of the Pacific Tigers 200  100  001  -     4     7    4

The Titans’ 5-2 win in the series opener had all the physical play of a football game; the middle game on Saturday had scoring more typically associated with football.  With the Titans’ (29-14, 11-3) 21-4 clobbering of University of the Pacific, the Titans clinched their tenth consecutive weekend series win and moved into sole possession of the Big West Conference lead, a half game ahead of Long Beach State.  (The Dirtbags are playing outside the conference this weekend against Jason Gill’s Loyola Marymount University Lions.)

Our Game 1 recap reported two UOP players left the game with injuries, subsequently determined to be a concussion (first-baseman Erik Lockwood) and broken arm (catcher Jason Taasaas).  Tigers skipper Ed Sprague had no options but to use a patch-work line-up that included a freshman walk-on third-string catcher (Dallas Correa), a first-baseman (Daniel Johnston) playing just his second game at the position and third-baseman (Curtis Gomez) playing the position for just the fourth time.

The Titans kicked a field goal in the top of the first.  After Richy Pedroza led off with a double and Ivory Thomas reached on an error and advanced on a wild pitch, Carlos Lopez delivered a two-run single.  Lopez stole second and scored the third run of the inning on a single by Anthony Hutting, following a walk to Matt Chapman.

Pacific came back with a safety in the bottom of the first on a double and two-run homer by switch-hitter Allen Riley against winning pitcher Kenny Mathews.

The Titans scored in the second on a leadoff single by Anthony Trajano up the middle, a sacrifice by Casey Watkins and an RBI single by Thomas.  They added two more runs to make it 6-2 in the top of the third on a double and stolen base by Michael Lorenzen, a walk to Hutting and a two-run double to right-centerfield by J.D. Davis.

The Titans kicked another field goal in the fourth inning, with most of the damage coming with two outs.  Thomas had walked and nearly stole second about ten times, each time returning to first after Lorenzen fouled off pitches.  Thomas eventually came around to score on a single by Lorenzen and a wild pitch.  Chapman’s single drove in Lorenzen.  A base hit by Hutting drove in Chapman and the rout was on.

The last good thing that happened for Pacific was a solo home run by Daniel Johnston in the bottom of the fourth inning.

I’ll spare you the details of how the remaining runs scored and stick to the highlights.  The Titans replaced six of the nine offensive starters mid-game and played station-to-station baseball, but the runs continued to amass against the inept pitching and defense of UOP.

Titans Emerge from Collision with Tigers

By Don Hudson

Cal State Fullerton Titans         010  001  030  -   5   11   0
University of the Pacific Tigers 000  020  000  -   2     5    3

For the many Titans fans that pine for the return of football to campus, you would have loved last night’s game.

In a game that included three bone-jarring collisions, the Cal State Fullerton Titans rode the complete game pitching of Dylan Floro (7-3, 2.25) to a 5-2 win over the University of the Pacific Tigers in the series opener at Klein Family Field in Stockton, CA.  Floro allowed just five hits and posted seven strikeouts, to the delight of a throng of friends and family members who came out to support him.  Floro hails from nearby Merced, CA.

Facing hard-luck losing pitcher Michael Benson, the Titans got on the scoreboard first with a solo tally in the second inning.  Anthony Hutting led off with a double to left-centerfield and scored on base hit up the middle by Matt Chapman.  It was a nice piece of hitting by Chapman, who battled back after falling behind in the count.

Floro walked a batter in the second, but he was aided by an inning-ending double-play on a soft liner to second-baseman Richy Pedroza on a hit-and-run play.

The Titans had Benson on the hook in the third when Pedroza led off with a single and went to second when Ivory Thomas placed a groundball through the vacated shortstop hole on a perfectly executed hit-and-run play.  Carlos Lopez lifted a deep flyball that went approximately 400 feet – caught just in front of the 405 foot sign in centerfield.  Pedroza tagged and went to third – had the relay been slow or even slightly misplayed, I think Coach Vanderhook would have kept him wheeling towards home.  But it brought up cleanup hitter Michael Lorenzen with one out and runners at the corners – he hit the first pitch for a 6-4-3 double-play.

The Tigers did not get their first hit against Floro until the fourth inning – a questionable hit at that.  Leadoff man Tyler Sullivan bunted in front of the plate.  Floro’s throw seemed to be easily ahead of the runner, but it was a little wide and pulled Lopez off the bag.  After a strikeout, stolen base and walk put two runners aboard with one out, Lopez came to rescue of Floro with a nice backhand grab of a line-drive and a throw to second to double off the lead runner and end the inning.

Pacific Series Preview

Titans at Pacific (Klein Family Field)

Friday 6 p.m., Saturday 6 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m.

By FullertonBaseballFan

Before Fullerton took last weekend off, the Titans played a critical Big West series at Goodwin Field with Cal Poly and won a hard fought series by winning the opener 6-1, losing the second game 8-6 and rallying to win the third and deciding game in extra innings 5-4 to remain tied for first in the conference standings at 9-3.  The Mustangs are a young and talented team and have been playing inconsistently since sweeping their first two weekend series and they lost two of their first three conference series, with a sweep of Irvine in between the series losses, and they gave Fullerton all they could handle.

Fullerton jumped on Cal Poly starter Joey Wagman early in the first game by scoring runs in the second and third innings.  Anthony Hutting singled to lead off the second, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a SF by Clay Williamson.  Jared Deacon got on base on an error to lead off the third, went to second on a single by Richy Pedroza and scored on an RBI single by Michael Lorenzen.  The Titans broke things open with four runs in the sixth when Carlos Lopez and Lorenzen led off the inning with singles, Hutting drove in Lopez with a double and Lorenzen scored and Hutting advanced to third on error by the RF to knock Wagman out of the game.  Hutting scored on a wild pitch for the third run of the inning, Williamson followed with a single, Derek Legg doubled and Williamson scored the final run of the inning on another wild pitch.  Dylan Floro allowed hits in each of the first five innings but was able to escape without any damage and retired the Mustangs in order in the sixth and seventh before Cal Poly finally put a run on the board with three hits in the eighth.  Floro scattered ten hits and didn’t walk a batter while allowing only that one run and struck out eight batters to improve his record to 6-3.  The hitting leaders for Fullerton were Hutting with two hits, two runs and an RBI and Lorenzen with two hits, a run and an RBI.

The second game of the series was a pitchers duel between Cal Poly starter Kyle Anderson and Kenny Mathews until Fullerton scored twice in the bottom of the fourth.  Lorenzen got things started by getting on base on an error, Matt Chapman doubled, Ivory Thomas hit an RBI single and Hutting brought in the second run with a SF.  The Mustangs had two runners on with two outs in the fifth when the wheels fell off for the Titans when Big West HR leader Mitch Haniger hit his eighth HR, Mathews walked the next hitter, gave up a single and Nick Torres hit the second three run HR of the inning and Cal Poly took a 6-2 lead, which didn’t last long when Fullerton scored four runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie things up.  Anthony Trajano and Lopez singled with two outs, Lorenzen doubled them in to cut the lead in half, Chapman was hit by a pitch and Thomas tripled to left over a drawn in outfield to tie the game.  Willy Kuhl came into the game in the sixth and struck out two hitters in the sixth and seventh and struck out the first two batters of the eighth when Chris Hoo doubled and pinch-hitter Alex Michaels hit a HR off of the RF foul pole to give the Mustangs an 8-6 lead.  Reed Reilly came into the game for Cal Poly in the sixth inning and allowed only one hit while holding Fullerton scoreless for the last four innings to pick up the win.  Kuhl struck out eight batters in 3 2/3 IP but took the loss on Michaels’ HR to fall to 2-3.  Thomas had two hits and three RBI, Lorenzen had two hits, two runs and two RBI and Lopez had two hits and a run for the Titans.