tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32437792940329674972024-03-10T12:12:56.314-07:00CSF BaseballUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger298125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-81174626970470450952016-05-31T20:43:00.000-07:002016-05-31T20:59:59.198-07:00Augie Garrido Is a Titan<b>By Samuel Chi</b><br />
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Augie Garrido is done coaching after a glorious career. The end came somewhat unceremoniously Monday when he was "reassigned" by the Texas athletic department, but let's make one thing clear:<br />
<br />
Augie might've spent 20 years as the coach of the Longhorns, but he'll always be a Titan. Not just a titan of the sport, but a Fullerton Titan.<br />
<br />
His legacy in Texas is getting the Longhorns back on their feet, helping the program win two more national championships after it had already won four before him. His legacy at Fullerton is magic, as in fashioning something wondrous out of thin air.<br />
<br />
Chances are, without Augie Garrido, you'd never have heard of Cal State Fullerton. When he arrived at the commuter campus in 1973, he took over a nascent baseball program that had gone 12-44 the year before - in Division II. Just two years later, the Titans moved up to Division I, and went to the College World Series that very year. Four years after that in 1979, Fullerton won its first national championship.<br />
<br />
If you want an analogy, Garrido isn't Chris Petersen, who put Boise State on the map, but Knute Rockne, who built an enduring brand from scratch. The baseball Titans' basketball equivalent isn't Gonzaga or Butler, but Mike Krzyzewski's Duke, with four national championships and 17 College World Series appearances in 41 years of Division I play.<br />
<br />
In 1987, I showed up at Fullerton in large part because of Garrido. After a mediocre high school baseball career, I mistakenly thought I stood a chance to make the Titans as a walk-on. While that dream was quickly dashed, I was more disappointed when Garrido left for Illinois later that year.<br />
<br />
Much to my delight Garrido returned my senior year, but by then I had hung up my cleats and decided on another frivolous pursuit by becoming a sportswriter. I had ascended to be the sports editor of the <i>Daily Titan</i> and one of the perks was that I got to spent as much time with Augie as I wanted.<br />
<br />
When it came to motivation, Augie was the Zen master long before Phil Jackson made it to the Chicago Bulls' bench. He could be shrill, enraged and downright profane when the moment warranted and tender and philosophical the next. You never knew which button he was going to push but he always seemed to pick the right one.<br />
<br />
During one game that season, Garrido pulled the Titans' left-side infielders in the middle of the inning, about as humiliating a move as there is to a field player. He didn't give the hapless duo an earful when they reached the dugout except to shoot them a look that was a mixture of disgust and disappointment.<br />
<br />
After the game, I asked Augie what that was all about. He sighed, and then mused, "I can't stand mental mistakes. Baseball is a complicated game, but not that complicated."<br />
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There was only one time I found Garrido nearly speechless. After the 1991 regular season in which the Titans had tied for the Big West championship with Fresno State, I joined him and a few coaches and players at the on-campus Marriott to watch the selection show. Much to our horror, the Titans were snubbed of a berth (the last time to-date that Fullerton missed postseason play). I turned to Augie for comments, and he just shook his head before mumbling something or other. <br />
<br />
Augie and the Titans got their revenge the next season as the they made it all the way to the national championship game. Three years later, in 1995, he put together the greatest team college baseball has ever seen as Fullerton stormed to a 57-9 record, winning its last 18 games on the way to claiming the program's third national championship.<br />
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I was in Omaha for that dreamy occasion, having finagled a credential now that I was a pro covering college athletics in the Bay Area. Augie had injured his Achilles' heel before the College World Series and was tooling around on a scooter, but the pure joy he experienced that week overpowered the pain and inconvenience. He was so loose that before the championship game he gathered the players around and promptly dropped his pants to reveal his boxers emblazoned with Tuffy Titan. The players were in stitches before they went on to crush USC, 11-5, to cap their historic run.<br />
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It was during that week that I had a foreboding that Augie's time at Fullerton might be nearing its end, for good this time. He had done all he could do for the program: Making it an enduring powerhouse, getting a brand-new stadium built and grooming a successor in George Horton. It was time for other challenges.<br />
<br />
Augie is a baseball lifer, but he was the life of the party, too. He was dashing and debonair, and loved women, food and booze - not necessarily in that order. He always embraced the spotlight but there was little of it at Fullerton even after all that success. After the 1996 season, when Texas came calling in the wake of the sudden ouster of its legendary coach Cliff Gustafson, Augie jumped at the chance.<br />
<br />
I don't begrudge Garrido for leaving Fullerton, though I never envisioned that he'd last 20 years in Austin. He was 57 when he took over at Texas and then guided the Longhorns to four CWS championship games, winning two. His 1,975 victories are by far the most accumulated by a college baseball coach and it's fitting, for 1975 was when his own legend began.<br />
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His records at Texas and Fullerton are pretty much at a standoff: In 20 years in Austin he'd taken the Longhorns to Omaha eight times, won 824 games and two titles. In 21 years in Fullerton, the Titans went to the CWS seven times, won 929 games and three championships.<br />
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The difference, of course, is that Texas was a blue blood of college baseball long before he got there. At Fullerton, he didn't even have the luxury of ever playing a single postseason game at home. Think about that: the Titans went to 16 regionals under Garrido and played every game on the road - and managed to make it to Omaha nearly half of the time.<br />
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At Texas, Garrido was but one of the many greats. At Cal State Fullerton, he's George Washington. If there's a Mount Rushmore for the titans of college baseball, Augie is there with an 'F' cap on.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-4545504955262580402016-01-23T10:05:00.001-08:002016-02-19T07:56:35.105-08:002015: Final Look Back (Part 3 of Series)<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By
Don Hudson</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Excitement is building for the start of the 2016
Titans baseball season, and justifiably so.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The 2015 season was fascinating, filled with more ups and downs than the
Twisted Colossus roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But before we turn the page to the 2016
season, let’s take one last look back at that nail-biting 2015 journey.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This story is pretty detailed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your reading time today is limited, you
might want to scroll down to Act IV to find out what we learned this year, then
come back now and then if you’re so inclined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also, if you’d prefer to have a copy of this article as a WORD document,
send me a note and I’ll email it to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Contact me at:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="mailto:DonSectionA@aol.com"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">DonSectionA@aol.com</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">ACT
I:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>THE PRELUDE</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene
1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Restless Summer<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(June-August, 2014)<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The odyssey really began on June 1, 2014, when the
Titans were eliminated from the Stillwater, Oklahoma Regionals by the host
team, Oklahoma State.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Only two starters
from that game (Tyler Stieb and Taylor Bryant) were returning for the 2015
season.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The 2014 position players not
returning hit 15 of the team’s 16 home runs (only Tanner Pinkston had a home
run and was coming back) and 181 of the team’s 248 RBI were delivered by
non-returning players: J.D. Davis, Matt Chapman, Clay Williamson, Keegan Dale,
Austin Diemer, Greg Velazquez and Jared Deacon.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We also knew leaving Stilly that the pitching staff
would have to fill the giant shoes of Grahamm Wiest (arguably the best Sunday
starter in the country) and the two pitchers that posted all 12 saves in 2014 (J.D.
had 7 and Koby Gauna had 5.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add to this
the turmoil associated with the head coach’s suspension for part of the 2014
season and the untimely departure of Phil Bickford just a couple weeks before
the start of fall semester, there was great uncertainty and curiosity about
what was in store for 2015.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite the loss of much of the 2014 productivity,
there was cause for optimism entering the fall scrimmage season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having Thomas Eshelman and Justin Garza
returning at the top of the rotation, along with relievers Tyler Peitzmeier,
Willie Kuhl, Miles Chambers, Chad Hockin, Shane Stillwagon, Henry Omana and
Maxwell Gibbs, was certainly encouraging, albeit with uncertainty where the run
support would come from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pinkston was
the best returning bat from 2014, and there were high hopes Jake Jefferies
would get his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mojo </i>back and David
Olmedo-Barrera (DOB) would continue to blossom as a hitter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Timmy Richards, Bryant and A.J. Kennedy
didn’t hit much in 2014, but you knew they were good defensive players that
would only get better in 2015, so the expectations grew that we’d need to win a
lot of 2-1 and 3-2 games.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Part of the Titans’ underdog mystique was that, from
its inception as a Division I program in 1975 through 2009, every player who
was in the program four years was part of at least one team that made it to the
College World Series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the
elimination from the 2014 Regionals in Stilly made it a five-year Omaha drought,
with lingering doubts whether a non-football university could still compete at
the elite level nationally when all the Power 5 conferences were taking their
zillions of dollars of football and basketball TV revenues and spending a lot
of money on new baseball stadiums, training facilities and premier coaching
staffs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Was the curtain closing on the Titans’ era as a
collegiate baseball powerhouse?</span><br />
<br />
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</div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene
2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fall Foliage<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(September-November, 2014)<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As the fall season progressed, my optimism
rose.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The team seemed relaxed and there
was an intriguing mixture of returning players, freshmen and transfers.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What I found most intriguing watching the
scrimmages was that there wasn’t any player that appeared to be outstanding at
every facet of the game – Titans fans are accustomed to having</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">at least one and possibly two or three
players that have speed, power, hit for average and play well defensively. (Think
of players like Mark Kotsay, Justin Turner, Kurt Suzuki, Christian Colon, Gary
Brown, Matt Chapman and others – excellent all-around players.) </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But bereft of those superstar “four tool” or “five
tool” players, each position player seemed to be really good at one or two
things.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It became evident that Hook
would need to keep pushing buttons to get the right combination of talents and
contributions from this roster.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One thing I liked about the transfers during fall
scrimmages is that they all showed offensive potential and played multiple
positions, which strengthened the coaches’ lineup juggling act options.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both Josh Estill and Jerrod Bravo had been
catchers and corner infielders prior to becoming Titans; Josh Vargas and Dustin
Vaught could both play infield and outfield; Hunter Cullen could play any outfield
position with speed and an excellent arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dalton Blaser also could be moved between outfield and first base.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The incoming freshman class was more evenly split
between pitchers and position players than the transfers.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pitchers John Gavin and Connor Seabold made
good first impressions.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scott Hurst,
Chris Hudgins, Tristan Hildebrandt and Turner Buis all showed signs of good
things to come during the fall scrimmages.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The pitching staff added a little more experience when Kyle Murray
returned to the program after Bickford’s defection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One lesson learned from watching numerous fall
scrimmage seasons:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it’s hard to
extrapolate fall results, either individually or as a team, into accurate
projections for the regular season to follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Speed and defense project pretty accurately, but less so for pitching
and batting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wood bats are often used
for the first couple weeks, and pitchers are limited by pitch selection:
breaking pitches are limited until late in the fall period as an injury
precaution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Returning pitchers that
threw a lot of innings the previous season and/or in summer ball typically
don’t pitch much in fall scrimmages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Because the Titans had a 2015 conference series
scheduled at Hawai’i, they had the scheduling flexibility to play three games
in the fall against other schools.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(To
entice teams to incur the expense to travel to the islands, games played in
Hawai’i don’t count against the visiting teams’ 56-game limit.)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The scrimmage games played at home against UC
Santa Barbara and Concordia and the road game at San Diego were a good
opportunity for the team to gauge its development against external
competition.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The NCAA baseball coaches’
recommendations include allowing all teams to play fall scrimmages that don’t
count in the records or against the 56-game limit; I hope that recommendation
prevails.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene
3:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Singing Peepers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(January, 2015)</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My New Year usually starts around January 10</span><sup style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It is a terrific time of year: stores and radio
stations have stopped playing those dreadful Christmas songs until the
following Halloween; those 85 unnecessary college football bowl games are
finished; and – best of all – the countdown to the Titans season begins in full
earnest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Two of my favorite events happen this time of year:
Dinner with the Titans and the alumni game.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Check out these photos from the 2015 alumni game</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/don.hudson.35/media_set?set=a.1045611538787974.1073741880.100000174128617&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>click here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The alumni game is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>always a fun day: a chance for many fans to
see the current varsity team for the first time, as well as see old favorites
from yesteryear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The camaraderie between
players of different eras always impresses me: once a Titan, always a
Titan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only do you see players
enjoying the company of their close teammates from the years they played
together at Fullerton, but you also see lasting friendships formed by players
whose careers were decades apart.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the highlights of the game itself was
freshman John Gavin taking the hill for the Alumni in relief of the venerable
Eddie Delzer and shutting out the varsity team through five innings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a sign of good things to come for
Gavin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The 2015 Dinner with the Titans was a “who’s who” of
Titans baseball royalty, topped off by the keynote speaker, Augie Garrido.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an amazing night for all in
attendance.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sidebar with readers:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this year’s Dinner with the Titans will be
held this year on Friday, January 29<sup>th</sup>, featuring guest speaker
Kevin Costner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is being held at the
Marriott Irvine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you haven’t signed
up yet, </span><a href="https://events.fullerton.edu/rsvp.aspx?lEvent_sk=199"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m hearing it will be the
biggest turnout ever - hope to see you there!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The alumni game will be held the following day,
Saturday, January 30<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
a great way for Titans fans and alumni to shake off winter doldrums and get
totally psyched for the 2016 season just a few short weeks thereafter.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">ACT
II: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2015 REGULAR SEASON<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene
1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Iliad and the Oddities<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(February/March, 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hopes were high landing in Tampa, Florida for a
round-robin “Opening Weekend Challenge” at the Phillies’ beautiful spring
training facility (Bright House Field), but were quickly dashed when I landed
and received a text from the airline that they had lost my luggage.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was windy and the temperatures were in the
low 40’s, so who needs a jacket anyways?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By game time on Friday, the temperatures were near
freezing and icicles were forming from my nostrils.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thomas Eshelman came out in midseason form,
carving up the University of South Florida the first five innings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans held a slim 1-0 lead heading to
the bottom of the sixth, albeit with minimal offensive output.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the bottom of the sixth, Esh continued
mowing, retiring the first hitter of the inning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next batter dribbled a routine groundball
to second base, but it was not charged and he reached on an infield single.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two solid hits ensued and the Titans lost, 2-1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was one of my top-ten coldest games ever,
which was reflected in the Titans’ offense:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>just two singles and fifteen strikeouts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The only good news was that the game took just 2:26, and my luggage
finally showed up at the Motel 3 where I was staying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It didn’t get much better the next day when the
Titans faced ASU (Alabama State University) in an afternoon game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although still cold and windy, the bright
sunshine made it substantially more comfortable than the evening before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kyle Murray stepped into the starting role of
Garza, who did not travel for precautionary reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Murray did a great job, scattering five hits
before leaving with a 2-0 lead and two outs in the fifth inning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Willie Kuhl replaced Murray and escaped the
ASU threat with a strikeout.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Alas, the sixth inning was the Titans’ downfall for
the second straight game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kuhl hit the
leadoff hitter, gave up an RBI double to ASU’s diminutive Einar Muniz and hit
the next batter before being replaced by Miles Chambers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He induced a double-play ball and was nearly
out of the inning, but a walk, stolen base and two-run single gave ASU a 3-2
lead, which was the eventual final score.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Give credit to ASU for playing a great game, but it was a second
straight thud for the Titans’ offense: just six hits and a dozen strikeouts,
making it 27 K’s in two games – with the weekend finale against Louisville
coming up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/don.hudson.35/media_set?set=a.1059965587352569.1073741882.100000174128617&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of the Alabama State game.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You never want to look past any team, but it would
have been reasonable to expect to win the first two games and face the toughest
foe on Sunday, as Louisville had a deep, talented team with the experience of
consecutive trips to Omaha in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Facing Louisville
southpaw Josh Rogers – a name you’ll hear again – the Titans shook up the
line-up and went with eight right-handed hitters (including switch-hitters
Stieb and Jefferies).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It worked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Titans stunned Rogers and the Cardinals with four runs in the top of the first,
highlighted by an RBI double by Estill, a two-run single by Hudgins and an RBI
single by Vaught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The freshman Gavin was
sharp through five innings, outdueling Rogers, who was knocked out of the box
in the fifth inning with no outs, allowing six earned runs in 4.0 innings
pitched.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Louisville has a scary lineup and they posted three
runs in the bottom of the sixth – that dreaded inning again – to cut the
Titans’ lead to 8-4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It got even closer
at 8-6, but the Titans used lefties Gibbs and Peitzmeier to record the final
eight outs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whew!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/don.hudson.35/media_set?set=a.1059798940702567.1073741881.100000174128617&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos from Louisville game. </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jorgelopezarte/media_set?set=a.345209829017046.1073741986.100005840947117&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for additional photos of the Louisville
game courtesy Jorge Lopez.)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans dropped to 1-3 with a sloppy midweek home
loss to USC, 6-4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The offense continued
to struggle making contact: eleven K’s against midweek pitching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The offensive largesse continued in the
weekend home series against Stanford, with another strong outing by Eshelman
wasted in a 2-0 loss and eleven more strikeouts by opposing pitchers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Garza, Murray, Gibbs and Pietzmeier pieced
together a 4-2 win in the middle game, but the Titans stranded ten runners in
the Sunday loss (11-9), a game interrupted by a heavy downpour. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sixth inning remained problematic, as
Stanford posted four run. Estill went 4-for-4, with two singles, a double,
three RBI and a sacrifice bunt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The loss
dropped the team to 2-5 and there were a lot of lugubrious stares coming from
the Titans’ dugout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/don.hudson.35/media_set?set=a.1066938119988649.1073741883.100000174128617&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of the series finale against Stanford.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just as miserably as the Titans played the first
seven games, they were terrific the next seven: weekend home sweeps against the
Big 12 Conference’s Baylor Bears and Texas Tech Red Raiders, sandwiched around
a midweek win over Pepperdine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both
Baylor and Texas Tech came in with impressive credentials, Baylor having beaten
the Titans in a 2014 series in Waco, TX and Texas Tech having many returning
players from their 2014 team that made it to Omaha for the CWS.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The bats that came alive in the final loss to
Stanford stayed hot against Baylor, racking up 28 runs in winning by scores of
10-1, 11-6 and 7-6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the result of
a balanced attack: 30 singles, 3 doubles and 4 triples (no home runs), led by
Vaught, DOB, Estill and Stieb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
series had been moved up, with a Friday double-header and a Saturday finale,
because of threatening weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/don.hudson.35/media_set?set=a.1067965419885919.1073741884.100000174128617&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of Game 1 against Baylor and </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/don.hudson.35/media_set?set=a.1068282236520904.1073741885.100000174128617&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for Game 3 photos.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Tuesday night home game against Pepperdine,
Connor Seabold was outstanding in his first career start as a Titan, throwing
four shutout innings and notching six strikeouts.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kuhl was the winner with two innings of work
in relief, followed by Gibbs, Omana and Peitzy, with his fourth save.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Vargas and DOB each had two hits and an RBI.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The consensus was that a series win against Texas
Tech would be a big step forward, with a sweep almost unthinkable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eshelman got the Titans off on the right foot
with a 4-0 complete game shutout, aided by a 4-for-4 night (including three doubles
and two RBI) by A.J. Kennedy and a 3-for-3 contribution from Jake
Jefferies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Garza on a lower pitch
count and the bullpen set-up roles still developing, the complete game by
Eshelman was huge setting up the remainder of the series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the second game, the Titans won a 3-2 nail-biter,
with all three runs scored in the fourth inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Trailing 1-0, Estill led off the fourth
inning with a walk, followed by singles by DOB and Jefferies to load the
bases.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hurst delivered a clutch two-run
single, followed by a double-play that plated the third run.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Garza was the winner in his longest outing of
the young season, going 6.0 innings and allowing just two runs.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kuhl was awesome in relief: he had his filthy
curveball working and retired all five hitters he faced, with two
strikeouts.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzy got the final four
outs to clinch the series win.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Aided by some sloppy Texas Tech defense, the Titans
took an early 5-0 lead and barely held off a late Red Raiders rally in the
series finale. The Titans managed just five hits – all singles – but were aided
by nine walks and two errors by Texas Tech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Titans had ten runners LOB – not often do you see twice as many
LOB’s as H’s. Gavin notched his second career win, with another save by
Peitzy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/don.hudson.35/media_set?set=a.1074547942561000.1073741886.100000174128617&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos from the series finale against Texas Tech.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But just when you got your hopes up with a
seven-game winning streak, along comes a four-game losing streak to give you a
jolt of reality.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It started with a
butt-kicking by the San Diego Toreros, 9-4, in a game the Titans were outhit
15-3.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I hold USD skipper Rich Hill in
the same esteem as former Padres interim manager Pat Murphy, so this is one
team I hate losing to.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The lone bright
spots for the Titans were 3.0 shutout innings of relief by Miles Chambers and a
home run by Turner Buis in his first game as a Titan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The following weekend series was on the road in
Bloomington, Indiana against the Indiana Hoosiers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an intriguing road trip, albeit one
with steady rain a virtual certainty in the weather forecast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only was it a chance to see the campus
that gave us so many great Bobby Knight basketball teams and tantrums, it was a
chance to see a baseball program that had gone 91-29 in 2013/2014, with a CWS
trip to Omaha in 2013, under coach Tracy Smith before she left to become head
coach at Arizona State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was also a
chance to see the beautiful Bart Kaufman Stadium, opened in 2013 and built at a
cost (including women’s softball<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>field)
in excess of $19 million, much of it funded by proceeds from IU’s membership in
the Big Ten Network.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Just what we need
– is the B1G Conference becoming a rising baseball powerhouse, leveraging their
fiscal strength as a Power 5 conference and their own network?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The meteorologists earned their paychecks, and the
series opener was rained out on Friday, resulting in a Saturday
double-header.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was cold and windy but
sunny when the game started.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bart
Kaufman Stadium was impressive and its now-generation AstroTurf® surface held
up well to all the rain of the recent late winter days. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One curiosity: they built this magnificent
stadium with seats on par with Cal State Northridge and then offered seatback
rentals for five bucks. They also have this burger monstrosity that includes a
pound of hamburger and a pound of bacon – it costs eighteen bucks.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first one went down with ease….but I wish
I hadn’t tried to stretch it into a double.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Indiana won the opener, 5-4, in ten innings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a gut-wrenching loss in which Eshelman
pitched his butt off for 8.0 innings in which he was touched up for 10 hits and
4 runs against an excellent Hoosiers lineup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a “winnable game” that the baseball gods conspired for us to
lose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans got home runs from
Hurst and DOB, plus a clutch RBI single by Estill in a game they led 2-0,
trailed 3-2, tied, 3-3, led 4-3, tied 4-4 before losing on a walk-off error in
the bottom of the tenth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a couple
runners picked off; a bases-loaded HBP that would have given Fullerton a ninth
inning lead overturned on appeal; an interference call at home plate, invoking
the new NCAA rules about plays at the plate that ended a rally; balls dropping
in because of miscommunication between fielders; the Titans committed four
errors, including three by Richards, playing on the unfamiliar turf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a numbing loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With less than an hour to lick their wounds before
playing the nightcap, the lugubriosity continued when Stieb walked in the first
inning but was picked off.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The leadoff
hitter for Indiana tripled off Garza and scored on a sacrifice fly deep to
right field – I remember the “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd when Hurst nearly
threw the runner out from the warning track.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After that, Garza was perhaps as sharp as we saw him all season,
striking out seven Hoosiers in 6.0 innings.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the offense scuffled, with a combined 1-for-15 outing from the top
five batting order slots.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jefferies had
half of the Titans’ six hits.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a
strange feeling: we trailed just 1-0 in the eighth inning but it felt like an
insurmountable lead.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A solo home run in
the bottom of the eighth made it 2-0, which was the final score.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hope sprang in the series finale when Estill,
wearing number 28 (uniform snafu), blasted a three-run home run in the top of
the fifth to give the Titans a 4-3 lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gavin left after 5.0 innings with a slim one-run lead and all seemed
right with the world again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the
local umpire’s strike zone seemed to tighten quite a bit in the bottom half of
each of the late innings and the Hoosiers won, 10-4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The loss dropped the Titans season record to
9-9 and the 12,487 mile flight back from Indiana seemed to last forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="http://fullertontitans.com/sports/m-basebl/2014-15/boxscores/20150315_x67o.xml?view=plays"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos from Games 1 and 2, and </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/don.hudson.35/media_set?set=a.1079500238732437.1073741888.100000174128617&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos from Game 3 of the Indiana series.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">An 11-0 drubbing of the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners back
at Goodwin Field provided temporary relief, but the bad juju quickly returned
when the Titans lost a non-conference series against the dreaded Dirtbags of
Long Beach State. Another exasperating loss.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Estill hit a two-run bomb in the first inning to give the Titans a quick
2-0 lead, but Timmy Richards’ fielding woes continued and he made two errors
that resulted in a pair of unearned runs that tied the score, 2-2.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans scored once in the second and the
Dirtbags once in the third to tie the game, 3-3.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">From there, it was a goose-egg display, as
neither team scored from the fourth through the eleventh innings.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The game went so long that my buddy Greg’s
wife was calling me to see if he was still at the game, since his phone battery
died somewhere around the tenth inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Dirtbags scratched out a 4-3 win with a two-out single after a
single, wild pitch and intentional walk.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Garza followed up his impressive performance at
Indiana with an excellent outing at Long Beach State, going 7.0 innings and
allowing just one run, leaving with the score tied, 1-1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gibbs earned the first win of his Titans
career, going 2.0 innings and striking out five Dirtbags.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans scored a solo tally in the top of
the tenth when DOB was hit-by-pitch, a single by Dalton Blaser, a walk to Josh
Vargas and a bases-loaded walk to A.J. Kennedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Peitzy made it interesting when he allowed two hits but shut the door
for his seventh save of the season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/don.hudson.35/media_set?set=a.1082842675064860.1073741889.100000174128617&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of the second-game win at CSULB.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The putrid loss in the series finale had me
questioning whether the Titans, who finished fourth in the Big West Conference in
2014 behind Cal Poly, UC Irvine and Long Beach State, were even the best in
their league, notwithstanding whether they were still competitive
nationally.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you were at Blair Field
that day, you probably still have a bad taste in your mouth from the first
inning defensive meltdown when three runs scored on a botched rundown play.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A fourth run scored when Kennedy, the best
defensive catcher in the country, misjudged a pop-up.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans lost, 6-1, and their season record
was back to .500 (11-11).</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Things didn’t change for the better in the Tuesday
game played at the University of Nebraska.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Titans managed just two runs on twelve hits, dropping the opener by
a score of 7-2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Time for another line-up shuffle, this time moving
DOB into the leadoff spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He led off
the game with an infield single that ignited a two-run rally, keyed by a clutch
two-run single by Hurst, and later hit a two-run home run to give the Titans
the margin of victory in their 4-3 win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chambers
got the win in 4.0 innings of one-run pitching on a designated staff day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seniors Kuhl and Peitzmeier combined to shut
the Cornhuskers down to just one run over the final five innings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great to see the Nebraska native,
Peitzy, get eight outs and earn his eighth save of the season in front of
friends and family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jorgelopezarte/media_set?set=a.360958350775527.1073742016.100005840947117&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos from Nebraska, courtesy of Jorge Lopez and friends Tom and Mary.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now back at 12-12 heading into the BWC opening
series at Cal State Northridge (CSUN), the Titans were the ultimate model of
inconsistency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Estill and Vaught carried
much of the offensive load early in the season, with DOB, Stieb and Vargas
coming on recently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pitching was
generally good to that point in the season, but too prone to allowing a crooked
number in the middle innings of too many games.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The BWC opener at CSUN featured brothers playing
left field for each side: Dalton Blaser for the Titans and his brother Nick for
the Matadors.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Similar to when Anthony
Hutting played for the Titans and brother Eric for the Dirtbags, I find it a
great family moment to see brothers compete athletically.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Matadors scratched out single runs in the second
and fourth innings against Eshelman and held a 2-0 lead after six innings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently I didn’t miss much offense when I
had to take the two-mile walk to the bathroom in Reseda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vargas led off the seventh with a
double.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tanner Pinkston, who was in a
deep slump at the time, was sent up to pinch-hit and he delivered a solid RBI
double and was removed for a pinch-runner to a great ovation from his
teammates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DOB continued his success in
the leadoff spot with a triple that tied the game and gave the Titans a 3-2
lead when he scored on a groundout by Stieb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Titans got an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI single by Vargas
and in the ninth on a home run by Estill, winning 5-3.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans’ mild two-game winning streak was ended
when they lost, 4-3, to Jerry Keel, the hefty lefty that always seems to pitch
very well against the Titans.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans
committed three errors and had two more misplays that could have easily been
ruled E’s.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was also a crucial and
controversial run scored by CSUN when Kennedy was called for violating the new
home plate rule that requires the catcher to give the runner a sliding lane
when he does not yet possess the ball. The Titans managed just eight hits and
stranded ten runners – nothing as frustrating as leaving ten runners on base
and losing by one run.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A bright spot was
Pinky had a pinch-hit single: the big guy was battling back.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Sunday finale, the Titans scored two runs
before your back could even get stiff from those brutal seats at Matador
Stadium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The DOB leadoff odyssey
(2-for-2 with two walks) continued: he led off with a single and scored on a
double by Stieb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the team’s best
power hitter, Estill, coming up, nobody expected him to lay down a perfect
bunt, which went for a base hit and another run scoring when the pitcher threw
the ball into right field trying to make the play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A DOB home run in the fifth made it 3-0,
followed by a three-run sixth inning that blew it open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gavin won his third game, with relief support
from Chambers, Kuhl, Gibbs and Hockin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was nice to finish the month with a winning
record (14-13) and a series win to begin conference play.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But does any of this feel like it’s leading up to
Omaha?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene
2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Titanic Struggles<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(April, 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans hosted defending BWC champs Cal Poly SLO,
who rolled into town for the Easter weekend series with a 9-16 record, having lost
many key players to injuries, graduation and pro ball, but still with a
dangerous nucleus.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Mustangs struck
early when Brian Mundell delivered the first of two home runs to give Cal Poly
a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning of the Thursday evening opener.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Esh didn’t look like Esh this night, as he
hit the first batter he faced in the second inning, threw a wild pitch and then
yielded a two-run home run.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans
lost, 5-0, with Eshelman going 6.0 innings and allowing four runs (three
earned) and striking out just one.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In
his brilliant three-year career at Fullerton, Cal Poly was the only BWC
opponent he never beat.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The second game also got off to a rocky start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After retiring the first two batters, Garza
allowed a first-inning run on a walk to the red-hot Mundell and two consecutive
singles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that, Garza was dominant,
allowing no more runs until departing with two outs in the eighth inning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, the Titans had tied the score in
the fourth inning playing small ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Vargas led off with a single, stole second, went to third on a groundout
and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jefferies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Titans took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning with an unearned run on
singles by Vaught and Estill around two Cal Poly errors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tyler Peitzmeier received great defensive support in
the ninth inning as he nailed down his tenth save.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ryan Drobny led off the inning with a sinking
line drive towards right field.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hunter
Cullen attempted a diving do-or-die play, but the ball trapped against his body
and bounced away.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Drobny headed towards
second, but Cullen quickly retrieved the ball and fired a pea to shortstop
Richards, who easily tagged out the runner.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Without Cullen’s quick recovery and great throw, CP would have been in
business with the tying run in scoring position and none out.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The final score was 2-1.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The series finale quickly turned into a laugher in
Fullerton’s favor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vaught walked, Vargas
beat out a bunt single, Estill walked and DOB crushed a grand slam into the
Arboretum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The leadoff-man-turned-cleanup-hitter
DOB had a great batting line for the day: 2-for-2 with 8 RBI, a sacrifice fly
and a HBP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans won, 13-2, behind
a 13-hit attack and just four LOB.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second
baseman Vargas had three hits (two singles and a triple).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jerrod Bravo, who was mostly a platoon player
facing lefthanded pitchers during Act II, Scene 1, was beginning to get more
playing time and began his extraordinary streak of reaching base at least once
every game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jorgelopezarte/media_set?set=a.360960527441976.1073742017.100005840947117&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of the series finale, courtesy Jorge Lopez.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the record improved to 16-14, the Titans began
a critical nine-game road trip at USD.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The day began pleasantly enough: </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">lunchtime poker winnings, a leisurely drive
towards San Diego, a visit to Phil’s BBQ with my good friend Jim Allen (former
Cal Poly SLO third baseman Jimmy Allen’s dad) and a chance to give the Toreros
some payback for the thrashing they gave us earlier.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans took a quick 2-0 lead on a two-out
two-run single by Jerrod Bravo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But just
like they had done at Goodwin, the Toreros came out crushing the ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Connor Seabold gave up three singles and two
doubles in the bottom of the first and the Toreros took a 3-2 lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the undeterred Titans retook the lead in
the second inning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With two outs, Vaught
and Vargas walked and Estill crushed a two-run double off the center field wall
to make it 4-3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans extended the
lead to 5-3 in the fourth inning when Bravo reached on an error, stole a base
and scored on a double by Stieb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Seabold was lifted in the second inning and the
bullpen did a magnificent job from there.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Chambers, Gibbs and Peitzmeier combined to throw 7.2 innings of relief,
allowing just one run to the hard-hitting Toreros.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The drive up to Davis to play the Aggies didn’t seem
so long listening to the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals games on the radio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a good feeling about the upcoming Titans
series when Providence College beat University of Nebraska at Omaha to earn a
spot in the hockey championship game against Boston University, but Thomas
Eshelman took another tough loss the next day in the opener, dropping his
season record to 3-4 despite pitching as well as ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Aggies played effective ‘small ball’ and
won, 3-2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans had just eight hits
(three by Stieb and two each by Vaught and Hurst) and left nine runners on
base, with 0-for-13 output from the 2-3-4-5 spots in the batting order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tough loss, but give the Aggies credit for
playing well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1421273388188375.1073741830.1376326472683067&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos from Game 1.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Both teams came out hitting on Saturday and the
Titans won a 10-6 slugfest.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Singles by
Vaught and Vargas set the table for Estill, who delivered an RBI single,
followed by an RBI double by DOB.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hurst
was robbed on a great defensive play by the UCD second baseman, but a run
scored to make it 3-0.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the Aggies
crushed the ball against Garza in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs
on a double, RBI triple, RBI groundout, single and RBI double.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It could have been even more but for a great
driving snare of a line drive by second baseman Jefferies and the ‘cardinal
sin’ of the final out being made at third base trying to stretch the second
double into a triple.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Momentum seemed clearly on the side of the Aggies
when the first two Titans were set down in the second inning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then Vaught and Vargas singled and Estill
delivered a three-run bomb to give Fullerton a 6-3 lead that they never
relinquished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vaught, Vargas, Estill and
DOB combined to go 11-for-17 (four hits by Vargas, three by Vaught and two each
by Estill and DOB) with eight runs scored and seven RBI.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Garza went 5.0 innings and got the win, with
solid relief work by Gibbs, Kuhl, Chambers and Peitzmeier. (</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1422216571427390.1073741831.1376326472683067&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of the second game at UCD.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Providence College stunned the heavily favored
Boston University and their superstar, Jack Eichel, to win the NCAA crown, so
it was a great day all around.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ludy’s
Main Street BBQ (located in nearby Woodland, CA), here I come!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Sunday rubber game started off much like the
previous game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans took a quick
2-0 lead, highlighted by two-out RBI singles by DOB and Hurst, but Gavin was
roughed up for three runs in the bottom of the first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He allowed a solo home run on this windy day,
an infield single, a bunt single, a wild pitch, a hit-batsman and a sacrifice
fly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Aggies 3-2 lead went by the wayside when the
Titans scored four runs in the top of the third, aided by two UCD errors, two
walks, an RBI double by DOB and an RBI single by Hurst.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a cakewalk from there: the Titans won,
13-3, with 14 hits and the help of seven walks and four errors by UCD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1423865027929211.1073741832.1376326472683067&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of the series finale at UCD.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans had won their first three BWC series and
were now four games over .500 (19-15) 0 could life be much better than this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It could.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My phone was buzzing with texts for three hours while
I was driving 25 miles to the midweek game against UCLA at Jackie Robinson
Stadium questioning the decision to use closer Peitzmeier as the starting
pitcher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turned out to be an
all-around ugly game, a 7-2 loss with equal numbers of hits and errors (3
each).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The game was shown on the PAC-11
Network, so folks everywhere got to see this poor performance and the
unflattering comments from Hook during his in-game interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The team was playing uglier than that dead
rodent atop Stan Kroenke’s dome: if you expect Hook to sugar-coat it, you’ve
got the wrong guy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The next stop on this season’s arduous journey was
the University of Maryland.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Terrapins play at Shipley Field at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium, an embarrassing
dump for a Power 5 conference program.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
stadium name is longer than the foul pole distances (324 feet down each line
and just 364 feet to center field.)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There are no concourse passageways, so you need to shimmy along the
press box façade to get to and fro your seat.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They also have the worst seats: the seat bottom has the conventional
butt-shape contour, but there are no seatbacks or armrests.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They’d make a killing if they rented out
seatbacks like at Indiana.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I knew we were in trouble when the first four Titans
off the bus were dressed in gym clothes: suspended for the weekend for
violation of team rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt badly
for the suspended players, who not only missed playing that weekend (they got
to do plenty of running) but also did not get to attend some great tours of
various Washington, D.C. landmarks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
also felt badly for the teammates that they had let down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I respected how it was handled: they made
mistakes; the problem was dealt with; and when the weekend was over, they moved
on and it was totally in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The series opener was a sweet pitching duel between
Eshelman and Maryland’s Mike Shawaryn.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Terps got on the board with two unearned runs in the bottom of the
second.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The score remained 2-0 into the
ninth inning, as Eshelman and Shawaryn were both dealing: each went 8.0 innings
and allowed just four hits and zero earned runs.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Shawaryn notched thirteen strikeouts.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally into the bullpen in the top of the ninth,
hope sprung when both Vargas and Estill walked to start the inning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Maryland brought in a southpaw reliever
to face DOB, the Titans went to a curious strategy of having him sacrifice both
runners into scoring position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jefferies
grounded out to drive in one run, but the potential tying run was stranded at
third base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shawaryn, who earned
first-team All American honors by NCBWA for the season, improved his record to
9-0.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Saturday afternoon game started with a
near-tragedy.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Vaught led off and smoked
a line drive up the middle that struck Maryland pitcher Tayler Stiles in the
face, leaving him bleeding and badly injured.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a lengthy delay as paramedics were rushed to the scene.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(Great news: Stiles has recovered and was
back on the mound in October during Maryland’s fall scrimmage season.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the Titans scoring one run in the top of the
first, Maryland quickly rallied and scored on a double, HBP, RBI single and two
more Titans errors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ugly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Maryland held a big 9-2 lead going into the ninth
inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a late rally: Stieb
singled, Hildebrandt doubled and Vaught was drilled by a fastball.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There seemed no doubt of the intent to hit
Vaught, some form of payback for having batted the ball that struck their
pitcher.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was complete horseshit baseball,
and I was very proud that Hook gave the Maryland coaching staff an earful about
it after the game.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was an old story from the 60’s when the
Dodgers had tremendous pitching but very little offense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It goes, “We finally had three runners on
base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, they were all on
the same base.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s sort of what happened
next: Vargas delivered a bases-loaded double.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rather than clearing the bases and putting the game in reach, there were
two runners at third base and another heading that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The air came out of the tires on the bus; the
final score was 9-5, dropping the season record to 19-18. (</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1431203400528707.1073741833.1376326472683067&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of the second game at Maryland.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans had played so badly on defense the first
two games that the coaching staff opted to completely forego pre-game defensive
drills.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They also inserted Taylor Bryant
into the line-up at second base, a move that would have lasting impact the rest
of the season.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Faced with the pressure of avoiding another road sweep
at a B1G Conference school, Gavin shouldered the load for the Titans and was
tremendous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He broke through the
invisible “wall” that had previously existed for him around the fifth or sixth
inning and pitched shutout ball for 7.0 innings, aided by excellent infield
defense from Bryant, Hildebrandt and Vaught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gavin left with seven strikeouts and just three hits allowed, but what
impressed me most was that he twice hit Maryland catcher Kevin Martir with
pitches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the intentional drilling
of Vaught the previous day, I was totally impressed with the savvy of a
freshman to hit the opposing team’s best hitter not once, but twice, to defend
his teammate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Chambers and Peitzy continued the excellent
pitching, but the Maryland staff matched them and the game was scoreless after
nine innings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After two quick outs in
the top of the tenth, Bryant hit a high flyball to left-center field that
landed over the wall just beyond the grasp of the leaping outfielder – the
first home run of Bryant’s career with the Titans was huge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peitzy closed the door in the bottom of the
tenth and the Titans went home salvaging a 1-0 win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1431234087192305.1073741834.1376326472683067&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of the series finale at Maryland. </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jorgelopezarte/media_set?set=a.360960527441976.1073742017.100005840947117&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for Jorge’s photos of the D.C. road trip experience.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But just when
hope began to flicker after the shutout win at Maryland, along came a Tuesday
game at Cal State Bakersfield – the same guys we beat 11-0 a while back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the last time CSUB coach Bill Kernan
would face the Titans (barring being assigned to the same Regionals), so you
knew he was highly motivated to avenge his team’s embarrassing performance in
Fullerton.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Were you at Long Beach State for that first inning
defensive meltdown in the Sunday game?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just imagine an entire game played that horribly.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans lost, 14-1, surrendering 18 hits
and committing 7 errors that led to 10 unearned runs.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ten unearned runs!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In thirteen years going to Titans game, this was the
first time I ever left before it finished because the team was playing so
poorly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made a beeline to the Wool
Growers restaurant and enjoyed a nice Basque family-style meal, figuring I’d
enjoy the ox tail stew better than watching the last three innings of that
debacle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The team was 20-19 after that loss: one game over
.500 with just seventeen games left on the schedule.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The local message board was upset and
surly:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Hook the Hook”, “Dump the
Donovan”, “Get Rid of Garcia”, etc.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Even
Jerry Brown, Gray Davis and Obama received some of the blame for this mess.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Say goodbye to that 23-year streak of making
it into the NCAA tournament.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Arriving at Goodwin Field for the next series
against UC Irvine after the lengthy road trip, one of my buddies I hadn’t seen
in a couple weeks asked me, “So, do you think we still have any chance of
hosting the playoffs?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were 20-19 and
had just allowed ten unearned to Cal State Freakin’ Bakersfield…..hosting the playoffs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mind immediately went into Jim Mora mode
– </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7fjDS0jKiE"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Playoffs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Don’t talk to me about playoffs!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I scoffed when the forms arrived in the mail for
ordering tickets to home games in the Regionals and Super Regionals.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Are you kidding me?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Jekyll-and-Hyde Titans followed up one of their
worst efforts ever with one of their best overall performances of the year,
beating the Anteaters, 7-2, behind 8.0 strong innings by Eshelman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans broke open a 1-0 pitchers’ duel
with three runs in the bottom of the fifth on singles by Richards and Vaught, a
two-run double by Vargas and an RBI double by Estill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They put the game out of reach the following
inning on singles by Bravo and Richards (bunt) and a two-run double by Bryant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But momentum remained elusive as the Titans dropped
the second game, 5-4 in ten innings, and had a season record of 21-20 with just
fifteen games to play.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One thing that has always impressed me about Titans
baseball: the players are far more resilient than the fans; youth bounces back
faster than the aged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as I was
ready to book non-baseball travel in early June, with the near-certainty of the
Titans not being in the NCAA tournament, I noticed a new wrinkle during the UCI
series finale:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>water bottle celebrations
in the dugout to recognize teammates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The rubber game looked like more disappointment as
Irvine took an early 4-1 lead.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the
Titans closed the gap to 4-3 with a huge two-run double by Richards in the
bottom of the third.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bryant tied it with
a home run the following inning, the second straight Sunday he went deep.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans scored thrice in the fifth on a
double and stolen base by DOB, an RBI triple by the red-hot Bravo, an error, a
sacrifice fly by Stieb and an RBI single by Bryant.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans got 5.0 innings of stellar relief from
Gibbs and Seabold: Gibbs got the win and Seabold got his first save.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may recall this was the game that the
Titans had Seabold enter the game mid-inning with runners on base from the
dugout rather than from the bullpen, as he was more comfortable in the games he
started (and, as such, came to the mound from the dugout.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1433221550326892.1073741835.1376326472683067&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos from the final game against UCI.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jorgelopezarte/media_set?set=a.345209829017046.1073741986.100005840947117&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for additional photos courtesy Jorge Lopez.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was one last game to play before April expired
– a chance to avenge the opening week loss to the USC Trojans, but this time at
Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Again, it
didn’t have a good vibe, as USC held a 3-0 lead after six innings and Coach
Vanderhook had been tossed by plate umpire Joe Maiden.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was sitting in the front row next to the
dugout and can attest to two things:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hook simply asked where a pitch was and got booted; and the players in
the dugout were excited and animated as though they were leading in a
championship game.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pitching coach Jason
Dietrich took over for Hook, but he too was ejected when he asked about a pitch
location.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">USC was 25-0 on the season when they lead in the
seventh inning on, so things didn’t look promising for the Titans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The dugout euphoria rose as the Titans scored two
runs in the top of the seventh on singles by Bravo and Richards and RBI singles
by Stieb and Bryant.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the season on the brink, desperate times call
for desperate measures:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Titans
brought in closer Peitzmeier in the bottom of the seventh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Vanderhook and Dietrich out of the game,
pitches were being called from the dugout by a caucus that included Eshelman,
Kennedy (who had been removed for a pinch-hitter) and assistant coach (and
former Titans catcher) Cory Vanderhook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The one-run deficit stayed intact when Pinkston made a great stop of a
hard groundball headed to right field, stepped on the bag and fired home to
Chris Hudgins, who applied the tag on a runner barreling in from third.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans tied the score in dramatic fashion in the
top of the eighth.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Vargas and DOB
singled to place runners at first and second.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bravo smashed a ball to the left of the USC third baseman, who dove and
made a nice stop.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The only play was to
first to retire Bravo.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Vargas
hustled all the way and third base coach Chad Baum (now the third acting head
coach of the game) wheeled him home.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a cloud of dust, followed by an emphatic “Safe!” sign.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Game tied, 3-3, on Vargas’ madcap dash from
second base on a groundout.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans had a chance to take the lead when they
loaded the bases with one out in the ninth on a single by Stieb, a walk to
Hudgins, a sacrifice by Bryant and an intentional walk to Vaught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The speedy Vargas hit a groundball to second
base and easily beat the relay throw, with the Titans presumed to be taking a
4-3 lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But umpire Heath Jones (a name
you’ll hear again later in this story) called interference on Vaught breaking
up the double-play and the run came off the board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzy continued to grind it out, as did the USC
bullpen.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans loaded the bases in
the top of the eleventh on two HBP and a walk, but could not plate a run. USC
had a golden chance in the bottom of the eleventh: with one out, USC’s A.J.
Ramirez was HBP and proceeded to steal second and third base.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Do or die time:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">you bring your infield in, your outfield
comes in, you bring your best outfield arm (Hunter Cullen) into the game, and
you hope for the best.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzy came up
with a strikeout, one of his biggest of the year.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After an intentional walk and a stolen base
(I’d have ruled it defensive indifference), Garrett Stubbs (who batted .346 and
stole 20 bases for USC in 2015) smoked a ball up the middle and it looked like
the battle had been lost.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Richards,
who had been playing great all-around baseball the past few weeks, made a great
play to keep the game going to the twelfth inning.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pinkston led off the twelfth with a single and was
replaced by pinch-runner Hildebrandt, who stole second base on a strikeout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a groundout advanced Hildebrandt to
third, Richards delivered a huge base hit up the middle to give the Titans a
4-3 lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Timmy stole second base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Stieb walked, there was a wild
pitch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Richards has decent speed but reads
the ball well and gets a great jump as a base-runner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He hustled to third, saw the pitcher not
covering the plate and he never stopped running – he scored from second on a
wild pitch and the Titans’ dugout and small cheering section were going nuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzy nailed it down with an easy 1-2-3 inning,
ending the game on his 70<sup>th</sup> pitch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not a typical pitch count for a closer – but Tyler was hardly a
conventional closer. (</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jorgelopezarte/media_set?set=a.368689026669126.100005840947117&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of this amazing game, courtesy Jorge Lopez.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t remember many games that created such an
adrenaline surge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed like “us
against the world”, with our coaches getting tossed and the home team getting
all the calls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there was an
intensity that was palpable – the Titans just weren’t going to lose that game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As the team walked towards the bus late that
evening, I remarked to Baumer: “This is the type of game that can create the
spark that ignites this team.”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Winds
of Mayhem had begun to stir.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the
immortal words of Bob Dylan, “You don’t need to be a weather man to know which
way the wind blows.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<b style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><u>Scene 3:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Winds of Mayhem<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(May, 2015)</u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans were sitting at 23-20 with thirteen games
to play: four conference series (at Riverside, home to Santa Barbara, at
Hawai’i and home to Long Beach State) and a home midweek game against
UCLA.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans had won all four of
their BWC series, so the only sure path to keep alive the consecutive year
streak of making the tournament was to win the conference and earn the
automatic invitation.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The UCSB Gauchos
were the darlings of the national pollsters and were a lock to be invited, with
the question already circulating about whether they would bid to host
Regionals.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Gauchos play their home
games at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, which doesn’t have lights, toilets, toilet
paper or enough seating capacity to host NCAA Regionals, so they could only bid
if they found an alternative venue.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Many
thought they would request permission from their northern neighbors, Cal Poly
SLO, to use the Mustangs’ Baggett Stadium to host Regionals – similar to the
USD Toreros hosting at San Diego state’s Tony Gwynn Stadium in 2007 – but UCSB
probably thought they would have a home field disadvantage if their “home”
crowd was filled with venomous fans of the rival Mustangs.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It took 43 games to get here, but it seemed like the
roles and lineup rotations were finally settling into place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My theory is that players determine playing
time and roles, not coaches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With all
the versatile players, all of whom did a couple things exceptionally well but
not everything well, it took a long time to sort it out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Some starting positions were now essentially solely
occupied: catcher (Kennedy), second base (Bryant), third base (Bravo),
shortstop (Richards), left field (Vargas), center field (Stieb) and designated
hitter (Olmedo-Barrera.)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pinkston and
Estill formed a lefty/righty platoon at first base, similar to Vaught and
Blaser in right field after Hurst’s back injury.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Cullen was used as a defensive replacement in
the outfield, and Hudgins was used to back up Kennedy when he was removed for a
pinch-hitter or pinch-runner.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jefferies
was used as a pinch-hitter and Hildebrandt as a defensive replacement, usually
after an infielder was replaced for a pinch-hitter.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans ventured into the 951 to play UC
Riverside at the Riverside Sports Complex, with its poor lighting and sloping
outfield – a place that has not always been kind to the Titans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans won the opener, 9-0.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eshelman threw 7.0 shutout innings, removed
only because of the lopsided score.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Vargas led the 15-hit attack with three, with two each from DOB,
Pinkston, Bravo and Bryant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Game 2 was
worse: the Titans won, 19-0, pounding out 25 hits, led by Kennedy and Bryant
with three each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vargas, Blaser, Vaught,
Richards and Stieb had two hits apiece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With 28 runs in the first two games, there was ample opportunity to rest
Peitzmeier after his 70-pitch outing on Tuesday at USC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The series finale looked like another rout, with
Gavin posting five tidy innings of shutout pitching before shutting it down
with a 7-0 lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having outscored their
opponents 35-0 in the series, the Titans emptied the bench early for the third
straight game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It created a few nervous
moments when the Highlanders bunched together a few hits and cut their deficit
to 7-4, but Peitzmeier closed it out (non-save situation) to complete the
sweep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pinkston led with three hits, and
Stieb and Kennedy had two each. (</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jorgelopezarte/media_set?set=a.368688926669136.100005840947117&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jorgelopezarte/media_set?set=a.368706970000665.1073742046.100005840947117&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of the UCR series, courtesy Jorge Lopez.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The arrival of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos set the
stage for a showdown series not only between two teams battling for the BWC
crown, but also an opening game battle between two aces that were both on the
2014 pitching staff for Team USA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Eshelman was matched up with Dillon Tate, who had been converted from
the closer role in past seasons and became one of the most dominating pitchers
in the country, with some draftniks even projecting him as the first overall
selection of the draft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(He ended up
selected by the Texas Rangers with the fourth selection of the draft.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first three innings were scoreless, even though
– stop the presses! – Eshelman actually walked a batter.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tate was also uncharacteristically wild: he
hit the first batter he faced and later issued a walk in the third inning, but
neither scored.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the bottom of the
fourth, the Titans scored the game’s first run on a Bravo HBP, single by
Blaser, walk to Kennedy and a bases-loaded walk to Bryant.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans knocked Tate from the box in the
bottom of the sixth with a pair of runs (one unearned). Richards and Vargas had
the key hits in the inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The 3-0 score stood up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eshelman pitched 8.0 scoreless innings,
striking out nine and allowing just three hits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Peitzy pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his thirteenth save.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans took advantage of sloppy play by UCSB and
wrapped up the series with a 10-1 thrashing in the second game.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Stieb led the 9-hit attack with three, while
Vargas chipped in two hits and DOB hit a home run.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately, Garza had to leave the game
with an injury in the fourth inning, leading to Tommy John surgery and the end
of his brilliant career as a Titan.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He
was replaced by Chambers, who was outstanding: just one hit allowed in 4.2
innings.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans caught a case of Bieber Fever on Sunday,
dropping a 3-2 decision to UCSB starting pitcher Shane Bieber and three hitless
shutout relief innings by Domenic Mazza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Titans bats cooled off this game, delivering just five hits. (</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jorgelopezarte/media_set?set=a.370514003153295.1073742047.100005840947117&type=3"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for photos of the UCSB series, courtesy Jorge Lopez.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Next up was UCLA at home: an opportunity to boost
the resume and improve RPI, playing the #2 team in the country.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Seabold started the game, which perpetuated
speculation about how Garza’s weekend slot in the rotation would be
filled.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Connor was fantastic, pitching
5.1 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and notching six strikeouts.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans led 2-0 after six, but fell victim
to a four-run seventh inning by the Bruins, aided by a misplayed flyball.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But to the credit of the Titans, they bounced
back with two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh before bowing, 5-4, in
ten innings.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Stieb led the offense with
three hits.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans headed west to play the Hawai’i Rainbow
Warriors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hawai’i was on a six-game
winning streak and the Titans hadn’t played well defensively on artificial turf
(at Indiana and Maryland), so this wasn’t a slam dunk series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Eshelman got the series off on a good note with his
second complete game shutout of the season, scattering five singles and posting
a dozen strikeouts.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">DOB dominated
offensively: 3-for-3 with a single, double, home run and two HBP.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bravo extended his streak of reaching base to
33 games, while Richards had his ‘reach base’ streak ended at 22 games.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Without Garza, Gavin moved into the Saturday starter
role and was staked to a 2-0 lead after five innings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the Rainbows battled back and tied the
score in the bottom of the sixth, and Chambers replaced Gavin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tied 2-2, Estill led off the top of the
seventh with a pinch-single.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Richards
sacrificed and reached base on an errant throw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Kennedy followed with another bunt and beat it out when the pitcher and
third baseman played Twister going for the ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jake Jefferies, whose playing time had become
minimal recently, pinch-hit for Bryant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Having misplayed two consecutive bunts, the Hawai’i infield was drawn in
fearing a hat trick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jefferies hit a
perfectly placed chopper over the third base bag, driving in two runs to give
the Titans a 4-2 lead, the eventual final score.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chambers got the win with 1.2 innings of
shutout relief, and Peitzy pitched 2.0 scoreless innings to get his fourteenth
save.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As expected, Seabold moved into the Sunday spot in
the weekend rotation.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was no
concern whether he could handle that assignment.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Seabold had established himself as an
important cog in the bullpen – usually in the sixth and seventh innings – so
the concern became how to compensate for his unavailability in that role
without burning out Chambers and Peitzmeier.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans struck early with two runs in the second
inning on a double by Bravo, Richards’ HBP, an RBI single by Kennedy and an
error.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Hawai’i tied it, 2-2, in the
bottom of the third.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The undaunted
Titans notched solo tallies in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings and came
away with a 5-2 win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seabold got the win
with 6.0 strong innings, striking out nine and allowing just three hits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chambers retired all six hitters he faced;
Peitzmeier pitched a scoreless inning to register his fifteenth save.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans flew home with a record of 31-22, 16-5 in
BWC.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They were just one game ahead of
UCSB, who was 15-6 and headed into the 951 to face the hapless Highlanders
while the Titans hosted the Dirtbags.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans controlled their own destiny in terms of winning the
conference title outright (BWC recognizes co-champions, using the head-to-head outcome
to determine which team gets the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament), but
there was still work to be done.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
conferences that don’t play a conference tournament have played their final
weekend series Thursday-Saturday in recent years, a trend I like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It minimizes the number of games that are
played after the sixteen Regional hosts are announced on the Sunday of Memorial
Day weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Eshelman was staked to an early 3-0 lead over the
Dirtbags with help from an unexpected power source: after second inning singles
by Bravo and Blaser, Timmy Richards delivered a three-run bomb to left field,
his first home run as a Titan.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Eshelman
pitched a complete game in what might have been his final game at Goodwin Field
(not knowing at that moment whether we would host Regionals), allowing six hits
and just one earned run.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was a little
surprised he came out for the ninth inning: he finished with 126 pitches
thrown.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bravo led with three hits, and
Vargas and Pinkston each had two.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans clinched the BWC championship outright
when they beat the Dirtbags, 4-0, on Senior Day, coupled with the 951 upset of
the Gauchos by the Highlanders, 3-2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>UCSB opted to give their Golden Spikes Award semifinalist the weekend
off the rest up for the playoffs, which may have given UCR extra motivation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gavin pitched 6.2 shutout innings and got the win,
allowing just three singles.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Chambers
pitched 2.1 innings and earned his first save of the season.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Neither senior reliever, Kuhl or Peitzmeier,
appeared in the game.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bravo continued
his torrid hitting, going 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">DOB added a home run.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the
conference title clinched and their tournament invitation ensured, the final
game of the season still had meaning: the last chance to impress the NCAA
committee in hopes of being a host team for the Regionals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans came out and were taking care of
business: they beat the Dirtbags, 5-3, behind 6.0 strong innings from Seabold
(two runs, one earned, six strikeouts).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gibbs,
Kuhl and Peitzy (sixteenth save) combined for three innings of shutout
relief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bravo and Vaught led the offense
with two hits apiece.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans finished the regular season 34-22, 19-5
in the Big West Conference: they won all eight conference series and finished
three games ahead of UCSB, who lost their finale against Riverside, again by
3-2 score.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But having been one of the
few brave souls to traverse the Grapevine to witness the Bakersfield bashing,
the 14-3 run that followed that game was quite gratifying.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The winds of mayhem had prevailed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">ACT
III:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>THE ROAD TO OMAHA</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene
1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Manic Memorial Day</span></u></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On the Sunday following the sweep of the Dirtbags,
the sixteen host teams for the Regionals were announced: Fullerton was
included.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m glad I sent in my ticket
reservations after all.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There had been much speculation whether two Big West
teams would host Regionals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fullerton
had won the conference title and won all eight BWC series, so it was certainly
a justifiable venue selection, but UCSB had a better overall record (40-15-1)
and lower RPI (20).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It raised some
eyebrows when the Gauchos were awarded a Regional host slot at a minor league
ballpark in Lake Elsinore, more than 180 miles driving distance from their
campus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In actuality, I think it helped
Fullerton that Santa Barbara was awarded a host slot: how could you choose the
team that finished three games behind the conference champions and lost the
head-to-head series without also rewarding the champs?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Memorial Day has become one of my favorite days of
the year on the sports calendar:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ESPN
has the NCAA baseball bracket announcement show, followed by the college
lacrosse championship game.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I had been
disappointed the previous weekend when my favorite team, Syracuse University
(the #2 seed), had lost a classic 16-15 match against their unseeded
arch-rivals, Johns Hopkins University, but I was nevertheless looking forward
to the lacrosse championship game between Denver and Maryland.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The teams for the Fullerton Regionals were
announced:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fullerton (1 seed); Arizona
State (2 seed); Clemson (3 seed); and Pepperdine (4 seed).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arizona State thought they were a cinch to be
awarded a host slots for the Regionals, so their fans were angry Sunday night
when they found out they would be traveling – many assumed they would be
heading to Lake Elsinore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were even
angrier on Monday that they learned their destination was Fullerton.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They don’t “officially” seed beyond the top eight,
but there is a “quasi” implied seed for the Super Regional pairings.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Louisville was the #3 national seed, and the
winners of the Fullerton and Louisville Regionals were matched in the next
round (Super Regionals), so Fullerton was essentially the #14 seed.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">UCLA was the #1 overall seed in the tournament and a
heavy favorite to win it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According
to Boyd’s World calculations, they had a 91.0% chance of winning their
Regionals (against Ole Miss, Maryland and CSU Bakersfield) and 21.1% chance of
being NCAA champions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next closest
team was LSU (14.3%).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Fullerton
had a 51.5% probability of winning its Regionals, they had just 0.7% likelihood
of winning the championship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(FWIW: the
eventual champions, Virginia, had just a 17.8% probability of winning the Lake
Elsinore Regionals and 0.1% likelihood of winning the title.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That made them a 999-1 longshot.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As conference champions, the Titans commanded the
Big West Conference honors.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thomas
Eshelman was named Pitcher of the Year; David Olmedo-Barrera earned Co-Player
of the Year; and Rick Vanderhook was recognized as Coach of the Year.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Joining Eshelman and DOB with first team
all-conference honors were Peitzmeier, Vargas, Bravo and Chambers.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Stieb earned second team honors, while Bryant
and Gavin earned honorable mention.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Eshelman was also named second-team Louisville Slugger
NCAA Division I All-American team, while Tyler Peitzmeier was named third-team
All-American.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The start of the Regionals brought some bad news:
Josh Estill had become academically ineligible and was out for the rest of the
season.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pinkston’s bat had heated up and
he was playing very well defensively at first base, but Estill was a big power
bat to protect DOB in the batting order, so his unavailability was a big
concern, especially against the better teams in the tournament.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans were clicking on all cylinders, but
certainly the absence of Garza, Estill and Hurst was cause for concern heading
into the postseason.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene
2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Other ASU<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Regionals, 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In a four-team double-elimination Regionals format,
it is imperative to win the “hammer” game between the winners of the two
first-round games: ASU/Clemson winner would face Fullerton/Pepperdine
winner.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Whoever wins the hammer game
gets to sit back, rest its pitchers and needs only one more win to advance,
while the loser of that game must bounce back and win three straight games the
next two days, which puts an incredible strain on a pitching staff.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Therefore, the selection of the starting
pitching rotation is of paramount importance: there is a tradeoff between
saving your ace for the hammer game vs. higher risk of getting knocked into the
losers’ bracket right away if you don’t start your best pitcher in the first
game.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You can’t win the hammer game from
the losers’ bracket, so you can’t get too risky with the opening game pitching
strategy.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans coaching staff opted to start the
freshman lefthander Gavin in the opener against Pepperdine, saving Eshelman for
a potential matchup against Arizona State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ASU opted to throw its ace, lefthander Ryan Kellogg,
in the opening game against Clemson.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You
may recall Kellogg from the incredible pitchers’ duel he had with Justin Garza
in the 2013 Super Regionals when both were freshmen.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ASU beat Clemson, 7-4, to advance to the
hammer game.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the nightcap, the Titans staked Gavin to a quick
1-0 lead on first inning walk to Stieb, a single by DOB and an RBI single by
Bravo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the Waves took a 2-1 lead in
the top of the third with a two-out rally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gavin’s third walk of the game opened the door for three straight
singles and two runs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pepperdine’s lead was short-lived, as the Titans
sent twelve batters to the plate in the bottom of the third and scored six runs
to take a 7-2 lead, taking advantage of wildness by Pepperdine pitchers and
poor defense.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first three Titans (Vargas,
Stieb, DOB) walked, then Bravo was HBP: it’s never a good thing to allow a run
and have bases loaded with no outs when there hasn’t been a ball put into play.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">From there, things got even uglier for
Pepperdine.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There were two more walks,
two errors and another hit-batsman.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
only hit in the six run uprising was an RBI single by Vaught.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately, Gavin’s wildness continued and he was
removed in the top of the fourth with two outs after hitting two more batters
and allowing a single.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chambers replaced
him and allowed a run to score on a bases-loaded walk, but escaped further
harm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tanner Pinkston hit an opposite-field double in the
bottom of the sixth inning to give the Titans a lead of 9-3, which was the
final score.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans bullpen was stellar: after Chambers
walked the first batter he faced, neither he, Gibbs or Hockin allowed another
base-runner in 5.1 combined innings of work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Titans had nine hits, led by Pinkston and Stieb with two each, and
benefited from eight walks and three Pepperdine errors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This set up the hammer game matchup between the
Titans and “the other ASU” – not the Alabama State University squad we lost to
in the second game of the season, but the Arizona State Sun Devils, a long-time
nemesis and winners of five national championships.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With their five championships (1965, 1967,
1969, 1977 and 1981), ASU is one of just four teams with more championships
than CSUF’s four: others are Southern California (12), LSU (6) and Texas
(6).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Arizona (4) is tied with Cal State
Fullerton.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">These are two legacy NCAA baseball programs that
have had fierce competition for many years, and frankly may not really like
each other very much, albeit with ASU being much more difficult to hate since
Pat Murphy was fired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you read/listen
to interviews with Tracy Smith and follow her tweets, you’ll find her to be a
very inspirational leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The #21-ranked Titans came into the game riding a
seven-game winning streak, facing #19 ASU.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since both teams were “home” in their first games (by virtue of higher
seeding than their opponents), a coin toss determined that Fullerton was home
team for the hammer game.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Things got off to a rocky start for Eshelman and his
teammates, to the delirium of the large throng of ASU fans that traveled to
Fullerton for the weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leadoff
hitter Johnny Sewald led off with a double, went to third on a wild pitch and
scored when Kennedy’s throw to third base sailed away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was 1-0 Sun Devils before the first out
was recorded, and the four Titans fans seated in Section Anarchy had to listen
to 400 screaming ASU fans packed in like desert sardines and pointing at us,
shouting, “Scoreboard!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We knew we were
in for a dogfight, but the 400 ASU fans in our section had no idea they would
be drowned out by one fan: Superfan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was an epic battle for turf and pride.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ASU pitcher Seth Martinez retired the Titans 1-2-3
in the bottom of the fourth and Eshelman surrendered a solo home run in the top
of the second to eighth batter in the Sun Devils’ lineup, Andrew Snow.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The shouts from the ASU fans became
deafening:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“SCOREBOARD!!!!!”</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Trailing 2-0, the Titans scored a run in the bottom
of the second on a single by Pinkston, a groundout and an RBI single by
Richards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After that, the Eshelman we’ve seen dominate
opponents for three year reappeared and took control.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ASU had a helluva team and had runners on
base throughout the game, but Eshelman always came up with the big pitches when
he needed them most.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He also got some
great support from the defense behind him and ahead of him (i.e., catcher A.J.
Kennedy).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As he had been all season,
Kennedy was tremendous behind the plate this game.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ASU had a golden opportunity to add to their 2-1
lead in the top of the sixth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A leadoff
double by ASU shortstop Colby Woodmansee was followed by an infield single that
placed runners at the corners with no outs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Eshelman struck out the next two hitters, followed by a stolen base that
put two men in scoring position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Eshelman won a great battle with designated hitter R.J. Ybarra and
struck him out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just when there was a
chance for ASU to drive a nail through the heart of the Titans, Eshelman rose
to the occasion and struck out the side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The pendulum shift towards Fullerton continued in
the bottom of that inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bryant led
off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Vargas.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Stieb drove a single to left field, but
Bryant had to stop at third base with the outfield playing shallow and the
red-hot Olmedo-Barrera coming up next. Smith went to her bullpen to get a lefty
to face DOB, who stroked a base hit into right field to tie the score,
2-2.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">DOB was gunned down trying to
stretch it into a double on a great throw by ASU right fielder Trever Allen.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The ensuing
innings were surreal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Including the
three sixth-inning strikeouts, Eshelman retired eleven straight batters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, the Titans had a parade of ASU
relief pitchers on the ropes, but the Sun Devils’ infield defense made numerous
great plays to keep the Titans off the scoreboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans left the bases loaded in the
bottom of the eighth, and stranded two in the ninth inning as the battle went
into extra innings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By then it was
nearing midnight and a damp marine layer had settled over the field.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Eshelman left after 9.0 innings, notching 14
strikeouts while allowing two runs, seven hits and zero walks.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the MLB draft just ten days away,
Eshelman threw an incredible 143 pitches.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He threw more strikes (103) in the game than most guys throw total
pitches.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the magnitude of the game,
the Titans brought in their closer, Peitzmeier.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzy immediately got into hot water in the top of
the tenth when the first ASU batter he faced singled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With two outs after a sacrifice bunt and
intentional walk, Trever Allen bounced a ball up the middle that seemed
destined for center field, but Richards ranged far to his left to snare it and
prevented the runner from scoring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Peitzy got out of the bases-loaded jam with a strikeout.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After Peitzy had an easy 1-2-3 eleventh inning, the
Titans had another chance to win it with two runners aboard but were snuffed by
the ASU defense. Neither team got a runner on base in the twelfth inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was getting very late and chilly; the
crowd began to thin out a little, but Superfan continued to amp up the volume
out in Section Anarchy.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ASU had a mild threat in the thirteenth with a runner
on first and two outs, but Woodmansee broke early trying to get into scoring
position with a stolen base against backup catcher Hudgins (Kennedy had been
removed for a pinch-hitter).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was out
stealing, 1-3-6.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Having already used five pitchers, Smith went to
Eder Erives to start the bottom of the thirteenth inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Erives hadn’t pitched in several weeks since
being struck in the head by a ‘comebacker’ in a midweek game at New Mexico.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Not only did Erives need to overcome the
rustiness of not having pitched recently, but also the natural nervousness of
taking the hill for the first time since his serious head injury.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I thought it was very courageous for him to
take the ball, and he pitched a scoreless thirteenth inning with just a tad of
wildness: Pinkston was HBP.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Similar to his lengthy outing in the epic win at
USC, you could just see that it was Peitzmeier’s game to win or lose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He retired the side in the fourteenth, his
fifth inning of work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The roosters were
starting to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cock-a-doodle-do</i> and the
drunks were leaving the bars after last call and Ubering to Denny’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Erives’ wildness put an end to this madness in the
bottom of the fourteenth inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hudgins
led off the inning and was hit-by-pitch, then sacrifice bunted to second by
Bryant.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pick your poison: Vargas was
intentionally walked to set up a double-play situation (i.e., baseball by the
book in that situation where the second run means nothing), but it also brought
DOB to the plate.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Erives was nowhere
near the plate and walked DOB on four pitches, bringing up Bravo with the bases
loaded.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He fake-bunted each time Erives
came set, which might have jangled his juices:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">four straight pitches were far outside the strike zone and Hudgins
scored the winning run on Bravo’s RBI walk-off walk.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(Even though Bravo didn’t have a hit, his
three walks extended his streak of reaching base safely to 40 games.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was somewhere around 1:45 a.m. when we finally
got to turn to the few remaining ASU fans in our section and politely and
quietly said, “Scoreboard.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I actually
felt badly for the ASU team and their fans: the Devils had played a great game,
the kind of gallant battle that neither team deserves to lose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus it put them in the awful situation of
having to go back to their hotel for a short nap (assuming they could sleep
after such a gut-wrenching loss) and come back to play an elimination game
Sunday afternoon against Pepperdine with a depleted pitching staff after going
through six pitchers and fourteen innings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Okay, maybe I didn’t really feel that badly.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans’ two All-American pitchers had combined
to throw 215 pitches: 143 by Eshelman and 72 by Peitzmeier, posting a team season-high
20 strikeouts.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was truly one for the
books. The win was the Titans’ first extra innings postseason win in 21 years,
breaking a nine-game losing streak in such games.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Even though I didn’t leave the field until close to
2:30 a.m., I was too wired to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
headed straight to Norm’s “We Never Close” for steak and eggs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know you’re jacked up when you power slam
coffee at 3 in the morning to settle your nerves so you can sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Aren’t tailgate parties great when you’re enjoying a
leisurely afternoon while the team you barely beat a few hours earlier is
inside fighting to stave off elimination?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Louisville was dominating their Regionals, so the tailgaters knew it
would be there final Goodwin Field gathering of the season (barring a Fullerton
loss that night that would necessitate playing the “if necessary” game.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the elimination game, Pepperdine and ASU battled
with what little pitching they had left in the tank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ASU took an early 2-0 lead; Pepperdine tied it
up, 2-2, and then took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth; ASU fought back
with solo tallies in the sixth and seventh inning to tie it, 4-4; Pepperdine
put up three runs after two outs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 7-4
lead; the ASU fans that showed up started heading towards Blythe; ASU never
gave up and had the tying run at the plate twice in the ninth inning but
couldn’t score against Wave closer Max Gamboa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To be honest, after that gut-wrenching imbroglio
surrounded by ASU fans for five hours of battle-to-the-death the previous
night, I think we were all happy to have a peaceful Sunday night matchup with
Pepperdine.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By the start of the Sunday
night game, the ASU fans were somewhere east of Indio.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(I wonder if they stopped at the General
Patton Museum in Chiriaco Summit on the drive back to Tempe.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans had a well-rested Seabold ready to pitch,
while Pepperdine had to go with Johnny All-Staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans scored once in the second inning
on a double by Pinky and groundouts by Blaser and Richards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They made it 2-0 in the third inning when
Vargas singled, stole second and scored on an RBI single by DOB.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four runs in the fourth inning gave the
Titans a 6-0 lead and Pepperdine looked gassed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With the relaxed crowd singing a riff of the Who’s “Slip Kid,” Blaser
started it off with a single and stole second base before scoring on an RBI
double by Kennedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bryant walked, Vargas
singled, Stieb hit a sacrifice fly and DOB crushed a two-run double down the
right field line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Two more runs in the sixth inning made it 8-0 and we
fiddled with our cell phones looking for flights to Louisville.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The rally started with two outs when DOB was
HBP, Bravo reached on an error which scored DOB, then Pinkston followed with an
RBI single.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since it worked before, the
anarchists sang the “Slip Kid” refrain when Blaser batted again and he got
another hit: that’s how nicknames are born.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The final score was 10-1, with Seabold going 6.0
shutout innings and registering nine strikeouts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gibbs, Hockin and Kuhl finished up: I was
glad to see the senior Willie Kuhl out there to record the final out that
advanced the Titans to the Super Regionals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Five Titans won All-Regional Team honors:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pinkston, Vargas, Olmedo-Barrera, Peitzmeier
and Eshelman.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The MVP of the Regionals
was Eshelman for his epic outing in the hammer game.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene
3:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Louisville Sluggers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Super Regionals, 2015)</span></u></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With my stockpile of frequent flyer miles dropping
precipitously after trips to Florida, Maryland, Indiana and Hawai’i, plans were
hastily made to fly to Louisville to play the host Cardinals in the Super
Regionals.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Louisville was absolutely
loaded: a well-deserved #3 seed that had everything: hitting, pitching,
defense, speed, power, coaching, home field advantage, a huge supportive crowd,
experience in big games (the Cardinals had won Super Regionals in 2013 and 2014
to advance to Omaha), etc.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">According to the ISR-based probabilities calculated
by Boyd’s World, the Titans had just a 37.8% probability of winning the
series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The consensus around Louisville
was that they recognized there was perhaps a 50% chance their team might lose
the “Eshelman game” against their ace, Kyle Funkhouser, but they seemed to have
99% confidence that the Cardinals would win the “non-Eshelman games.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I took it as an omen when Rent-A-Wreck assigned me a
cardinal-red car at the airport – but I wasn’t sure if it was a good omen or
bad.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans had already seen the Cardinals play three
games in the opening weekend round-robin, and won their head-to-head matchup,
so they were a familiar opponent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
that is a double-edged sword: not only had Louisville seen the Titans play
three games, they had extra motivation to avenge that early-season defeat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For the Louisville coaching staff and fan base,
there was also extra motivation to repay the beat-down the Titans had done on the
red-Mohawk-clad Cardinals in the 2009 Super Regionals in Fullerton (combined
23-2 score).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Cardinals had won 11
straight NCAA tournament games at Jim Patterson Stadium (which was named after
the founder of the Long John Silver’s restaurant chain) dating back to 2013,
reflecting their great talent, fan support and familiarity playing on the artificial
surface.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Add to all those advantages
that Brendan McKay, a freshman who hadn’t cracked the Louisville starting
lineup when the two teams played in February, had emerged as a dominant force
both offensively and as a pitcher for Louisville, so if anything, the 37.8%
probability from Boyd’s calculations seemed high.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One more factor against the Titans: besides the
jetlag from the flight to Kentucky (which is in Eastern time zone), the first
game was scheduled at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to satisfy the
capitalistic needs of ESPN.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make that
8:00 a.m. Pacific time – when the Titans’ body clocks had been adjusted to
playing in the Hawai’ian time zone followed by numerous televised super-late
night games in Pacific time zone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I always like to get to stadiums extra early to
watch batting practice and pregame drills, especially if it is a stadium I’ve
never been to before and need to acclimate to the lay of the land (e.g.,
parking, getting tickets from ‘will call’, etc.)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was disappointing to arrive two hours
early for the opening game only to be informed that the gates would not open
until one hour before game time.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As much
as I love the magnitude of tournament games, I dislike the way the NCAA and
ESPN evil forces combine to make the fan experience far more restrictive than
during the regular season.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Last year, a
matronly old one-armed woman in Stilly practically had Security perform body
cavity searches on me because I brought a camera into the stadium – a violation
that ESPN insists on rigorous enforcement – so</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">this year I didn’t even try to take photos at any of the tournament
games.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Louisville fans were friendly and curious about
people that would travel all the way from California to watch a college
baseball game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dating back to the Denny
Crum era and now Rick Pitino, we tend to think of Louisville as a basketball
school, but their success under Coach Dan McDonnell has created great interest
in their baseball program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was also
struck by how deep-rooted was the venom between Louisville and University of
Kentucky enthusiasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One last bit of angst before game time: there was
speculation that Miles Chambers’ availability was being determined on a
day-to-day basis.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Chambers had a great
season and was rock-solid when the Garza injury and conversion of Seabold to
the weekend rotation put extra burden on him and Peitzmeier.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Boyd, are you really sure we have 37.8%
chance of going to Omaha?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It surely
didn’t feel like it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It felt more like a
10/90% proposition, favoring Louisville.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Game 1 delivered the highly anticipated pitching
duel between nationally elite aces Eshelman and Funkhouser, as the first five
innings were scoreless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although
scoreless, there were runners on base in seven of the ten half-innings, but
Eshelman and Funkhouser each came up with the big pitches when needed
most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, the second inning
was dicey for both sides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the top of
the frame, Bravo led off with a single and with two outs, Richards reached when
the first baseman was ruled to have come off the bag early on a groundball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Louisville coach McDonnell lobbied for and
was granted a review by instant replay – the first time I had seen that happen
in college baseball (but certainly not the last in this wild series. Even
though the call was not overturned, the review broke the Titans’ momentum.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kennedy smoked a line drive that the first
baseman made a good leaping catch of, atoning for his error.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Louisville loaded the bases in the bottom of
the second with one out on two singles and – gasp! – a walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Eshelman struck out the next batter and
induced a groundball to Bryant to get out of the jam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans
left two more runners on base in the third, the Cardinals left one.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans finally plated the game’s first tally in
the top of the sixth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With one out, DOB
singled down the right field line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
DOB’s speed, he would have tried to stretch it into a double against most right
fielders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Louisville has the
athletically-gifted Corey Ray in right field: he got to the ball quickly and has
a howitzer arm, so it was held to a single. With two outs, Pinkston singled,
placing runners at first and second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Titans surprised the Cardinals with a double-steal before Blaser drove a base
hit into right field to score DOB.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pinkston’s wheels vs. Ray’s arm just wasn’t a good bet, so he was held
up at third and stranded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The lead was extremely short-lived: McKay, who was
named Freshman of the Year by Baseball America and also won the John Olerud
Award as the best two-way player in the country, drove a no-doubt-about-it home
run to right field to tie the score, 1-1.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When DOB walked to start the top of the eighth,
Funkhouser came out of the game, having thrown 121 pitches in 7.0 innings,
allowing five hits and two walks while notching five strikeouts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DOB advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Bravo and to third on a wild pitch by reliever Lincoln Henzman, a member of the
Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team, bringing the infield in to
protect against a potential squeeze play in this 1-1 tie game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tension was palpable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henzman struck out Pinkston, allowing the
infield to return to normal depth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Blaser then delivered another clutch RBI single to give the Titans a 2-1
lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was replaced by pinch-runner
Hunter Cullen, who scampered to third on a single by Timmy Richards but both
runners were stranded when Henzman induced a groundout by Kennedy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Leading 2-1 and with Eshelman at 100 pitches on this
hot, humid day after throwing 143 pitches in his prior start, the Titans went
to closer Peitzmeier to pitch the bottom of the eighth.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Eshelman had allowed eight hits to an
outstanding Louisville lineup and struck out five.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The entire lineup is capable – all nine
starters got at least one hit in the game – but the 3-4-5 combo of Ray, McKay
and catcher Will Smith is downright scary.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzmeier retired the meat of the order in 1-2-3 fashion in the eighth,
leaving the Titans just three outs away from an opening game victory.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans had a chance to add an insurance run in
the top of the ninth when Stieb doubled with two outs, bringing the dangerous
Olmedo-Barrera to the plate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stieb has
speed to burn and was already in scoring position, so it was quite a surprise
when he was gunned down trying to steal third base and taking the bat out of
DOB’s hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So the Titans were just three outs away with Peitzy
facing the 6-7-8 hitters.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first
batter flied out to right field – two outs to go.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the hearts of the Titans Nation sunk when
Louisville designated hitter Mike White hit a line drive home run to right
field to tie the score, 2-2.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When the
ball was hit, it looked like it might not have the height to go over the wall,
but it rose just enough to clear it and the home crowd was in a fever pitch. It
was the first blown save of the season for Peitzmeier, who had previously
converted all 16 save opportunities.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
next batter was retired, but a two-out walk and single put the potential
winning run in scoring position, but Peitzy induce a pop-up to get out of the
inning.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Henzman retired DOB leading off the tenth, but Bravo
followed with a walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pinkston then
drove a base hit in the 3-4 hole into right field, but Bravo held at
second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cullen followed with a base hit
in almost the identical location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again
Bravo was held up at third base in deference to Ray’s arm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the bases loaded and just one out, it brought
in Louisville’s dominant closer, Zack Burdi.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This guy consistently reaches 98-100 mph on his fastball, so the
Louisville crowd gets pumped just to watch his warm-up pitches.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As Burdi warmed up, a slow-moving freight
train crawled along the tracks behind the fence in right field.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s really a very nice stadium and the
freight train just added to the ambiance.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Richards stepped into the box – and was drilled in
the shoulder on a 100 mph pitch from Burdi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Titans had a 3-2 lead and Richards had a new nickname:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Boxcar Timmy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Burdi blew away the next two batters with
strikeouts to avoid further damage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzy clearly did not have his best stuff this hot
day, but he has the heart of a lion and he battled for all it was worth.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He got the dangerous Ray leading off, but
gave up a single to McKay, who was removed for a pinch-runner.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Smith singled and put the potential tying run
on second and winning run on first – more nervous moments.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The next batter grounded to Bravo at third
base, who was able to retire the middle runner on a force-out at second,
leaving runners at the corners and White coming up – Tyler’s nemesis from the
ninth inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzmeier won the battle
this time, striking out White to complete the 3-2 win.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It should have felt like joy, but it seemed
more like relief.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFZIApCTJJM"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for the post game presser with Coach Vanderhook, Eshelman and Blaser.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Whew!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Titans had been outhit (12-to-10) and out-homered (2-to-0), but the Titans played
flawless defense and got clutch hits and clutch pitching when needed most.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If there is one theme for the entire season,
it is how hard the battle-tested Titans worked to improve after looking so
awful at teams playing their brutal road warrior schedule.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They didn’t handle the turf well at Indiana
or Maryland, but improved a lot on the turf in Hawai’i and looked very good in
the opener on Louisville’s FieldTurf™ surface.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As an added enhancement to a great day, after the
game we got to walk a couple blocks away to Churchill Downs, home of the
Kentucky Derby, to bet/watch American Pharoah go for the Triple Crown if he
could win the Belmont.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Editor’s
comment: it slays me that American Pharoah finished third in the 2015 Associated
Press Male Athlete of the Year voting, behind Stephen Curry and a golfer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Curry and the golfer were the best at
their sport in 2015, American Pharoah did something no athlete in his sport has
ever done: won the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup Classic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wouldn’t even surprise me if Pharoah could
beat Curry in a game of H-O-R-S-E.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ll spare you the painful details of the second
game, which featured a pitching matchup between freshmen lefties Gavin for the
Titans and McKay for the Cardinals.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gavin
didn’t have his best stuff and was removed after 2.1 innings despite the score
being tied, 1-1.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Chad Hockin was
bringing the heat but gave up a base hit to allow an inherited runner to score,
making it 2-1 in the third.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Cardinals blew the game open with four runs in
the top of the sixth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hockin and Gibbs
were touched up for a single, two doubles, a home run, a walk and a wild
pitch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Cardinals coasted to an easy
9-3 win, and you could just feel the confidence within the stadium and around
town the next day that the Cardinals were fated to make their third straight
trip to Omaha.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a question of
“if” they would win the Monday night rubber game, but “how badly” would they
beat the Titans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I guess there’s a reason why they play the games on
the field.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A big part of the confidence was the starting
pitcher for Louisville was their starting pitcher, sophomore lefthander Josh
Rogers, had won eight straight decisions since his opening-weekend loss to the
Titans and he was emotionally fired up to avenge that loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would be matched up with Titans’ freshman
right-hander Connor Seabold.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a question whether the weather would
cooperate: rain was in the forecast for all day and night on Monday.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It wasn’t a heavy rain, but it rained steadily
throughout the day.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the extra day
to kill, I went downtown and took the tour of the Louisville Slugger
factory.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As a baseball junkie, I’d say
it is a “nice” tour: not a “destination” site worthy of making a trip there
specifically to see it (as would be the case for the Hall of Fame in
Cooperstown, NY), but certainly something you should check out if you’re ever
in the area.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the sun magically appeared about an hour before
game time and the clouds went away. Play ball!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Debunking the myth that he doesn’t hit well against
quality left-handed pitchers, Olmedo-Barrera crushed a long home run to right
field off Rogers with two outs in the top of the first inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The ball landed in a coal car in the passing
freight train and was later found at a power plant in Cayuga, Indiana.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When Connor Seabold took the mound for the bottom of
the first inning, he was wearing number 49, rather than his customary 26.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great memories were stirred of Jason Windsor
wearing 49 when he contributed so mightily to the 2004 championship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it an ingenious stroke of motivational
psychology – or just a screw-up bringing the right uniform?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sutton Whiting led off the bottom of the second, but
was gunned down by A.J. Kennedy trying to steal second base with two outs and
McKay at the plate.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was the first of
many vital defensive plays in the game.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Cardinals threatened in the bottom of the
second, putting two runners aboard on an error and a single, but Pinkston and
Richards each made a nice play on hard-hit groundballs to get out scorelessly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, Rogers retired eight in a row
after the DOB home run before DOB got to him again in the top of the fourth
with a base hit, albeit one of the outs coming when Pinkston singled but was
thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Cardinals tied the score in the bottom of the
fourth.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Seabold retired Ray and McKay,
but Will Smith hit a home run to make it 1-1.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Seabold was on the ropes when the next batter doubled, but escaped by
retiring the dangerous Mike White.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rogers was dominating through the middle innings,
allowing no hits between DOB’s fourth-inning single and his stormy departure in
the top of the eighth (more on that in a moment.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He speared a line drive up the middle off the
bat of Bravo to end the sixth inning and celebrated excessively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T43CWiPHDkM"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
to see the line drive catch by Rogers and his butt shimmy before getting to his
feet to gloat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It brought the SRO crowd
of 6,010 to a fever pitch, but his emotional display also peeved the Titans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the score still tied 1-1, Solak singled to lead
off the bottom of the sixth inning for Louisville, and Peitzmeier was brought
in to pitch to the left-handed Ray and McKay.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Peitzy plunked Ray with a 2-2 pitch and the buzzards were circling
overhead.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With two runners on and no outs in a tie game, do
you have slugger McKay bunt?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It became a
moot point when Kennedy tried to pick Solak off second and the throw got away,
which allowed both runners to move up a base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>McKay then crushed a ball deep to right-center field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right fielder Dustin Vaught ran hard and
“went Spidey” to make a sensational catch with his body halfway up the
wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Solak scored to give Louisville a
2-1 lead, and Ray advanced to third base.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In another key play, Peitzmeier induced Smith to hit
a slow chopper back to the mound.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ray
hesitated and then broke for the plate.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzmeier ran towards him and tagged him for the second out as Smith
easily advanced to second.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Smith
made a wide turn and Peitz threw the ball to second baseman Bryant, who made
the tag to escape without additional harm.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Leading 2-1, Rogers came out with his emotions at a
zenith in the top of the seventh, retiring the Titans in order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He struck out Richards for the second out and
then whiffed Pinkston for the third out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead of proceeding to his team’s dugout on the first base side, he
moved towards the third base dugout and began gesturing at the Titans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Third base coach Chad Baum intercepted Rogers
and got in his face, which riled up not only Rogers but the beer-swilling
crowd.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It reached pandemonium when Hook met with plate
umpire Jeff Head seeking Rogers’ ejection for taunting.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The huge crowd, which had been nice as pecan
pie for two games and six innings, began to turn very surly.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A couple local drunks even tried to get into
the Titans’ dugout.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Former Titans ace
Wes Roemer was screaming his lungs out all weekend on behalf of his team, which
the fans around him didn’t take kindly to by the third game.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our tiny section of seats in the two front
rows to the left of home plate was soon surrounded by a phalanx of Louisville
policemen to protect the Titans fans and dugout from the escalating emotions.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hats off to the Louisville police for
maintaining order in what was becoming an increasingly tense and potentially
dangerous situation.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Louisville
third baseman Zach Lucas led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a
single, one of his three hits on the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>McDonnell had Danny Rosenbaum pinch-hit for White – perhaps with intent
to bunt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it became moot when Lucas
stole second and advanced to third and home on consecutive wild pitches by
Peitzmeier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although Peitz retired the
next three batters, the Titans trailed by two runs, 3-1, and the delirious
Cardinals fans were high-fiving and clicking on Expedia to reserve their rooms
in Omaha.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When Louisville took a 2-1 lead, I went through the
first two stages of grieving the impending end of the season: denial and
anger.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I advanced to the third stage
(bargaining) when Lucas stole second base:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Just leave him on base and I promise to….”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When the insurance run scored to make it 3-1,
I reached Stage 4: depression.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As we rolled into the top of the eighth inning, I
was on the verge of the fifth and final stage: acceptance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought back to some of the darkest days of
the season – I flashed back to the ox tail stew at Wool Growers in Bakersfield
– and a feeling of pride and serenity came over me for how gallantly this team
and coaching staff had overcome adversity and a hellacious schedule and made it
this far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Louisville was a great team,
Omaha-worthy and playing before a packed house of their rabid fans – I was
coming to grips with defeat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But then something happened that lit a fire under
everybody with an “F” on their hat or heart: Josh Rogers came out to the mound
to begin the top of the eighth inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He
had a low pitch count (just 81 through seven innings) and was pitching
great.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s understandable why they
wanted him to remain in the game, but wouldn’t you think his coaches and
teammates would have taken him aside while Louisville was scoring its
seventh-inning run and got him to chill out after his histrionics at the end of
the sixth and seventh innings?</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In hindsight, Louisville probably would have won the
game if they pulled Rogers before the inning and brought in Henzman, the
Freshman All-American set-up man ahead of closer Burdi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rogers’ continued presence in the game gave
the Titans a visceral spark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every man
in the visitors’ dugout was on the top step barking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rogers threw two pitches in the eighth – one a foot
over the head of pinch-hitter Chris Hudgins and the other off the
backstop.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">McDonnell realized he wasn’t
going to calm this kid down, so he brought in Henzman with a 2-0 count.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Henzman retired Hudgins on a deep flyball to
left field.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But then the Titans placed
two runners on base on a walk to Bryant and a single by Vargas.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jefferies pinch-hit for Stieb and struck out.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With Olmedo-Barrera coming up, Louisville brought in
a lefty, Drew Harrington (3-1, 0.29 ERA, .102 opponent batting average).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Cardinals seemed intent to go after DOB,
but a passed ball allowed both runners and opened up a free base to put DOB,
who was then walked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the bases loaded and the right-handed Bravo at
the plate, McDonnell brought in his fire-balling closer, Burdi.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first two pitches were pure heat (98-99
mph) and Bravo couldn’t connect.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Burdi
continued to pound with his fastball, which Bravo barely contacted a couple
times to foul them off and stay alive.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Inexplicably, Burdi then came in with an 88 mph slider that Bravo drove
through the 5-6 hole for a base hit.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bryant scored, with the speedy Vargas right behind him, and the score
was tied, 3-3.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The stunned silence throughout the stadium was
deafening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The reinvigorated Peitzmeier retired the top three
men in the Louisville batting order in the bottom of the eighth.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Burdi matched him with a 1-2-3 top of the
ninth.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Cardinals had a chance in the bottom of the
ninth when Smith got a one-out single, and Lucas surprised the Titans with a
bunt single.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a deep flyball to
right field that should have easily allowed both runners to move up, but they
had a brain fart and held their bases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You could just feel the frustration of the Louisville fans:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Why didn’t they tag up?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It became moot when the next guy grounded out
to Richards, with a nice scoop by Pinky on the receiving end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Burdi continued to pound the strike zone in the
tenth inning and recorded an easy 1-2-3 inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The bottom of the tenth had to be gut-wrenching for
the Cardinals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They needed just one run
to earn their third straight Omaha trip, but they just couldn’t put away this
scrappy group of Titans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of the success
of closers is that batters rarely see them more than once in a game:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Cardinals were seeing Peitzmeier for the
third time through their batting order in the tenth inning and still couldn’t
put him away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The ninth batter in the Louisville line-up, speedy
center fielder Logan Taylor, hit an 0-2 pitch left too close to the plate into
right field for a base hit to start the bottom of the tenth.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Whiting bunted to sacrifice the winning run
into scoring position.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Disaster nearly
struck for Fullerton – catcher Hudgins air-mailed his throw way over the head
of his 6-6 first baseman, Tanner Pinkston.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It spelled disaster – as soon as he released the throw, everybody’s
brain fast-forwarded to the winning run circling the bases as the throw bounced
around in the right field corner.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The game and the season would have been over - except
for the alert, hustling play of second baseman Taylor Bryant, who was in
perfect position backing up the play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
caught the errant throw on the fly and prevented either runner from advancing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With two on and none out, the next batter, Solak,
tried to bunt the runners over, but he popped it up to Hudgins for the first
out.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Still, the dangerous Ray and McKay
combo were looming.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzmeier induced a groundball to second base for a
forceout, but there was no chance for a double-play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That brought Ray to the plate with second
base open – a run that meant nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With Tyler in his fifth inning of work, I think the Titans might have
intentionally walked the left-handed McKay and brought in the right-handed
Chambers to face Smith, had he been at his peak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead they took their chances with Peitzy
going after McKay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Then came the second heartbreak of the inning for
Louisville: Peitzmeier threw a filthy pitch in the dirt that bounced through
Hudgins’ wickets.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It should have gone
all the way to the screen and Taylor would have walked in with the winning run
– except the ball struck the leg of umpire Head and the runners couldn’t advance.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The crowd gasped.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Titans fans looked at each other and said,
“Can you believe this shit?”</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">McKay hit a groundball that Richards handled,
sending the game to the eleventh inning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While Peitzmeier had just completed five innings on the mound, he had
become used to that situation from the classic triumphs over USC and the other
ASU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Burdi was drifting into
unfamiliar territory as he went to the mound to start the eleventh inning,
having entered the game in the eighth: it would become the second longest
outing of his career.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Olmedo-Barrera led off for the Titans in the
eleventh: a classic matchup of power vs. power.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the count 2-1, Burdi threw a fastball on the outside part of the
plate.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Anticipating the need to get on
the pitch early, DOB was ready and hit a long opposite-field flyball slicing
towards the left field foul pole.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">DOB
put his head down and ran, intent on making it to third base in the event the
ball bounced off the wall in fair territory.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the ball cleared the wall as it was slicing
towards foul territory – and umpire Heath Jones came up twirling his index
finger to indicate that it was a home run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Titans dugout went crazy, as did the players down in the bullpen
close to where the ball had landed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">McDonnell came out screaming and demanding that they
review the play on instant replay.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
four-man umpiring crew huddled up and discussed the call before getting on the
headphones to ask for replay assistance.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The review of the play seemed insufferably long. I can’t even imagine
what it must have felt like for DOB…or Vanderhook….or Burdi….or McDonnell…or,
for that matter, Heath Jones, who made the call on the field.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m told that replay calls were under the
jurisdiction of a two-man umpiring crew based in Atlanta, but the lengthy delay
had me believing the NCAA had outsourced the review process to India, and they
were put on hold waiting for an answer.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When the review was completed, the umpires again
twirled the index finger to uphold the home run call made on the field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The venom of the angry mob convened at
Patterson Stadium shifted momentarily from the Titans throng to the umpiring
crew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(From where I sat, I couldn’t see
whether the ball was fair or foul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
players in the bullpen were adamant that they heard the ball just barely “ping’
the outside of the pole as it sliced away.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>By the smallest of margins, the Titans had a 3-2 lead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You could see Burdi was pissed: he drilled Bravo
with a fastball down around the ankles with his first pitch.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bravo was in excruciating pain and there was
great consternation whether he could remain in the game.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Bravo is a tough player and refused to be
taken out.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Blaser followed with a single
and Richards sacrificed both runners up a base, giving the Titans a golden
chance to add an insurance run with two runners in scoring position.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pinkston was walked intentionally to set up a
double-play situation and a force play at every base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strategy worked, as Hudgins hit a
groundball, and Bravo was out on a force play at the plate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Burdi struck out Bryant to end the inning,
but the Titans had a 3-2 lead going to the bottom of the eleventh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzmeier had given the Titans a gritty outing of
5.0 innings, but gave way to an unexpected relief appearance by….Thomas
Eshelman.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Eshelman had made just one
relief appearance in his career (in a meaningless game as a freshman when Garza
and Esh split a game at UC Riverside to ease their workload just prior to the
postseason.)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He had thrown 100 pitches on Saturday and was
awaiting his name to be called in the MLB draft…but he wanted the
baseball.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That defines Thomas Eshelman.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Knowing that taking pitches against Eshelman in
hopes he misses the strike zone is an exercise in futility, Smith swung at the
first pitch and hit an easy flyball to Vargas in left field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lucas already had two singles and a double,
but Esh got him on a swinging strikeout – one out from Omaha!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Designated hitter Danny Rosenbaum hit an easy
dribbler to third baseman Bravo, who was hobbled from the HBP but still fielded
the ball cleanly – and bounced a bad throw that Pinky was unable to scoop off
the carpet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It gave us a collective sinking feeling – </span><i style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">déjà vu </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">to the 2010 Super Regionals at
UCLA.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ryan Summers pinch-ran for Rosenbaum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strategy seemed obvious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The batter was shortstop Devin Hairston – a
good hitter, but not a big power threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With the unlikelihood of getting two straight hits off Eshelman to score
the tying run – and having already seen the Titans’ backup catcher air-mail a
throw the previous inning – Summers took off to try to steal second base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hudgins uncorked a perfect throw….Taylor
Bryant caught the throw and had to wait at least a second for the runner to
arrive and apply the tag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Out!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was one of the greatest sports thrills ever.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our small crowd was doing our own dogpile as
the Louisville fans filed out of the stadium in total silence.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The dogpile on the field was great, but I
looked over at the coaches’ dogpile and saw pitching coach Jason Dietrich
rolling on the ground in pain.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He
ruptured his Achilles tendon in the celebration.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just about the moment the Titans joyously rushed the
mound to dogpile Eshelman, his name was called as the 46<sup>th</sup> selection
of the draft by the Houston Astros.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
a great day for such a deserving young man!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here is a </span><a href="http://www.ncaa.com/video/baseball/2015-06-08/cws-louisville-super-regional-cal-st-fullerton-louisville-game-three"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">clip
from NCAA.com</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> of the game’s highlights.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CROYmxuR1bo"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for the post-game presser with Fullerton’s Vanderhook, Bravo and Olmedo-Barrera;
</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWh5eXsb2tQ"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
to see the post-game presser with Louisville’s McDonnell, Rogers and Smith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are worth watching in entirety – they
capture the feeling surrounding what was, win or lose, an instant classic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The raw emotion on the face of Rogers is
gripping, and I appreciate how McDonnell went out of his way to note some of
the great defensive plays made by Richards and Pinkston.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tip my hat to Rogers for having the courage
to answer to the media at a most devastating personal moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also liked how genuine Hook was in
expressing relief that the ball rocketed up the middle hit Rogers in the glove
rather than in the face, recalling the horrific incident with the Maryland
pitcher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-fullerton-titans-cws-20150612-story.html"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for a great article about the win in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Los
Angeles Times</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I especially enjoyed
the quotes from Chad Baum. My favorite was what he was thinking to himself
during the confrontation with Rogers: “Let the baseball gods take that kid
where he needs to be taken.”</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unlike the Regionals, there is no MVP or “all
tourney team” in the Super Regionals, but the Titans had no lack of
heroes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eshelman certainly stood out,
battling Funkhouser and leaving with a lead in Game 1 and coming back two days
later to save the title game was huge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Peitzmeier was the winning pitcher in Games 1 and 3 and gave the Titans
a huge lift holding down the fort in the bullpen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Olmedo-Barrera batted .583 (7-for-12) against
Louisville, with five runs, one double, two home runs and two RBI.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there were huge contributions from the
entire lineup, without which the season would have expired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blaser had the two huge RBI hits in Game
1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Richards took a 100 mph dose with the
bases loaded to drive in the winning run, and played spectacular defense, as he
had done for the last two months of the season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bravo’s two-run single against Burdi to tie Game 3 was monstrous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vargas, Stieb, Kennedy and Pinkston all had
big moments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taylor Bryant’s backup of
the errant throw in the title game saved the season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The great catch made by Vaught climbing the
wall on the long drive by McKay limited the damage to just one run in what
could have been a decisive crooked-number inning in the finale. Hudgins’ throw
to nail the attempted stolen base is an image that will last a long, long time.
Although used primarily as a defensive specialist, Cullen contributed a huge
hit in the tenth-inning rally that won the series opener. The spirit of the
bench players was also vital and did not go unnoticed: is it coincidence the
season turned around with the start of the water bottle celebrations in the
dugout?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While the fans, families and officials slept a few
hours before flying back to California, the players got to sleep in and
actually remained in Louisville for three days before flying to Omaha on
Thursday morning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Having already crisscrossed
the country five times (Florida, Indiana, Nebraska, Maryland and Kentucky) and
the ocean once (Hawai’i), it was a welcome break for them to avoid a couple
extra days of traveling back and forth.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans had logged nearly 14,000 air miles in 2015, but the ultimate
road trip was yet to come: the Titans would be representing the United States
at the World University Games in Gwanju, South Korea in July.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">During that down time before heading to Omaha, Garza
(Indians), Peitzmeier (Cubs), DOB (Rays), Kennedy (Padres) and Jefferies (Nationals)
all joined Eshelman (Astros) as MLB draft selections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We wish them all the greatest success in
their pursuit of the dream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was one more bit of good news received the day
before starting the College World Series opener: Eshelman and Olmedo-Barrera
earned first team honors in the American Baseball Coaches’ Association/Rawlings
All-America team.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scene
4:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rain Delay<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(College World Series, 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This was the Titans’ first Omaha trip since the
demolition of Rosenblatt Stadium and was my first opportunity to see the new
downtown venue, TD Ameritrade Park.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At
the risk of being sacrilegious, I was never a big fan of Rosenblatt Stadium,
but I did love the ambiance of the neighborhood where it was located and the
confluence of college baseball fans from all around the country.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While I missed being able to walk across
South 13</span><sup style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Street to the Titan House, I liked everything inside the
new stadium better than in the old, especially the large concourses and
concession stands that handled large crowds with almost no waits.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It will be especially interesting at the 2016 CSW
when beer and wine will be sold during the games at Ameritrade Park on a
one-year pilot program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The NCAA suits
can preach their phony virtues all they want - the end game is always how to
make more money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be the height
of hypocrisy if the NCAA requires the host facilities during Regionals and
Super Regionals to cover up any in-stadium advertising for adult beverages
while selling beer and wine in Omaha.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They should just stop all that silly nonsense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a big difference in how each of the fields
plays in terms of home runs and scoring: the ‘blatt was probably too cozy and
conducive to long balls, while home runs became almost obsolete at Ameritrade
Park when it made its CWS debut in 2013 (the year UCLA won the championship
with pitching and defense and just enough offense.)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But with the flat-seamed balls introduced in
2015 throughout NCAA Division I, the number of home runs during the CWS
increased substantially: I think they are pretty close to the “right” balance
without altering the playing field dimensions.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans were matched up with the defending
champions, the Vanderbilt Commodores, in their opening game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other two teams in the bracket, TCU and
LSU, played the afternoon game on Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While I have some great friends in Louisiana and will always appreciate
the hospitality of the LSU fans from our visit there a few years ago, I’ll
always root for Kirk Saarloos’ team (except when they play the Titans, of
course), so I was happy to see the Horned Frogs put a 10-3 beating on the
Tigers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans and Commodores had never played an
official game before, having met only in a couple fall scrimmage games a couple
years earlier.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On paper – even with
Eshelman pitching for the Titans – the Commodores seemed heavily favored.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Their starting pitcher was Carson Fulmer, a
high first round selection in the MLB draft and with a record of 13-2, and 1.82
ERA in 114 innings pitched, including 152 strikeouts and opponents’ batting
average of just .182.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The ‘Dores were a
combination of speed and power: they came in batting .295 as a team, with 66
home runs and five players with twelve or more stolen bases.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Add to that their familiarity with playing at
TD Ameritrade Park and the experience gained in winning the 2014 championship,
they were certainly a formidable opponent, led by shortstop Danby Swanson, who
came in batting .350, with 15 home runs, 62 RBI and had been the first
selection in the recent MLB draft.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the Titans had a striking equalizer: Eshelman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Both aces
looked good right out of the box, with Fulmer retiring the side in order in the
first and second innings, while Eshelman surrendered a harmless two-out single
in the bottom of the second.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My buddy Nathan kept looking at his cell phone every
ten minutes or so and tried me to get to look at some Doppler map, but I’m
impossible to talk to when the Titans are playing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tried to show me an intense pattern of
cumulonimbus clouds heading directly at us, but I would have none of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Red skies at night, sailors delight…..right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For all his experience and accomplishment, Fulmer
looked momentarily rattled in the top of the third.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Richards led off with a walk and advanced to
second on a balk by Fulmer.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kennedy sacrifice
bunted him to third.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Even though it was
only the third inning and scoreless, Vandy played their corner infielders in,
which I thought showed great respect for Eshelman.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bryant followed with a line drive up the
middle for an RBI single that gave the Titans a 1-0 lead.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Fulmer added two wild pitches to his walk and balk
that inning, but retired the Titans without more scoring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Vandy had a mild threat in the bottom of the third
with a single and a stolen base, but Eshelman struck out the dangerous Rhett
Wiseman with the tying run at third base, with Swanson in the on-deck circle.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Fulmer regained his control and carved through the
Titans’ 3-4-5 hitters in the top of the fourth: he struck out the side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eshelman reciprocated in the bottom of the
frame, retiring the Vandy 3-4-5 hitters, albeit without strikeout.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans struck for two runs in the top of the
fifth to take a 3-0 lead – another rally started by a walk to Richards.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Kennedy doubled down the left field line,
giving the Titans two runners in scoring position with just one out.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This time, the Vandy infield played in all
around.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Fulmer struck out Bryant to
register the second out, with leadoff man Josh Vargas coming up.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Before Vargas had a chance to complete his at-bat,
Fulmer bounced a pitch to the screen, scoring Richards on a wild pitch to make
it 2-0.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just for good measure, Vargas
delivered a single to right field to drive in Kennedy with the Titans’ third
run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were all screaming and hollering
– Nathan was high-fiving with one hand and tracking cumulonimbus clouds with
the other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the bottom of the fifth, freshman Jeren Kendall
hit a double for the ‘Dores, but Eshelman was equal to the task with two
infield pop-outs and a strikeout.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Off in the distance, we saw a few lightning bolts,
but there was no rain and the visible sky was still mostly blue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But according to Nathan and that Doppler app
on his cell phone, things were about to change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Fulmer continued to labor in the sixth inning.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He gave up a one-out double to Olmedo-Barrera
but retired Bravo and Pinkston to get out of the inning, still trailing 3-0 and
with his pitch count at 104.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The air was still calm as Eshelman faced the top of
the Commodores lineup in the bottom of the sixth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wiseman delivered a one-out double, but Eshelman
struck out Dansby for the second out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wiseman advanced to third base on a passed ball with cleanup hitter
Zander Wiel at the plate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The count went
to 3-2…..then word came down to field from NCAA officials to stop play
immediately because of lightning within eight miles of the stadium – an NCAA
rule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not a drop of rain had fallen at
the stadium, and there looks of confusion and despair everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the first reactions from the Titans’ cheering
section was, “Great!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is an official
game – past the fifth inning – so I hope it pours like crazy and we win,
3-0.”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ummmm….it doesn’t exactly work
that way.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The ground crew at TD Ameritrade Park quickly
covered the infield with the tarpaulin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even after they finished covering the field, it was probably another ten
minutes before the rain arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
when it arrived….holy cow, did it pour!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve lived in Texas and seen a few great rainstorms in my travels – this
one was right up there with the deluge we saw at Texas A&M in 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an intense thunderstorm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just as there are stages of dealing with grief, I
discovered there are stages of dealing with rain delays.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first step is to look at your watch and
try to figure out how quickly the game would need to resume for there to be any
chance of Eshelman returning to the mound.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After all, he had only thrown 89 pitches, and we’ve seen this warrior
throw 143 pitches and barely break a sweat.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When you get past the point of any chance of
Eshelman returning to the game, thoughts shift towards whether or not it favors
your team to resume play that evening after a lengthy delay or if it would be
better served suspending the game to the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans still had momentum, so it seemed
like the former was the better option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Mother Nature would have none of it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It poured like mad and there were no breaks
in the storm – it kept just coming down harder and faster.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The delay began at 9:22 p.m. CST and the game
was officially suspended at 10:41 p.m., set to resume the following morning at
11:00 a.m. (there were still two games to be played the next day in the other
bracket, hence the early starting time.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Moving from the stadium during the rain delay to the
bar next door, and then from the bar to the car, we got drenched to the
bone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mind had flashed forward to the
next stage: “How many days in a row do we need it to keep raining to get
Eshelman ready to finish the game?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was haunting that they called it with a 3-2 count
and nary a drop of rain in the sky and the last flash of lightning off in the
distance at least ten minutes ago.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If
only Esh had been able to complete the at-bat by Wiel….</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was treacherous driving back to the hotel: the
roads were like lakes and visibility was non-existent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With all the lightning, I really didn’t need
the headlights as I hydroplaned back to the EconoRoom motel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It rained all night and was still raining in the
morning, albeit at nowhere near the intensity of the initial storm.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Word spread that the time of game resumption
had been pushed back to 2:00 p.m. – weather permitting – and that Titans fans
were bade to wear the same “lucky” clothes they had worn the night before.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I threw everything into the dryer for an hour
– and they were still too wet to wear. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Seven months later, my sneakers are still damp
from that storm. That’s how hard it rained!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There ought to be a rule that, in a situation like
that, the teams need to wear their same uniforms when play resumes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With every team having several sets of
uniforms worn in various combinations, it is often left to the choice of each
game’s starting pitcher as to what will be worn, especially if it is a quality
pitcher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, the Titans wore
the orange jerseys for all fifty starts made in Eshelman’s career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Similarly, Vanderbilt wears those horrid black
pants and jerseys with gold pinstripes whenever Fulmer pitches – you know, the
ones that look like the bad pajamas you had to wear as a kid because they were
a birthday present from Grandma and you didn’t want to hurt her feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Commodores changed their karma by
reappearing wearing their classy white pinstriped uniforms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a bad feeling the minute I saw that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt a lot better about beating the guys in
pajamas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As the fans trickled back into the stadium,
speculation was rampant: who would be on the mound when play resumed?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The suspended game had wiped out the
scheduled off-day, so you really didn’t want to have to bring in your closer in
the sixth inning, even though Peitzmeier had excelled in that situation so many
times already.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was an ideal situation
for Miles Chambers, but he hadn’t pitched since the first game of the Regionals
seventeen days earlier, so you didn’t know how well he was feeling or how he
would pitch after an extended layoff.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The ball was handed to sophomore Chad Hockin, who
had a very good season and would later star in the Cape Cod summer league.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a tough spot for him to be in, inheriting
a 3-2 count with no margin of error, so he went with his best pitch: fastball.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wiel was looking for a fastball and he drilled it
for a double to drive in Wiseman, making it 3-1.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hockin walked the next man but struck out the
following ‘Dore on three pitches, limiting the damage to just one run.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John Kilichowski came out of the Vanderbilt bullpen
to replace Fulmer and he delivered an outstanding performance – perhaps the key
to the reversal of fortunes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He retired
the Titans on just a walk in the seventh and 1-2-3 in the eighth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, Peitzmeier entered the game in the bottom
of the seventh and looked great: a strikeout, groundball back to the mound and
a foul-out to first base.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He continued
strong in the eight: another easy 1-2-3 inning.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Titans threatened to add an insurance run in the
top of the ninth when Bravo singled and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by
Pinkston.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But closer Kyle Wright came in
and snuffed the potential rally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Titans were clinging to their 3-1 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My breathing was starting to become normal
again and my blood pressure had fallen to 150 over 115, so I was feeling better
about things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wiel hit a gapper to right-center field starting the
ninth inning – that dude can swing the bat! </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pietzmeier struck out the next batter,
bringing up the sixth man in the batting order, center fielder Bryan Reynolds,
who dropped a ball perfectly just inside the left field line for a double,
scoring Wiel to make it 3-2.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Up comes that freshman, Jeren Kendall.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After a brief conference on the mound to
discuss the pitching and defensive strategy, Pietzmeier went to work.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The “book” on Kendall was that he was strong
and had a great swing, but was vulnerable to left-handed pitching.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Peitzmeier started him off with a fastball
and came back with a slider.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a
pretty good pitch – but Kendall handled it perfectly and launched a deep drive
to right field.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Vaught ran back as far
and fast as he could, then he stood limp as the ball sailed over the fence for
a walk-off home run.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a horrible feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think there is anybody on either side
that thought the Titans would lose the game had the rain delay not
occurred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My only form of self-consolation
was to look back at all the crazy good luck the Titans had benefited from just
to get to this point and accept that this time the bad luck of having that
thunderstorm interrupt the game had finally worked against us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="http://www.vucommodores.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/061515aab.html"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Click
here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for post-game coverage from Vanderbilt perspective.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was little time to regroup before facing
another outstanding SEC team in an elimination game the following day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The LSU Tigers also had an outstanding
starting pitcher, SEC Freshman Pitcher of the Year Alex Lange, who came in with
a record of 11-0.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seabold moved up to
the second rotation for the Titans, ahead of Gavin, based on his outstanding
work in the clinching games against Pepperdine and Louisville.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Tigers also had an outstanding shortstop:
Alex Bregman was the second pick of the 2015 MLB draft (Astros), behind only
Vanderbilt shortstop Danson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans
knew it wasn’t going to get any easier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bregman began the game with a single for LSU, the
designated visiting team, but Seabold retired the next three hitters and
notched a first-inning zero.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Tigers had lost badly to TCU in their opening
game, 10-3, and were back on their heels when the Titans came out smoking in
the bottom of the first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stieb got it
going with a one-out single and scored when Olmedo-Barrera scorched a
triple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bravo followed with an RBI
single to drive in DOB and make it 2-0.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pinkston notched the third consecutive hit, a single to right field that
sent Bravo to third, where he scored on a squeeze bunt by Blaser to give the
Titans an explosive 3-0 lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Richards
walked and the LSU bullpen began to stir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lange settled down and retired Kennedy to avoid further damage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Seabold battled through a scoreless second inning,
allowing two singles and a wild pitch.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lange looked like a different pitcher in the second, putting the Titans
down in order.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Tigers fared much better the second time through
the order against Seabold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bregman, Jake
Fraley and Kade Scivicque all singled to cut the Titans’ lead to 3-1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seabold struck out the cleanup hitter but
departed after allowing an RBI single to Chris Sciambra that made it a 3-2
game, replaced by Miles Chambers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Chambers was greeted by a sacrifice fly that made it
a 3-3 tie game.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Two straight singles
followed and LSU had taken a 4-3 lead.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a bright sunny day, the ball seemed to be carrying well and it
had the feeling it might be one of those crazy 14-12 games.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But Lange changed that script.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">From that point on, Lange was dominant.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After allowing three runs on four hits and a
walk in the first inning, Lange allowed just two singles and a walk the rest of
the way.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He struck out ten Titans in
throwing a complete game victory, 5-3.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Chambers battled hard to keep it close, throwing 4.0
innings and allowing just one run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maxwell
Gibbs also contributed 2.0 scoreless innings, while Hockin finished it out by
retiring both LSU hitters he faced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lange simply pitched a great game, and was supported by several good
plays by shortstop Bregman and right fielder Mark Laird, who had three hits and
robbed Tyler Stieb of an extra-base hit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bregman led LSU’s 13-hit attack with four singles; Bravo and Pinkston
each had two of the Titans’ six hits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(Editor’s note: Later in the summer, I saw Bregman
and J.D. Davis playing for the Lancaster JetHawks.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bregman made some outstanding defensive plays
at shortstop when I saw him.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Astros
have a young and exciting team.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I would
love to see Bregman playing second base and J.D. at third, flanking the Astros’
gifted shortstop, Carlos Correa, in a couple years.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just like that….it was over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The journey that had begun on a bitterly cold
night in Tampa, Florida had ended on a hot, humid day on Omaha, Nebraska.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t the way we wanted the story to end,
but it was one helluva ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">ACT IV:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>SO WHAT DID WE LEARN THIS YEAR?</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">These are my random thoughts and observations:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">* This was a fun season! With a strong pitching staff and a bunch of position players really good at a couple things but lacking the five-tool superstars of past years, it took a lot of juggling and shifting of roles before everything clicked – but once it clicked, it was a beautiful thing to witness. Kudos to Rick Vanderhook and the entire coaching staff for having the persistence and perspicacity to put this jigsaw puzzle together so that they peaked at the right time of the year.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">* The career performance of Thomas Eshelman from 2013 through 2015 certainly merits his inclusion in the discussion about “best ever” pitchers in Fullerton history. There is no definitive answer, especially considering how rules governing both bats and baseballs have changed so dramatically over the years: you can’t use numbers alone to compare pitchers or hitters today vs. players from the “gorilla ball” era. Nevertheless, Eshelman’s numbers are mind-boggling. This was analyzed in great detail in the first part of this recap series: click here. (If the link doesn’t bring you to the Eshleman analysis, scroll back to June 19, 2015 on this Facebook page.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">* Jason Dietrich did a phenomenal job with this pitching staff, especially considering the need to replace the 2014 contributions of Grahamm Wiest, Koby Gauna, J.D. Davis and Phil Bickford, as well as the late-season injury loss of Justin Garza in 2015. Click here to read the second part of this recap series, posted June 26, 2015, which provides a detailed comparison of the 2014 pitching staff and how each of the roles was handled in 2015. Be sure to click on each of the images: that is where the “meat” of the analysis is. It’s pretty nerdy, but interesting to see just how well the freshmen pitched, as well as how well several returning pitchers successfully stepped into bigger roles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">* We saw some outstanding players on opposing teams this season. When you look at the 2015 All-American team, the MLB draft and the 2016 Preseason All-American teams, there are a lot of names of great players we saw in 2015. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">The role of the Friday starter inherently means facing the other team’s ace, but consider the guys Eshelman went up against this year: Cal Quantrill (Stanford), Dillon Tate (UC Santa Barbara), Mike Shawaryn (Maryland), Kyle Funkhouser (Louisville) and Carson Fulmer (Vanderbilt). Tate, Fulmer and Funkhouser were all first-round selections in the 2015 MLB draft (fourth, eighth and thirty-fifth selections respectively). Quantrill had been projected as a high selection in the 2016 draft but had Tommy Johnson surgery a month after facing Fullerton. But the best game pitched against us last year, in my opinion, was by Maryland’s Shawaryn, who is a Louisville Slugger preseason All-American for the upcoming season. Mark your calendar to be at Goodwin Field in 2016 when he pitches.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">* Based on pure subjective feel and opinion, here are my top ten favorite games of the year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">1. Game 3 of Super Regionals: Titans beat Louisville Cardinals in eleven innings to advance to Omaha. This game had it all: home runs, great pitching, huge defensive plays, verbal confrontations, lengthy review by replay umpiring crew, dumb luck, and – best of all – it ended with a Titans dogpile.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">2. “Hammer game” in Regionals: Titans beat Arizona State in fourteen innings to take command of Regionals at Fullerton. Both teams had great pitching and made some amazing defensive plays. It is a bitter legacy rivalry between these two great programs, so any time we see Arizona State go away sad, it is a good feeling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">3. The twelve inning win at USC when the Titans looked dead, had two coaches booted out of the game and faced a team that was 25-0 leading from the seventh inning on. The team showed an intensity level not previously on display – I loved it when Vargas scored from second on a groundout to tie the game and Richards added an insurance run scoring from second on a wild pitch. I debated making this my #1 game because without the spark that came from this game, the rest of this wonderful journey might never have happened.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">4. The ten-inning win in the first game of the Super Regionals certainly ranks high. I think we tacitly understood that if we lost the opening game that Eshelman pitched, there was little likelihood of beating the Cardinals two straight. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">5. One of my “sleeper” picks is the ten-inning win in the final game to avoid a sweep at Maryland. The Titans had lost the games started by Eshelman and Garza and were facing an excellent team: the Terrapins later won their Regionals as a #4 seed against UCLA, the overall #1 seed in the country, by beating them two-out-of-three games head-to-head at Jackie Robinson Stadium. As badly as the Titans played the first two games, they could have easily let it slip away and get swept on the road by a B1G Conference opponent, as had recently happened at Indiana. But Gavin stepped up big-time and Bryant got the big hit that led to his elevation to being the team’s primary starter at second base.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">6. For #6, let’s go with the opening game of the UC Santa Barbara series: not so much for the merits of the game itself, but for the magnitude of the outcome. Not only was it the pitching matchup between Eshelman and Tate, but UCSB was the odds-on favorite to win the BWC and were ranked #7 in the Baseball America rankings (ranked #6 by NCBWA). The Titans had lost the 2014 series at Santa Barbara and the wheels came off the bus on the long trip back to campus. The Gauchos had won every road series to that point, as their press release crowed: “Should UCSB win its series against CSF and lowly UC Riverside this month, the program will go undefeated in road series for an entire season for the first time in program history.” Guess what – they lost the series to both CSF and lowly UC Riverside. Had UCSB won the series and rode momentum to the conference title, Fullerton would probably still have been invited as an at-large bid but not as a Regionals host team. Who knows what would have happened had they been sent somewhere….like ASU or UCLA? Eshelman outpitched Tate and the rest was history.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">7. The rubber match of the UC Irvine series was a game that could have gone either way, but Bryant had his second consecutive Sunday game with a clutch home run and Seabold had a breakout performance. Connor had already impressed with his first career start earlier against Pepperdine, but this was a much bigger stage: facing an outstanding lineup in a deciding game in a “must win” conference series. The coaches’ confidence in him was displayed by allowing him to stay in the game and record the save, with Chambers and Peitzmeier having combined to throw 5.0 innings the previous night. He provided a huge pick-me-up for the pitching staff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">8. The road win in April against the University of San Diego Toreros came at a good time. The Toreros had kicked the Titans’ butts in the earlier game at Goodwin Field, so this was a nice payback. The Toreros’ hitting completely impressed me in the two games combined, so it was a nice lift from the bullpen trio of Chambers, Gibbs and Peitzmeier to combine for 7.2 innings and allowing just one run in that span. Did I mention earlier that I take double enjoyment whenever I see Rich Hill lose?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">9. Let’s just lump the consecutive sweeps of Big-12 foes Baylor and Texas Tech as one impressive set of outcomes when the Fullerton team had yet to find its footing. Both of those teams arrived with gaudy credentials and were outplayed by the Titans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">10. To finish out the list, let’s go with the win over Louisville in the final game of the opening weekend after losing to South Florida and ASU (Alabama State University). It was such an about-face: the team looked docile at the plate in the first couple games, taking a lot of pitches and striking out 27 times. But on Sunday against Louisville’s Rogers, the team came out swinging at first pitches and playing aggressively. Some of the new faces in the lineup made good impressions that day – most notably Estill, Vaught and Hudgins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">* Here is a fascinating tidbit on the top three games of the year. Besides the fact that Titans won each game – what would you expect? – those three games have several other things in common. First, the Titans trailed in each game, which made victory more dramatic. But in each game, closer Tyler Peitzmeier went at least five innings and was the winning pitcher in all three games. In the Louisville clincher, the Regionals win over the other ASU and the win at USC, Peitzmeier pitched 15.2 innings combined, allowing eight hits, one run (earned) with three walks and fourteen strikeouts: his ERA was 0.57 and his record was 3-0 in those games. If a closer goes 5+ innings once in a season and wins a big game, it is memorable; when he does it in the three biggest wins of the season, it is legendary. Peitzy was also the winning pitcher in the fourth biggest game (again, ranked strictly by my opinion) of the season, albeit without the extended number of innings as in the top three.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">* I hope the BWC eventually breaks the cycle of Fullerton playing the four best opponents (Cal Poly SLO, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State) at home in odd-numbered years and away in even-numbered years. The schedule always used to rotate the series so that any year there was a road trip to SLO, we played Santa Barbara at home; it would flip-flop the following season. But after the fiasco where San Diego State was going to join the Big West Conference but then backed out, we ended up going to SLO two straight years (2013 and 2014) and got locked into the current rotation. Playing the BWC’s elite teams at home in 2013 and 2015, the Titans easily won the conference title, but finished fourth-place in 2014 when we played them all away. I don’t think scheduling should create a cycle of feast or famine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">* The switch to the flat-seamed baseball by the NCAA attained its intended effect of increasing home runs, which increased nationally by 38% in 2015 vs. 2014. The increase for the Titans was 25% - the team increased from 16 home runs in 2014 to 20 in 2015. With DOB (10 home runs) playing exclusively as DH in postseason and Estill (5 bombs) ineligible, none of Titans playing corner infield or corner outfield positions in the tournament hit a home run in the entire 2015 season. I doubt any other team in the country could have advanced so far using that same recipe. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">* My iPod tracks my 25 most listened-to tracks. It got a lot of usage with all the long trips this season. My Top 25 during the season included most of the usual suspects: Doors, Who, Killers, Depeche Mode, REM, Bob Dylan, Aztec Two-Step, Cars, Bloodhound Gang, Guess Who, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Harry Nilsson and Violent Femmes. But the most-played track of the season: Citizen Cope’s “Let the Drummer Kick” – although up until the Hawai’i trip, I thought the recurring lyric was “Let the drama kid die.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 18.4px;">* One of my favorite personal moments during this season happened near the end of a 19-0 blowout win at UC Riverside when Hook sent pitcher Shane Stillwagon to the plate to pinch-hit. He ripped the first pitch thrown to him over the third base bag for a single – an easy double if the score wasn’t lopsided. Shane is a consummate Titan and had just gone through a difficult family situation, so I found it an extraordinarily touching moment. Very classy move by Hook to give him that opportunity. In a season with an ocean of great memories, the smile on Stilly’s face when he got that hit just might be the image I remember best. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lastly, I’d like to thank the many people I’ve met
along the journey that make following Titans baseball such a great joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the risk of overlooking somebody quite
dear to me, I won’t list names, but I cherish the camaraderie shared with the
players, coaches and their families and friends; with members of the CSUF
athletics department, who work their butts off to enrich the overall
experience; with fellow baseball fans, whether at home games or on the
road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thank you for reading, and I look forward to sharing
another great season of Titans baseball with you in the very near future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Don Hudson</b></span><br />
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DonSectionKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10622574885750436948noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-40530680127808194272015-06-12T09:59:00.000-07:002015-06-12T09:59:13.787-07:002015 College World Series Roundtable<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #292929; font-family: 'Mercury SSm A', 'Mercury SSm B', Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<i><b>(Originally published at <a href="http://www.frogsowar.com/2015/6/12/8768797/sb-nation-college-world-series-preview">Frog O' War</a>)</b></i></div>
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This year's College World Series field features eight programs with impressive baseball pedigrees. To get ready for the biggest event of the year in college baseball, we got together with representatives from each school's blog to talk about the tournament, the teams, and the greatest moments for each school in Omaha. We also capped off our SB Nation College World Series Roundtable with some National Championship predictions.</div>
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<i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Let's begin with some introductions. Please let us know who you are and which blog you are representing.</b></i></div>
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I'm <b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Marshall Weber</b> with <a data-ref-index="5" href="http://frogsowar.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Frogs O' War</a>.</div>
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I'm <b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Andy Hutchins</b>, and I'm the editor of SB Nation's Florida blog, <a data-ref-index="6" href="http://www.alligatorarmy.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Alligator Army</a>.</div>
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I'm <b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Adam Henderson</b> with <a data-ref-index="7" href="http://www.andthevalleyshook.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">And The Valley Shook!</a>, the LSU affiliate.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Christian D'Andrea</b> from <a data-ref-index="8" href="http://www.anchorofgold.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Anchor of Gold</a> here, bucking your traditional sentence structure and covering Vanderbilt sports.</div>
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I'm <b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Doc Harper</b> from <a data-ref-index="9" href="http://www.arkansasfight.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Arkansas Fight</a>, which you can probably guess is the Razorback site.</div>
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I'm <b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Samuel Chi</b>, publisher of <a data-ref-index="10" href="http://fullertonbaseball.blogspot.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">CSFBaseball.com</a> and <a data-ref-index="11" href="http://www.bcsguru.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">PlayoffGuru.com</a>, totally unbiased when it comes to football and totally biased when it comes to Titans baseball.</div>
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I go by <b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Will Campbell</b>. Baseball editor of SB Nation's UVa website, <a data-ref-index="12" href="http://www.streakingthelawn.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Streakingthelawn</a>, and I am also assistant to our Cavadonkey.</div>
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I'm <b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Cam Underwood</b>, and I am Co-Managing Editor of SB Nation's University of Miami blog, <a data-ref-index="13" href="http://www.stateoftheu.com/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">State Of The U</a>.<br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;" /><i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></b></i></div>
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<i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">What is your overall perception of this year's College World Series field? Are any of the eight teams a surprise? Or are there any teams that didn't advance that you thought would for sure be competing in Omaha this week?</b></i></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Marsh (TCU):</b> I'm both surprised and unsurprised by Virginia. They've been such a great ballclub these past few seasons, but for awhile during the season, didn't look like they'd even make the tournament. So to not only make it, but win at Jackie Robinson against the No. 1 National Seed in UCLA is quite remarkable. Good on them.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Hutchins (UF):</b> I think this is a strong field, with no team really below the bar of "very good" and a few potentially great. The only team I'm really surprised to see is Arkansas, but the Razorbacks got a relatively cushy draw; Cal State Fullerton, the only other team that wasn't a national seed and didn't play in Omaha in 2014, obviously has a pedigree when it comes to the postseason.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Henderson (LSU):</b> I think there's some teams that at the midseason point would have surprised me, but the thing about postseason baseball, especially college baseball, is all it takes is a team to get hot at the right time. And that's what we saw from Fullerton and Virginia. I'm more surprised that UCLA and Texas A&M aren't here if anything. I think we all expected teams like LSU, Florida, and Vanderbilt to make it.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">D'Andrea (Vandy):</b> Six #1 seeds, last year's runner-up, and an Arkansas team that had been criminally underrated all year? That all sounds about right. However, like Marshall and Adam, I'm surprised that UCLA, A&M, and Louisville (thanks to some godawful luck) won't be joining us in Omaha.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Harper (Ark):</b> I'm surprised Arkansas is here! Not so much because of how the Hogs closed the season, but because they went through such a rough stretch to start the season. The Razorbacks were 2-10 through a span of about three weeks back in March, so Omaha was the farthest thing from any of our minds.</div>
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I'd dispute the assertion that Arkansas had a cushy draw. Arkansas went on the road and beat Oklahoma State in Stillwater to win the regional. The Hogs did catch a nice break by getting to host the super regional, but lit up 1st round draft pick Jon Harris for 8 earned runs before Missouri State pulled him, and held the Bears to just two runs (one unearned) in the Game 3 clincher. If that's supposed to be cushy, then so be it.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Chi (CSF):</b> The one team that has no business being here is Fullerton. This is frankly the worst Titans team since 1989, and that was before losing Justin Garza to season-ending Tommy John surgery three weeks before the postseason. After a 14-1 drubbing at Bakersfield in which it committed SEVEN errors, Fullerton was 20-19 and looking at missing the postseason altogether. The late-season turnaround with such a talent-thin roster is remarkably unexpected.</div>
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This is a very strong field, there are no newbies here in terms of program history or coaches. They've all been here before, multiple times. But there are two teams that should've been here, but aren't - UCLA and Louisville, both had brilliant seasons and loaded pitching staffs but couldn't get it done.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Will (UVa):</b> I'm allowed to say I am surprised by my own team, right? If you had told me in April that this team was going to make Omaha, I probably would have fallen out of my seat. There were times earlier in the season where I didn't think they were even going to make the ACC Tournament, let alone the NCAA Tournament, but here we are. This team obviously has talent, but injuries took a major toll. As for the entire field, talk about some blue bloods. We can be a part of the family now, right?</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Underwood (Miami):</b> This is a very strong field. Obviously, it would have been nice to have the #1 overall seed UCLA and ACC powerhouse Louisville here as well, but they came up short of Omaha. With traditional powers such as Miami and LSU, and with power teams from Florida and Vanderbilt here as well, I think this will be a well played and very good CWS.</div>
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<i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">One of the big storylines heading into this weekend is the SEC, with four teams in the field. Is the conference really that strong? What would it take for a non-SEC team to bring home a National Championship?</b></i></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Marsh (TCU):</b> An aggressive team that can pitch. Florida, Vandy, and LSU are all just so well balanced; but not unbeatable. So if a team like UVA or TCU can come out, play their game, show off their dominant pitching, and take advantage of playing in a pitcher's ballpark--whether that means smart baserunning or pseudo smallball—I think the SEC is definitely breachable.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Hutchins (UF):</b> Yes, the SEC really is that strong. The conference has recruited extraordinarily well in recent years, and especially since LSU and South Carolina had their dynastic runs, and it's paying off with trips to Omaha and titles. It will take significant upsets for an SEC team not to win it all, in my mind: Florida looks like the clear favorite to emerge from its half of the bracket, and LSU and Vanderbilt should be co-favorites on theirs. I think I'd bet on an all-SEC championship series before a non-SEC titlist.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Henderson (LSU):</b> Yeah. What people <i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">think</i> the SEC is in football, it really is in baseball. The only conference as deep as the SEC was this year is the ACC, and the two teams that carried the conference banner (Louisville, Florida State) were eliminated in the Supers. If I had to bet on a non-SEC school to win it all, I'm going with Miami. The Hurricanes can put up runs with the best of ‘em and one bad start can spell disaster for anybody. They're capable of putting up 6 runs before you can have anybody warmed up in the pen.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">D'Andrea (Vandy):</b> It's been six years since the National Championship Series didn't feature a Southeastern Conference program. The common thread for all those teams - including this year's representatives - are lineups that boast elite players at the top (Swanson, Benintendi, Bregman, Schwarz) and insane depth behind them. That's what makes them stand out in drawn-out postseason play.</div>
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This year, Florida, Vandy, and LSU have a cavalcade of bullpen guys who could take the mound and give you the kind of performance you'd expect from a #2 starter. At this point, that's commonplace for teams at the top of the NCAA's toughest baseball conference.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Harper (Ark):</b> Generally, yes, the SEC is really strong. I don't know if it was as strong this year as others (7 teams in the tournament is fewer than usual) but there were a few really strong teams at the top, not to mention all four of the Golden Spikes Award finalists. I'd be really surprised if either LSU or Vanderbilt didn't make the championship series. Miami has the best chance to get by Florida and Arkansas, but the Gators are still the favorites.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Chi (CSF):</b> As the lone representative from the West, pardon me for not buying into this "SEC dominance" narrative. Of the previous 11 national champions, six came from the West and four from the SEC. So many SEC teams flood the CWS field now is the result of what the NCAA has done to favor southern teams (SEC and ACC, specifically) in terms of both selections and seedings in the Supers era.</div>
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In the CWS double-bracket era (1988-98) that immediately preceded the current Supers era, it's not uncommon to see three or more western teams in the CWS. In 1988 there were five, and in ‘92, ‘95 and ‘98 there were three each. And it's no surprise that in each of those years a western team won the title in an all-West championship game. In the Supers era, generally the West is limited to two entries each year while the rest is divvied up between the ACC and SEC with one slot going to a Texas team. When you have more representation of course you'll win more.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Will (UVa):</b> As always, the SEC is as good as everyone thinks. One day (probably), the ACC will rise again and win a national championship. Hopefully it's this year, but if I had to bet on one conference, I'd be a fool not to bet on the conference with half the teams. Not only that, all these teams are legit contenders. Outside of maybe Arkansas, nobody is surprised that anyone is here.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Underwood (Miami):</b> Yes, the SEC is very, very strong. It would be one thing to say they've got good teams, and those teams fall short of Omaha, but half the CWS field hails from that one conference. The outlier is Arkansas, who few people saw as a CWS team. But, they've done a great job in the postseason and here they are. The proof is in the pudding here. SEC = really good baseball.</div>
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<i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">In regards to the team that you cover, who are the players to watch? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your team? What is something about your team that you think the rest of the field should know?</b></i></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Marsh (TCU):</b> For TCU offensively, Cody Jones was the Big 12's "Player of the Year." Not only does he hit really well in the leadoff, he's a superb baserunner and that's one of the things that's kept TCU so damn dangerous. Top to bottom, everyone, even freshman Evan Skoug, who's built like a mini-tank, is aggressive on the basepath.</div>
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Pitching, it's hard not to talk about Preston Morrison first. He's the greatest pitcher in TCU's history. He's got a Greg Maddux-esque approach (apologies to the OG FoW fans who've heard me say this 100x), and he is just, to quote Marisa Tomei, "dead on balls accurate." Morrison also has a one of the highest baseball IQs I've ever seen in college; he's going to outsmart you, find your weakness, and expose it. The other starters are great too: the two lefties; Alex Young and Tyler Alexander, and the power righty, Mitchell Traver. One to watch out for though, is Trey Teakell, who's been TCU's best option in already superb bullpen. He's got a great sinker, and doesn't get phased often, if ever.</div>
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All of this said: The Frogs give themselves the best chance of winning a title with a stable Riley Ferrell. There have been only a handful of college closers who I've seen, Big 12 or not, that are/were as good as Ferrell. If it's the Riley we saw during the regular season or in the postseason in 2014, TCU's chances of winning a Title go way up. It's still possible that they do it without him, but as good as TCU's Fantastic Four of Traver, Morrison, Young, Alexander are; and the fact that you won't really find a better bullpen 1-2 punch than Teakell and Ferrell; if that last piece starts working again, the Frogs will be very, very tough to beat.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Hutchins (UF):</b> Florida's biggest name right now is JJ Schwarz, whose NCAA Tournament triple-slash of .600/.667/1.300 looks like a misprint. But six Florida starters are hitting over .300 in NCAA play, and freshman Jeremy Vasquez, overshadowed by Schwarz and Mike Rivera in Florida's excellent class of rookies, is hitting .600, too. And then there are Logan Shore (2-0, 0.00 ERA, one XBH in 10.2 innings in NCAA Tournament) and A.J. Puk (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 14 Ks in 11.0 innings in NCAA Tournament) on the mound.</div>
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Florida's scored more runs per game than any other CWS team, and allowed fewer than any team but Vanderbilt. And Florida has the best defense in college baseball: Its two errors against Florida State in the bottom of the first in Game 2 of its Super Regional were regarded as stunners, because the Gators came into that game with the best fielding percentage <i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">in college baseball history</i>. It's really hard to pinpoint weaknesses with Florida (youth? the lack of a third starter on par with surefire MLBers Shore and Puk?); the field needs to beware of the Gators, more than anything, I think, and realize that there are dangerous hitters up and down the Florida lineup.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Henderson (LSU):</b> The obvious answer is #2 MLB draft pick Alex Bregman and the NCBWA Freshman of the Year Alex Lange, but I'm gonna hit you with a deep cut. Mark Laird isn't going to be the greatest Tiger ever, but he's personally one of my favorite Tigers ever. He does whatever the team needs him to do. He's a single machine, is Youkillisian in the way he draws walks, is lighting quick on the paths, and is a vacuum in right field, playing errorless ball this year, and off the top of the top of my head I can think of 3 times he's provided LSU with a walkoff hit. The only thing he doesn't do is hit homers (his only career home run came this year and was an inside the parker) and he doesn't get the same recognition because of that. The student section chant in right is "Mark Is Dreamy" because it's true.</div>
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LSU's weakness is well documented and drives me to the brink of insanity: when we get down (or even tied) we get over aggressive at the plate and start swinging at everything, especially the first pitch. With this offense I'm ok with going aggressive but they really go overboard with it. We completely stop eating pitches and all of a sudden the opposing pitcher is at 70 in the 7th inning. Against a guy like Eshelman or Fulmer it's suicide.</div>
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Also, Zac Person's name is pronounced "Peer-son". I know, all the clever puns you had just died.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">D'Andrea (Vandy):</b> Vanderbilt's headliner is Dansby Swanson, but he's only the zenith of a deep offensive team that has averaged 10.6 runs per game in the NCAA Tournament. Rhett Wiseman and Bryan Reynolds are each batting .500 or better since the SEC Tournament ended. Zander Wiel has provided a third power bat in the middle of the Vandy lineup. He's just as likely as Swanson to change the trajectory of a game with a single swing. Freshmen Will Toffey and Jeren Kendall have teamed with Ro Coleman to give the ‘Dores the most potent 1-7 lineup in the country.</div>
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On the mound, Carson Fulmer pitches like he's trying to detach his own arm from his body, but it's super effective (13-2, 1.82 ERA, 152 Ks). Philip Pfeifer will start the Commodores' second outing, and while he's struggled early in games this postseason he came around to limit #6 Illinois to just two runs in 6.1 innings in his last appearance. Behind him is #24 MLB Draft pick Walker Buehler, who has A+ stuff but just B+ execution this season. Then, John Kilichowski, Jordan Sheffield, Ben Bowden, Tyler Ferguson, Ryan Johnson, and Kyle Wright are all capable pitchers who could eat up innings as a spot starter or in long relief in a tournament setting. Like I mentioned before, Swanson and Fulmer are the headliners, but the real reason for Vanderbilt's sparkling postseason record is their depth.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Harper (Ark):</b> Obviously, Andrew Benintendi is our headliner. He's been named National Player of the Year by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, is a Golden Spikes finalist and was just drafted 7th overall by the Red Sox. He's a home run away from being a 20/20 guy. Great speed, great power, and can also hit for average.</div>
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Zach Jackson has been our best pitcher. He's been the closer but may have to start a game depending on how it plays out. Arkansas will likely start highly-touted freshman Keaton McKinney in the second game, but he's been really shaky throughout the postseason after suffering a hip injury in the last regular season series of the year. The Razorbacks are also without pitchers James Teague and Dominic Taccolini, so our pitching staff is seriously thin right now, but the Hogs have been able to overcome it so far, but it's the clear weakness at this moment.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Chi (CSF):</b> All-American righthander Thomas Eshelman carried this team all year and even more so in the postseason. He's a control freak, all right, with 131 strikeouts and seven walks on the season. In his three-year career, his K-to-BB ratio is 313-18. He was recruited and groomed as a freshman by current TCU pitching coach Kirk Saarloos, who was the Titans' pitching coach before being poached by the Frogs in ‘14.</div>
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But there's not a lot of talent after Eshelman, a second-round pick by the Astros. Only six Titans were drafted on a junior/senior-laden team and the aforementioned Garza is out for the season. Besides Eshelman and closer Tyler Peitzmeier, there are few arms the coaches trust. The best bat in the lineup is DH David Olmedo-Barrera, a 12th-round pick whose 10 home runs (including two in the clincher against Louisville) represent half of the team's total.</div>
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But overall this Titans team can't hit for average (CWS field-worst .265), or power (also CWS field-worst 20 home runs total) and is below average with the glove (another CWS field-worst .968 fielding percentage). What it does is it'll grind you to death (just ask Louisville), otherwise I have no idea why this team is in Omaha.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Will (UVa):</b> RF Joe McCarthy is the guy to watch. He was out for much of the season with a back strain, and he is just getting into form. If he can give the offense a spark that it needs, they could do some damage. He's been batting towards the bottom part of the lineup, but he could leadoff and be just as successful. He's got a great eye and is quick for such a big outfielder.</div>
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For weaknesses, it is hard to pick between the starting pitching depth and bullpen. Coming into the season, starting pitching wasn't supposed to be a problem with Nathan Kirby, Brandon Waddell, and Connor Jones, but when Kirby was sidelined with a lat strain and mono, it put a strain on the starters. Jones and Waddell have stepped up big time in the last two weeks, and we're all hoping Kirby can come back and give them a #3 starter they'll need for a run. As for the bullpen, outside of Josh Sborz, we don't want to talk about it.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Underwood (Miami):</b> For Miami, there are several players to watch. The list starts with 1st Team All-American 3B David Thompson. He was named 1st team All-ACC, is a finalist for the Dick Howser trophy, was a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes award, and is the National leader in Home Runs (19 - tied for lead) and RBI (87). He is the foundation of our offense, and as he goes, the Canes go.</div>
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Other hitters of note are 2B George Iskenderian, a 1st team All-American in his own right who enters the CWS with a .369 batting average, and DH Zach Collins, who has the most raw power of any player on the Canes' roster. When you put those 3 together in the middle of the lineup with Iskenderian hitting 3rd, Collins hitting 4th, and Thompson hitting 5th, that's a murderers row for a pitching staff to face.</div>
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But, do not think that Iskenderian, Collins, and Thompson are the only premium hitters Miami has. The Canes are the national leaders in Runs Scored (8.5 per game) and hit .312 as a team. The pressure will be on the opposing pitcher and defense from the first pitch of the game to the last.</div>
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The pitching staff is led by LHP Andy Suarez (9-1, 2.96 ERA) and LHP Thomas Woodrey (7-2, 3.06 ERA). The pair of lefty starters couldn't be more different in terms of style.</div>
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Suarez, a 2nd round pick of the San Francisco Giants, is a power pitcher with a low 90s fastball. He chose to return to school after being drafted in the 2nd round by the Washington Nationals in 2014, so his talent is there. He struggled with an oblique strain early in the season, but has put that behind him to return to his dominating form from 2014.</div>
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Woodrey is a crafty control artist who started his Miami career in the bullpen. But he was moved to the rotation this year, and earned 2nd team All-ACC recognition for his work. He won't overpower you, but he'll keep you off balance with a number of offspeed and breaking pitches.</div>
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Three bullpen arms who will be heavily used are RHP Cooper Hammond, a submariner who has plenty of game experience, LHP Michael Mediavilla, a freshman All-American, and closer RHP Bryan Garcia. In a perfect world, Jim Morris and the Canes would like to see the starters go 6 or 7 innings, then pass the ball to the Hammond/Mediavilla/Garcia combo to close the door. And, for the most part, that's worked to perfection this season.</div>
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<i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></b></i></div>
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<i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Which team would consider to be a darkhorse? Which team in the field do you think is capable of turning some heads?</b></i></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Marsh (TCU):</b> It's hard to say who's a darkhorse. All of these teams, whether old or new, are powerhouses. There really aren't any teams, that I feel like who don't deserve to be here. Virginia and Arkansas, given their regular seasons, then given everything they've done since their conference tournaments has been somewhat surprising. But they were both really good to start out with, especially Virginia, and just got cold early. That all being said, probably Fullerton; which is crazy because they've won 4 National Titles, and been to Omaha nearly 20 times.</div>
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But this year, the field is just so good. You either have teams from the Big 12, SEC, or ACC, and have played consistent competition all year; and despite Fullerton's strong schedule, I just think they have a naturally lower expectation because they play in the Big West. That being said, they beat a badass Louisville a team, and to be honest...I'm not counting out anyone.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Hutchins (UF):</b> I think Miami could be the darkhorse of this CWS. Getting Florida first and having a chance to send a young team to the losers' bracket is big for the relatively experienced ‘Canes, and the winner of that Saturday night showcase immediately becomes the favorite to make the championship series out of that bracket. And I think the ‘Canes could very well do that: Their 7-2 win over Florida in Gainesville was the Gators' worst home loss this season, they outscored Florida despite losing that series, and they have the bats to do damage to even the Gators' vaunted starters.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Henderson (LSU):</b> The obvious answer to both is Fullerton. Virginia was a bubble team, but chalk that up to a talented team underperforming all year and then heating up when they needed to. While Fullerton was a regional host, I didn't think they rightfully deserved it but they went out and proved me wrong by beating Louisville in the Super Regional.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">D'Andrea (Vandy):</b> Fullerton will give Vandy one of the toughest game one matchups thanks to the presence of All-America pitcher Thomas Eshelman and a stingy defense behind him. They're the clearest pure underdog choice in Omaha. On the other side of the bracket, Arkansas was written off by many after a wretched stretch in March, but the Razorbacks have the firepower to drag any other team in the CWS into a shootout. They're 25-2 when scoring seven runs or more in 2015.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Harper (Ark):</b> I don't know if it's fair to call any of the 8 teams a darkhorse. Understandably, Virginia and Fullerton have the longest odds, according to Bovada, but I wouldn't be shocked to see anybody make some noise. I do think it will be interesting to see the winner of Arkansas/Virginia vs the winner of Florida/Miami on Monday because in a one-game setting, I wouldn't be shocked to see the underdogs pull the upset in one game.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Chi (CSF):</b> I suppose Virginia is the darkhorse, being the only 3-seed in the field, even though it was the national runner-up last year. The Cavaliers got out of a very tough Lake Elsinore Regional knocking off three western teams 3,000 miles from home and then swept a Maryland team that just upended top-seeded UCLA. They have both talent and experience and they play in the weaker half of the draw.</div>
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I don't think Fullerton is a darkhorse because I just don't see it coming out its half with basically one good (even if great) starting pitcher. The Titans should be satisfied if they can end their current five-game Omaha losing streak.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Will (UVa):</b> Outside of Virginia riding the current wave, I'd say Miami. Even though they're a national seed, they're a part of our little brother conference, and they're paired up with Florida. If they can knock off Florida in their opening round, they could really be in the driver seat for that half of the bracket. For the other side, I think everyone is looking at LSU (including me), but when you have 3 first round players on your roster, you can't overlook Vanderbilt. Yes, they're the champions, but they weren't a national seed this year and they could come out and beat anyone.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Underwood (Miami):</b> The answer has to be Fullerton. I know some would say Miami, because we're playing Florida in the opener, but the Canes are the #5 National Seed, so I can't say we're a darkhorse. On the contrary, Fullerton was a 1 seed in regionals, but not thought of as a national championship team. They've bucked that trend with their postseason play, and if they can continue that streak, they're the darkhorses to win for me.</div>
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<i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></b></i></div>
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<i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Considering that each team has appeared in the College World Series relatively recently, do you have a favorite CWS memory? If you've been to Omaha, how would you describe the experience to someone who has never been?</b></i></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Marsh (TCU):</b> I loved last year's run. However, 2010 was magical. That was before we were in the Big 12. So we went into Austin that Super Regional, having been one game short from going to the CWS there in 2009, and took it back from them. I grew up in Austin, and grew up a Texas fan (which I've very much parted ways with). So being a small school, going into Austin as a Mountain West team, and watching all the home fans leave sad after the third game warmed my heart. After that, we blew out FSU in the first game, lost a tough one to UCLA, then played an all timer against Florida State in the elimination game to get us back to playing UCLA. We won the first game against the Bruins, and tragically lost the second. The loss also tragically occurred the same day as the USA's loss to Ghana in the World Cup. But again, to be the school TCU was back then, and still is in a lot of ways, and to come one game short of making the finals was pretty incredible going into my junior year of school.</div>
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All that being said; the specific memories are <a data-ref-index="14" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRkbsz-M20k" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Matt Curry's grand slam</a> against FSU, which resulted in everyone showering each other in cheap, lukewarm beer.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Hutchins (UF):</b> Florida beating Vanderbilt in back-to-back games in was pretty cool. That team was just slightly ahead of schedule, and making the championship series by knocking off a conference rival was fun. As for Omaha: I went in 2012 ... and arrived just after Florida two-and-'cued. So mostly I remember it being brutally hot, and the sort of dry hot that Southerners -- so most of the fans of this year's teams, basically -- very rarely experience. Drink water, folks.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Henderson (LSU):</b> Given that I was only 3 when Warren Morris hit his famous walk off, I'd have to go with Matty Ott and Chad Jones stonewalling Texas in Game 1 of the ‘09 championship series before Mikie Mahtook laced a two out single to score the go ahead run.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">D'Andrea (Vandy):</b> With all due respect to women's tennis and bowling, last year's trip to Omaha gave Vanderbilt its most meaningful NCAA Championship. <a data-ref-index="15" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14upcBENOiw" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">It looked something like this</a>.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Harper (Ark):</b> <a data-ref-index="16" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwW3fdvHcU0" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">This was Arkansas' best Omaha moment</a>, from 2009 (sorry, Virginia guys).</div>
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I'm actually getting to make the trip this year for the Saturday and Monday games. It's not a bad drive from Fayetteville, so I'm looking forward to it. It's my first time in Omaha, so I'd appreciate any tips.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Chi (CSF):</b> I'll take a wild stab that I'm probably the oldest guy here (by a decade, perhaps). My first trip to Omaha was in the ‘80s and multiple times after that. For a long time, we Titans considered going to the CWS as our birthright. We have a rental house (The Titan House) across the street from Rosenblatt Stadium where we partied and hung out during the series. The six-year drought that just ended is the longest in program history. Previously, if you played four years at Fullerton, you'd been to Omaha at least once, starting with the program's first year in Division I (1975).</div>
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The ‘Blatt was a special place, a creaky old stadium nestled in the middle of a neighborhood with Zesto the go-to place for pregame ice cream. The old press box would literally shake when the fans got excited and started to rock the place. I haven't been to the new park (Fullerton's last CWS appearance was 2009) but I hear it's pretty cookie-cutter and antiseptic.</div>
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My favorite memory was of course 1995. That year's Titans rolled through Baton Rouge and Omaha to win the program's third national championship, ending the season on an 18-game winning streak. Fullerton outscored its four CWS opponents 39-11 in four games and that year's team (57-9) was considered the best in college baseball history (I'll challenge anyone to a duel if they wish to dispute that). We spent 12 days in Omaha and it was mostly stress-free because every game after the opener was a blowout and we had lots of dead time to kill between games. We probably visited every attraction within 100 miles of Omaha and dined at no fewer than five steakhouses.</div>
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<a data-ref-index="17" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESKWTf-1vN0" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Here's a nice recap of that season</a>.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Will (UVa):</b> I was fortunate enough to play for UVa from 2007-2009, so I was on the team that gave UVa's College World Series participant. Beating Irvine with 2 outs in the 9th in 2011 was great, and making the Title Series last year was great, but for me it obviously has to be 2009. If the LF line umpire could see the foul line and there wasn't a streaker in our 3rd game, I think we might have given Texas a run for their money. That was special to me, and I'd be it was pretty special for every other UVa fan.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Underwood (Miami):</b> I went to Rosenblatt stadium on a class trip in 1996, and it was everything I thought it would be from having watched the CWS on TV for years. My class and I got to take a tour of Rosenblatt, and I even got to stand in the outfield. It was one of the most memorable stadium trips of my life. Unfortunately, it was the week before the CWS that year, but it was still a great trip.</div>
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For the Canes, there are plenty of great memories from Omaha. The <a data-ref-index="18" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDoECCVLpr0" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">1999 championship</a> was doubly awesome, because not only did we win, but we also beat our hated rival FSU in the Championship game when they were the heavy favorites.</div>
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In 2001, we won our 2nd title in 3 years. And, that started one of the best athletic years in the storied history of the University of Miami, which culminated with the best college football team ever bookending the year with a <a data-ref-index="19" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9HSejpd5nM" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #6c3e98; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">National Championship</a>.</div>
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<i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></b></i></div>
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<i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Finally, who do you see advancing to the Championship Series and who will ultimately be crowned National Champions?</b></i></div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Marsh (TCU):</b> I'm <i style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">not </i>not going to pick TCU. I've said all year that this team is better than last year. In part because of the new baseballs, the team is just more aggressive offensively. And if you remember anything about last year, that was the Frogs' Achilles' heel. Now, they're back with an offense that's done a 180, and a pitching staff that's arguably deeper top to bottom. The problem is that this field is much deeper and intimidating than it was last year. Some of these teams remind me of the LSU, FSU, and Texas teams of the early 2000s. But if you watched TCU's marathon against Texas A&M, it's pretty evident how deep their bullpen is, and that's where they have an advantage over every team in this tournament. Should the Frog offense be as aggressive and competitive as they've shown against teams like Vanderbilt, UCLA, and Arizona State, their bullpen will be able to close the gap and possibly get them their first National Championship.</div>
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That being said, the first game against LSU scares me. But if the Frogs can get past that, and I'm taking Vandy in their respective first game, I like TCU in the rematch of when they both played at Dodger Stadium in March. Should it not be TCU though, I think, the world will be pretty happy with a Florida vs. LSU final. And in that case, I'll take the Tigers in 3.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Hutchins (UF):</b> I like Florida to advance from its side of the bracket, and Vanderbilt to move on from its side. Florida takes its first national title in a three-game championship series.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Henderson (LSU):</b> If the offense can revert back to its regular season form, I think LSU should reach the championship series with some ease. But if LSU's not putting up at least 5 runs a game then things get harder to predict. I can tell you it will probably be LSU and Vanderbilt playing on Friday/Saturday. On the flip side of the bracket, Florida definitely got the favorable draw and they should cakewalk to the championship series. Gun to my head, I'll say LSU over Florida in the championship series 2 games to 1.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">D'Andrea (Vandy):</b> Florida and...either Vandy or LSU. Yes, that's a cheap hedge, but I'm in a tough spot where I'll get tagged as a homer for picking the defending champions. My heart says Vandy, but LSU has the depth to match the Commodores at nearly every turn.</div>
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Let's buy into the stereotype and go with the ‘Dores, and then let's see them *finally* get their revenge on Florida by taking 2 of three in order to repeat as national champions. Vanderbilt should have taken the regular season series against the Gators, but their bullpen fell apart in game three, leading to an extra innings loss. Now they'll turn to ice-veined Kyle Wright in the late innings. He won't let Florida get away again.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Harper (Ark):</b> I don't believe in this strongly at all but I'll say LSU and Miami with LSU winning.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Chi (CSF):</b> Despite my antipathy toward this "SEC dominance" theme, I don't see anything but an all-SEC championship series. Florida is the prohibitive favorite in its side of the bracket and I'll take Vandy over LSU in the other side. At the end, this Vandy team is just too loaded with talent not to repeat as champions. The Commodores have too much pitching and everything else - plus they're red hot - to lose twice to anybody.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Will (UVa):</b> LSU is the #2 national seed for a reason. They have the pedigree and Mainieri knows how to coach in Omaha, I'm putting my money on them putting another banner up in Baton Rouge. For UVa's side of the bracket, as much as I want to be a homer, and I should be, I have to think Florida is too hot to cool down right now. Sadly, another SEC matchup is exactly what ESPN wants, and not what anyone else wants, but that's the way life goes.</div>
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<b style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Underwood (Miami):</b> The first one is contingent on the first game, but I think Miami makes it to the Championship series from the left side of the bracket. Yeah, it's slightly homerific, but IF Miami can get by Florida in the opener, I think they can make it to the finals.</div>
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On the right side of the bracket, LSU has to be the heavy favorites to get to the Championship series. They have power arms, and arguably the best player in America in SS Alex Bregman, and plenty of championship pedigree. The Tigers will be hard to beat.</div>
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As for the champion, I have to go all in: Miami beats LSU and gets revenge for Warren Morris and 1996. Book it.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-34433811780115337222015-02-09T12:30:00.000-08:002015-02-10T10:50:41.947-08:00It's Time to Say Goodbye<b><i>By Samuel Chi</i></b><br />
<br />
The 2015 college baseball season begins this week, and for me, it's time to say goodbye.<br />
<br />
With the help of the esteemed Don Hudson, FBF and a few other contributors, this blog has been in existence since 2009, the most recent (and hopefully not the last) season the Titans made it to Omaha. For six years, we have chronicled one of the best college baseball programs in the land from beginning to end with previews, recaps, analyses and videos.<br />
<br />
At a time when newspapers are dying and cutting back their coverage, CSF Baseball occupied a unique place. We became the only publication that covered every single Cal State Fullerton baseball game - home and away, including postseason. In fact, Fullerton is the only West Coast program that had this kind of "media" presence.<br />
<br />
We provided coverage and information for the national media, helping to raise the profile of our powerhouse program. We were frequently cited by Aaron Fitt of Baseball America and Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game (now both at D1 Baseball). And our Twitter account was followed by thousands of fans, players, parents, coaches and media members.<br />
<br />
But it became clear this was not only unappreciated, but also unwanted. Last season, I was part of a spirited campaign that forced the athletic department to rescind its <a href="http://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/m-basebl/2013-14/releases/20140210msg91w">absurd decision not to web-cast home games</a>. Later, I personally lambasted the administration for its <a href="http://fullertonbaseball.blogspot.com/2014/05/an-embarrassing-lack-of-leadership-at.html">mishandling of Coach Vanderhook's four-week suspension</a>.<br />
<br />
Because of my refusal to toe the company line, our presence became a target of the school's blowback. The last straw came over the summer when Twitter suspended our account @CSFBaseball after the school filed a complaint that it was "impersonating" something that it wasn't. Funny thing is, the description of the account - from the very beginning - stated clearly that it was the "Unofficial Twitter Home of Cal State Fullerton Baseball, Not Affiliated With the Program."<br />
<br />
I sent Twitter a response, but after a couple of exchanges, I decided to give up the fight and allow the Twitter account to be shuttered. After that, I thought it was time for this blog to shut down for good as well.<br />
<br />
I've been a Cal State Fullerton fan since the early 1980s, before I was a student at the school. I attended CSF in no small part because of the baseball program and my fantasy of being able to make it as a walk-on (I didn't). I did end up covering the team for two years before graduating in 1991.<br />
<br />
My admiration and support for the team spanned three decades, and that will continue. But while I will root for the team to succeed on the field and in the classroom, I will only do that from the comfort of my own home or at a place away from Goodwin Field. I have no confidence in the people who are currently in charge of the administration or the athletic department. It is my belief that the program will only continue its decline under the current "leadership."<br />
<br />
And I will not contribute in any way, financially or otherwise, to the school until this group is gone.<br />
<br />
So it's time to say goodbye. We've had a good run. It is my hope that it won't be long before our team will grace the new ballpark in Omaha with its first appearance.<br />
<br />
Go Titans!<br />
<br />
<br />
P.S. You can still find me on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/theplayoffguru">@ThePlayoffGuru</a>, where I riff about college football and the NFL, and occasionally college baseball as well.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-21346970725431417092014-05-09T20:27:00.002-07:002014-05-09T20:27:45.780-07:00An Embarrassing Lack of Leadership at CSF<b><i>By Samuel Chi</i></b><br />
<br />
As a Cal State Fullerton alumnus, booster and (former) donor, I cannot begin to tell you how embarrassed I am by the administration that's currently running the university. That begins with president Mildred Garcia and includes VP Johnson Eanes, VP Lori Gentles and AD Jim Donovan.<br />
<br />
Their handling of the Rick Vanderhook situation was a spectacular display of incompetence. The entire ordeal lasted four weeks, with Vanderhook reinstated after missing four series and 16 games. The school issued two not-widely-distributed press releases to <a href="http://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/article/2014-05-09/cal-state-fullertons-vanderhook-reinstated-after-review-apology">bookend the entire ordeal</a>, all the while the program floundered.<br />
<br />
Let's be clear that <a href="http://fullertonbaseball.blogspot.com/2014/04/titans-baseball-needs-regime-change.html">I'm no fan of coach Vanderhook</a>. I do not believe that he's the man who can continue the program's tradition of excellence. But the way the university administration treated the situation made him a victim, and his job only gets harder from here on out.<br />
<br />
He will be back to coach a team that will become the first Titans squad to miss the postseason since 1991. There will be a significant number of transfers from the current roster. There will be recruits who decommit from the program because of the saga, as other schools gleefully expose what an amateur operation Cal State Fullerton truly is, from the top on down.<br />
<br />
If the administration did not have enough goods to fire Vanderhook for cause, then he should've been reinstated quickly. If it did, then he should've been fired with cause and let the lawyers handle the aftermath. But the entire situation was treated as if he's a chemistry professor and that his taking four weeks off is no big deal.<br />
<br />
But Vanderhook is not a chemistry professor, but the most high-profile employee at Cal State Fullerton, the face of the university's most visible and valuable commodity. Those in charge clearly did not understand this and proceeded like the second-rate bureaucrats that they are.<br />
<br />
No one ever called a press conference. Nobody took charge. Not Garcia, not Donovan, no one. No one gave account of what exactly happened and what was done other than <a href="http://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/article/2014-05-09/cal-state-fullertons-vanderhook-reinstated-after-review-apology">a terse press release</a> with one Donovan quote. There is no leadership, no accountability.<br />
<br />
Make no mistake, this will be a watershed moment for the program. The Titans last season for the first time failed to make a trip to Omaha in four consecutive seasons, this will make it five. They will have made the Super Regional just once in the last four years after appearing in the Supers in eight straight seasons from 2003-2010.<br />
<br />
Vanderhook, made to apologize to the players, will find himself in a toxic situation where he will trust neither his superiors nor those in his charge. This is a recipe for disaster. After Donovan gave him a four-year extension that won't run out until the 2018 season, he'll be determined to toe the company line just to make sure that he sees the end of his contract.<br />
<br />
So this program will go nowhere in the next four seasons, and probably beyond. The golden age of Cal State Fullerton baseball is over. It took 40 years to build it and just four weeks to leave it in ruins.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-86428717616445266872014-04-22T10:32:00.001-07:002014-04-24T08:35:51.644-07:00Titans Baseball Needs a Regime Change<b><i>By Samuel Chi</i></b><br />
<br />
I realize by writing this post I'll offend a strong contingent of coach Rick Vanderhook's supporters. But my loyalty is to the Fullerton baseball program, far and above any individual, so here goes:<br />
<br />
Hook was never the right guy to lead this program and that's compounded by AD Jim Donovan's ill-advised decision to extend him last year. But now, Donovan has a chance to take a corrective course of action to save the program.<br />
<br />
When Dave Serrano left for Tennessee, it was a pivotal time for the Titans. Under siege from big-budget schools putting more emphasis on baseball, we were faced with a landscape increasingly dominated by BCS powers. We needed an infusion of new blood and new ideas to take us boldly into a more challenging terrain.<br />
<br />
Instead, bowing to pressure from alums and some fans, then-AD Brian Quinn hired Hook. Not only that, he did not even bother to conduct a meaningful national search to find the right guy for the job.<br />
<br />
Now, Hook's loyalty to Cal State Fullerton isn't to be questioned, but that should not be the first, second or third qualification for the job. This is an elite program that needs elite leadership, and Hook doesn't fit the bill.<br />
<br />
Hook's a career assistant for a reason, with a temperament ill suited to be the leader of an elite program. He also betrays a certain amount of small-mindedness, with his decision to meddle with the Titan Central message board and then try to shut down live streaming being glaring examples.<br />
<br />
In short, Hook's stuck in the past, on and off the field. He does not have the vision that's desperately needed to lead this program.<br />
<br />
While I don't personally approve the secret recording of a tirade (IF THAT'S INDEED WHAT HAPPENED), the allegations must be serious enough for Donovan and the administration to mount an investigation. And make no mistake, this wasn't an isolated incident.<br />
<br />
Viewed in totality, you can make a case for abusive treatment of players. Please spare me the Junction Boys tales, these are different times whether you like it or not. And the best coaches find ways to adapt. Coach K does not go about his business the same way he did in the 1980s.<br />
<br />
The sunflower seed incident, the post-game rant at USD, the 7 a.m. scrimmage after a late-night game, the pregame tirade before the UCSB game - just using a few examples already mentioned on the message board - prove to be very illuminating.<br />
<br />
It shows that Hook has but one play in his playbook. A few commenters mentioned that Augie went on epic tirades, too - yes, I know, I've seen them personally. But that's not the only thing he does. Augie was - and still is - a master motivator. He has many more devices from that coaching tool box.<br />
<br />
Hook, on the other hand, is a one-trick pony - which we all knew. And he's not going to reverse this season's epic meltdown because he's already out of ideas. The constant ranting and raving - and badmouthing the players to the press - is already old and the players have tuned him out.<br />
<br />
Now we must not allow this disastrous season go beyond 2014, and the only thing to do is cut Hook loose.<br />
<br />
We thank him for all he's done as a player and assistant and these last 2 1/2 years that included a 51-win season (but no trips to Omaha). We go out and conduct an honest and serious national search, trying to locate the best candidate for the job, whether he's ever set foot at Goodwin before or not.<br />
<br />
We should never fear whomever we hire would move on to greener pastures. If they do, we wish them well and we move on. We're Cal State Fullerton, there are plenty of top coaches who want to leave their mark here. What we can't do is let the program slip into irrelevance like Titans softball.<br />
<br />
That's the danger facing us now. We have failed to recruit top position players after Serrano's departure. We have not been to Omaha since 2009. We have been eliminated by a lower-ranked team in each of the past three seasons. We'll likely miss the postseason for the first time since 1991.<br />
<br />
Was it all Hook's fault? Maybe not. But at the same time, Hook isn't going to get us out of this very mess - arguably the program's only major crisis in its 40-year history (I was around in 1989 and this easily tops that) - that in no small part was his creation.<br />
<br />
Donovan gets a second chance to make the right move. He needs to find a coach to take Cal State Fullerton back to Omaha and sustain our record of excellence.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-87279986675971033422014-04-19T04:36:00.003-07:002014-04-19T04:47:54.993-07:00Don't Blame Players for Titans' Mess<b><i>By Samuel Chi</i></b><br />
<br />
Where does the buck stop?<br />
<br />
When Hook says to a reporter that this team "lacks leadership and accountability" that is the most damning indictment ... of himself.<br />
<br />
When the preseason No. 1 USC football team went down in flames in 2012 with a Heisman-worthy QB, did you blame the Trojans players?<br />
<br />
But when the preseason No. 1 Titans - with STILL the nation's best pitching staff - about to become the first team since 1991 not to make the postseason, it's all the fault of the players?<br />
<br />
When Serrano's teams unraveled in the postseason, did you blame the coach or the players?<br />
<br />
You can't have it both ways.<br />
<br />
You want to call the players soft and call them a bunch of names, to me that's despicable. Other than the completely understandable loss on Thursday, they have fought hard all season, they just kept coming up short.<br />
<br />
So I ask you, other than pitching, which is handled superbly for the most part by Jason Dietrich, who's in charge of everything else? Who recruited these players here? Who's responsible for coaching hitting and fielding? Who's supposed to motivate these players?<br />
<br />
That we have a huge talent problem with respect to position players, whose fault is that? Our two best position players are both Serrano recruits. Last year's team that won 51 games had a lineup that was nearly exclusively Serrano recruits.<br />
<br />
When things started going south this season, did Hook make any adjustments to right the ship besides ranting and raving at the team AND to the press? How many times has he thrown all the players under the bus, and how many times has he pointed the finger at himself?<br />
<br />
Of the 15 losses this season, 10 were one-run games or in extra innings and another two were by two runs. This isn't a team that's not trying hard. This is a team that lacks some talent and the coaching needed to get it over the hump.<br />
<br />
I, for one, will salute the players for putting forth the effort and try hard every game. And for enduring the endless tongue-lashing, punishing post-game workouts and early morning scrimmages after coming up just short many times.<br />
<br />
These players aren't soft. They needed guidance, leadership and support. They aren't getting it from their head coach. And sadly it seems like they're not getting it from the fans, either.<br />
<br />
Shame on you, Titans fans, for throwing these kids under the bus, too.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-80870157026502169772014-04-17T04:34:00.000-07:002014-04-19T04:45:52.003-07:00CSF Places Coach Vanderhook on LeaveCal State Fullerton has placed its head baseball coach on leave, the university announced Thursday.<br />
<br />
"Effective today, Cal State Fullerton's head coach Rick Vanderhook has been placed on paid administrative leave. The university has received allegations that it is obligated to review," a school release said.<br />
<br />
"Assistant coaches Mike Kirby and Jason Dietrich will serve as acting co-head coaches when the Titans take on Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Thursday afternoon to start a three-game series through Saturday."<br />
<br />
Fullerton is 18-13 after losing two of three games last weekend at UC Santa Barbara.<br />
<br />
Vanderhook took over the Titans program in 2012, when four-year head coach Dave Serrano left for Tennessee. Vanderhook was 36-21 in his first season and followed up with a 51-10 record in 2013, which tied the mark for the fourth-most wins in program history. Fullerton won 66 games in 1984, 60 in '79, 57 in '95 and 51 in '82, all under Augie Garrido.<br />
<br />
Fullerton won its postseason regional last year before losing to eventual national champion UCLA in the super regional.<br />
<br />
The Titans won the College World Series in 1979, '84, '95 -- with Garrido at the helm -- and 2004 under George Horton. Fullerton has 12 other CWS appearnces.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-49641452268403398182014-02-14T07:52:00.002-08:002014-04-19T04:46:17.352-07:00CSFBaseball.com Shutdown AnnouncementDear fellow Titans fans:<br />
<br />
I'm saddened to announce that I will be shutting down the CSFBaseball.com web site, which has been operating since the 2009 season. The decision will stand for the 2014 season, and perhaps for good.<br />
<br />
The reason for the shutdown is that I belatedly realized that the site is doing much harm to the success of our beloved baseball team. FBF's previews and Don's recaps are so accurate and insightful that their continued publication would provide coaches of future opponents too much valuable information.<br />
<br />
This falls in line with the school's <a href="http://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/m-basebl/2013-14/releases/20140210msg91w">recent decision to discontinue video streaming</a> of Titans home games. In fact, I would urge the administration to cancel all telecasts planned for ESPN3 and ESPNU and hack the streaming service of our road opponents so that no one will see or read about even one pitch of our games. These measures should greatly enhance our chances of winning a fifth national championship, hopefully in an empty stadium in Omaha.<br />
<br />
I'd like to thank you for your support and suggestions over the years. Our Twitter feed <a href="http://www.twitter.com/csfbaseball">@CSFBaseball</a> will still be active, but only to disseminate non-proprietary information such as what will be on the latest rerun of "Breaking Bad" episodes.<br />
<br />
See you at the ballpark, but remember: Do not discuss the game or our team with anyone - you just never know if Mike Gillespie's great grandson might be in attendance masquerading as a fan. Loose lips sink ships!<br />
<br />
- Proprietor, CSFBaseball (Class of '91)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-72865907177794223542013-06-06T00:15:00.002-07:002013-06-06T00:17:06.371-07:00Fullerton Super Regional: UCLA Preview<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>UCLA at Titans (Fullerton Super Regional)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Friday 4 p.m.; Saturday 7 p.m.; Sunday (if necessary) 7 p.m. (All Games on ESPN2)</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<b><i>By FullertonBaseballFan</i></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>UCLA Bruins</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Overall Record – 42-17</li>
<li>Conference Record – 21-9 (3rd place)</li>
<li>How they qualified for a regional – At-large. Won Los Angeles regional – Wins against San Diego State 5-3, Cal Poly 6-4 and San Diego 6-0.</li>
<li>Last post-season appearance – 2012. 3-0 at Los Angeles regional – wins vs. Creighton twice and New Mexico. 2-0 vs. TCU in Los Angeles super regional. 1-2 in College World Series – win vs. Stony Brook, losses to Arizona and Florida State.</li>
<li>RPI/ISR – 14/10 (Fullerton opponent ISR comparison – Oregon 7, Cal Poly 17)</li>
<li>SOS – 28 (RPI)/6 (ISR). </li>
<li>Record vs. Fullerton – 0-2. Lost 6-9 at home on 4/2, lost 2-5 at Fullerton on 5/14</li>
<li>Record vs. common opponents – UCLA 18-6, Fullerton 25-6.</li>
<li>Record vs. tournament field – 9-8. </li>
<li>Record vs. top 50/top 100 RPI – 7-8/23-13</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Season Summary</b><br />
<br />
UCLA was traditionally one of the most underachieving programs in the country prior to the arrival of John Savage nine years ago. Since Savage took over, the Bruins have finished in the top three in the Pac 11 the last eight seasons, have gone to seven regionals, four super regionals and played in two College World Series, finishing as the runner-up in 2010. UCLA had a reputation of not being able to win the big game before Rick Vanderhook became an assistant coach in 2009 and took control of coaching the position players and the Bruins had one of the biggest moments in the history of the program when they defeated Fullerton in the 2010 super regional. The Bruins have always recruited well, even under former coach Gary Adams with many alums ending up playing in the majors, but Savage has taken the program to another level and led UCLA back to Omaha in 2012 for the second time in three seasons.<br />
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UCLA expected to be playing lots of low scoring games this season after losing their five most productive hitters from 2012 while returning all four of their starting pitchers and their best reliever and that has been the case most of the time. The Bruins got off to a 12-3 start heading into conference play after winning series against Minnesota, Baylor and Wright State (the only sweep of the three series) and winning two out of three games in a tournament with Oklahoma, Notre Dame and USC.<br />
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UCLA continued their winning ways in going 5-1 against Washington and Cal to start Pac 11 play before the schedule toughened up and the Bruins lost series at Arizona State and at home to Oregon State. The Bruins rebounded to win their next six series against Loyola Marymount, at Oregon and Washington State, at home against Utah and Arizona and at USC before dropping the final series of the regular season at Stanford. UCLA’s offense stagnated for three weeks against OSU, LMU and Oregon when they only scored sixteen runs in nine games but their pitching carried them in the Oregon series with two 1-0 shutout wins and UCLA averaged six runs a game in the next four series. The Bruins were productive last weekend as they hit .308 and scored seventeen runs in their three regional games, taking advantage of a ball getting lost in the lights that turned a fly out into a three run triple in the winners bracket game against Cal Poly, and they rode the momentum of getting that break into a win over the Mustangs and finished things off against San Diego the next day.<br />
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<br />
<b>Offense</b><br />
<br />
· Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 118 (increases offense by 18%). The outfield dimensions are on the small side for a western ballpark – 330 down the lines, 370 to the power alleys, 395 to center.<br />
· Batting Average – .252 (NCAA ranking – 251, conference ranking 11th); .251 in conf. games (11th). 2012 – .304.<br />
· Scoring – 285 (199, 7), 4.8 runs per game; 144 (5th), 4.8 runs per game in conf. games. 2012 – 394, 6.2 runs per game.<br />
· Home Runs – 19 (154, 7); 13 in conf. games (5th). 2012 – 23.<br />
· Slugging Percentage – .337 (234, 10); .336 in conf. games (10th). 2012 – .393.<br />
· On Base Percentage – .360 (125, 5); .349 in conf. games (6th). 2012 – .391.<br />
· Walks – 261 (26, 1), 4.4 per game; 125 (1st), 4.2 per game in conf. games. 2012 – 228, 3.6 per game.<br />
· HBP’s – 76 (42, 2); 29 in conf. games (6th). 2012 – 96.<br />
· Stolen Bases – 65-106 (106, 4); 29-51 in conf. games (4th). 2012 – 62-98.<br />
· Sac Bunts – 60 (40, 4); 33 in conf. games (7th). 2012 – 64.<br />
· Strikeouts – 384 (DNR, 2), 6.5 per game; 192 (5th), 6.4 per game in conf. games. 2012 – 341, 5.3 per game.<br />
<br />
Unlike last week when Fullerton played against ASU, the team with the best offense in the Pac 11, UCLA has been below average offensively after losing their five best hitters from 2012, including all three outfielders and their catcher. The Bruins are last in the conference in AVG and next to last in SLG % but have done their best to overcome that by being extremely patient at the plate and led the Pac 11 in walks and were second in HBP’s and while they see lots of pitches they let lots of them go by or swing and miss them because they have had the second most strikeouts in the conference. UCLA doesn’t have much power with 19 HR’s and only two players have more than two HR’s. The Bruins have been good at manufacturing runs and have averaged about a SAC bunt per game with five players having at least six SAC bunts. UCLA will put runners into motion often to avoid double plays, hitting into the second fewest DP’s in the Pac 11, and they are fourth in the conference in SB’s with four players stealing at least eight bases. The Bruins averaged 4.8 runs per game in both non-conference and conference games and have been held to four runs or less thirty times.<br />
<br />
<b>Batting Order</b><br />
<br />
CF – JR #24 Brian Caroll (RH – .259/.369/.286, 0-20-29) only hit .235 as a Soph in 17 AB’s but has been a sparkplug at the top of the lineup as a regular for the first time and is second in the Pac 11 in SB’s, led the team in runs and was honorable mention all-conference. He has very little power with only four extra base hits and will slap the ball and try to run his way onto base. Carroll is patient at the plate with a 25/33 BB/K ratio and will crowd the plate because he had 14 HBP’s, which was fourth in the conference. He is also an excellent bunter who will try to bunt for hits and has 11 SAC’s, which is among the Pac 11 leaders. Carroll hit pretty well in non-conference games but only hit .231 in conference games and was 2-11 last weekend.<br />
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3B – Soph #7 Kevin Kramer (LH – .285/.395/.394, 3-40-9) was honorable mention all-conference and one of the best hitters on the team, leading the Bruins in AVG and OBP and is second on the team in SLG %, R and RBI. He only walked seven times as a FR but has been much more patient this season and is among the conference leaders in HBP’s with 14 and in walks but also strikes out quite a bit and has a 28/43 BB/K ratio. Kramer is also an excellent bunter and has nine SAC bunts. He has good speed and was second on the team in SB’s. Kramer was 2-11 with 2 RBI last weekend.<br />
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RF – Soph #4 Eric Filia (LH – .266/.382/.349, 1-24-8) only hit .245 in a reserve role as a FR and is a line drive hitter who led the team in doubles but hit in some tough luck this season and only hit .236 in conference games. Filia was second on the team and was fifth in the Pac 11 in walks and had an excellent 31/21 BB/K ratio. He is also a good bunter and has eight SAC bunts. Filia was one of the leaders on offense last weekend and went 6-12 and scored four runs.<br />
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SS – JR #10 Pat Valaika (RH – .260/.361/.413, 5-42-8) was the only position player to receive All-Pac 11 honors for his all-around contributions on offense and defense, for which he also received the Pac 11 Defensive Player of the Year award. He doesn’t hit for much of an average but he has solid power and led the team in HR’s, SLG % and RBI. Valaika is very patient at the plate and led the team in walks but strikes out at a decent rate and has a 32/37 BB/K ratio. He was only 2-9 last weekend but had three RBI. Valaika is expected to be the highest drafted position player on the team in this week’s MLB draft and is projected to be picked in the 10th-12th round range.<br />
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DH – JR #5 Kevin Williams (LH – .238/.333/.314, 1-11-2) was the only returning starter who hit over .300 in 2012 but missed the first five weeks of the season and has only been able to play DH until recently after starting at 2B last year. He hasn’t hit well after getting off to a late start and only hit .206 in conference games. Williams isn’t a patient hitter with only 21 walks in the last two seasons and has struck out almost thirty percent of the time. He had the hit that turned the regional around last weekend against Cal Poly when his fly ball to RF got lost in the poor lighting at UCLA and turned into a bases clearing triple.<br />
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C – Soph #14 Shane Zeile (RH – .239/.344/.318, 2-19-2) hit .371 in a part-time role as a FR but has seen his offense stagnate with the responsibilities that come with being the starting catcher. He got off to a bad start before hitting much better in conference games, where he was second on the team with a .286 AVG and 14 RBI. Zeile is a good bunter and has six SAC bunts. He was 2-10 last weekend.<br />
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2B – SR #18 Cody Regis (LH – .240/.350/.293, 0-18-1) provides veteran leadership as the only player still on the roster from the 2010 team that beat Fullerton in the super regional. He is a versatile player who has played all over the infield during his career and settled in at 2B this season. Regis hit much better in his first two seasons with a .300 AVG and 15 HR’s but has only been hitting in the 230’s over the last two years with one HR, although he did lead the team with a .291 AVG in conference games. His power has mostly disappeared with only eight extra base hits (all doubles) but he does a good job of working counts with a 25/32 BB/K ratio. Regis went 3-10 last weekend.<br />
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1B – JR #27 Pat Gallagher (LH – .272/.381/.340, 1-17-0) has been part of a platoon getting most of the playing time vs. RHP’s. He doesn’t have much power for a 1B but is one of many patient hitters on the team and is second in OBP but he also strikes out about 1/4 of the time. Gallagher is a good bunter with six SAC bunts. He was the MVP of the regional last weekend after going 5-9 with four RBI.<br />
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LF – JR #23 Brenton Allen (LH – .255/.349/.362, 2-12-1) was one of several players getting playing time in LF earlier in the season but has been the starter most of the time over the last month. He has the most potential among the regulars as a big guy who was a 9th round pick out of HS but most of that potential has been unfulfilled. A major part of Allen’s problem is a poor approach at the plate and he has struck out about 1/3 of the time. He was 2-7 last weekend.<br />
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<b>Reserves</b><br />
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1B – Soph #25 Chris Keck (LH – .188/.301/.304, 1-10-0 in 69 AB’s)<br />
2B – FR #8 Trent Chatterton (RH – .260/.361/.298, 0-10-2 in 104 AB’s)<br />
OF – FR #29 Ty Moore (LH – .208/.293/.292, 0-10-0 in 72 AB’s)<br />
OF – FR #3 Christoph Bono (LH – .231/.363/.354, 2-10-2 in 65 AB’s)<br />
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<br />
<b>Defense</b><br />
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· Fielding – .980 (5, 2) – 47 errors, 25 unearned runs. UCLA has been one of the best defensive teams in the country this season. Gallagher and Regis are solid on the right side of the infield. Valaika and Kramer are excellent as one of the best left sides of the infield in the country. Allen is average in LF, Carroll has excellent range in CF and Filia has good range in RF.<br />
· Stolen Base Attempts – 41-61 (DNR, 5). Zeile didn’t catch before this season but has done a solid job of being converted to playing behind the plate. Runners are 34-47 against him.<br />
· WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 61 (DNR, 8). Zeile had a very tough time blocking pitches earlier in the season but allowed only fourteen WP’s in conference games.<br />
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<br />
<b>Pitching</b><br />
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UCLA returned all four starting pitchers and six of their seven leaders in innings from 2012, losing only closer Scott Griggs, so it was expected that the Bruins would have a strong pitching staff as they almost always have under Savage, who is also the pitching coach. UCLA is in the top twenty nationally in ERA, AVG, fewest walks allowed, WHIP and K/BB ratio and they have allowed four runs or less forty-three times, going 38-5 in those games. The Bruins pitchers are tough to hit and don’t hand out too many free bases other than the occasional HBP by pitching inside so they don’t make it easy on their opponents and have also been helped by having an excellent defense playing behind them.<br />
<ul>
<li>ERA – 2.75 (13/3); 2.93 in conference (2nd). </li>
<li>AVG – .224 (11/2); .246 in conference (3rd). </li>
<li>HR – 19 (DNR/6); 9 in conference (3rd). </li>
<li>SLG – .299 (DNR/3); .326 in conference (3rd). </li>
<li>Walks – 150 (11/1), 2.5 BB’s/9 IP; 64 (1st) in conference, 2.1 BB’s/9 IP. </li>
<li>HBP – 54 (DNR/6); 31 in conference (6th). </li>
<li>OBP – .255 (DNR/2); .308 in conference (2nd). </li>
<li>Strikeouts – 420 (87/2), 7.0 K/9 IP; 217 in conference (1st), 7.2 K/9 IP. </li>
</ul>
<b>Starters</b><br />
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JR #9 Adam Plutko (RHP – 8-3, 2.51 ERA, 16 GS, 1 CG, 104 IP, 78 H, 26 BB, 75 K, .210 AVG, 5 HR, 7 HBP, 1 WP, 11-16 SB) has been part of the backbone of UCLA’s team as a three year starter, a three time All-Pac 11 selection, an All-American and has 27-10 with a 2.35 ERA during his career. He struggled at times with his control in 2012 with six starts in which he had at least four walks but those issues haven’t popped up this season and the most walks that he has had in a start is three, which he has done four times. Plutko isn’t a hard thrower with a fastball that sits around 90 but has an excellent changeup and a solid slider and he attacks the strike zone, using his fastball to get batters to hit pop ups and fly outs and he has struck out five hitters or less in four of his last five starts. He has been throwing very well down the stretch and has allowed two runs or less in seven of his last eight starts. Plutko has been tough to hit and is fifth in the Pac 11 with a .210 AVG and has allowed six hits or less in eleven of his starts. He allowed two runs (1 ER) on six hits and one walk last weekend against San Diego State and has been outstanding in his career in post-season games with a 5-0 record in five starts with a 0.97 ERA. Plutko was a sixth round pick out of HS and is expected to be drafted around the fifth round this weekend.<br />
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JR #21 Nick Vander Tuig (RHP – 11-4, 2.51 ERA, 16 GS, 2 CG, 108 IP, 91 H, 17 BB, 77 K, .233 AVG, 4 HR, 7 HBP, 9 WP, 6-11 SB) didn’t get off to the fast start that Plutko did as a FR, working out of the bullpen as the closer and picking up nine saves while recovering from elbow surgery that prevented him from pitching as a HS SR. He was inconsistent as a starter in 2012 with a 4.43 ERA and a .318 AVG in Pac 11 games but the light bulb started to go on down the stretch and he had a 3.09 ERA in his last seven starts. Vander Tuig won six of his last seven decisions and he threw well in picking up wins against New Mexico in their regional and TCU in their super regional. He has been much more consistent this season and allowed more than three runs in only one start before allowing five runs at Stanford and four runs last weekend against Cal Poly. Vander Tuig has been a workhorse and is second in the Pac 11 in wins, fourth in IP and sixth in strikeouts and was a first team all-conference selection. He has excellent control and hadn’t walked more than two batters in a start before walking three batters against Cal Poly. Vander Tuig’s fastball sits in the low 90’s and he has a very good slider that he buries to get ground balls, which will sometimes lead to wild pitches, and a solid changeup. He is expected to be drafted around the fourth round this weekend.<br />
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Soph #12 Grant Watson (LHP – 8-3, 3.22 ERA, 16 GS, 87 IP, 89 H, 15 BB, 52 K, .271 AVG, 2 HR, 5 HBP, 6 WP, 2-4 SB) was a midweek starter and middle reliever on the weekends as a FR, going 9-2 with a 4.45 ERA in 35 appearances (15 GS) and 89 IP. He was moved into the weekend rotation this season and has been a solid Sunday starter, allowing more than three runs only three times. Watson usually won’t work deep into games, letting the excellent UCLA bullpen do most of the heavy lifting, and threw five innings or less in nine straight starts before an excellent start against San Diego in the regional clinching game last weekend when he threw seven scoreless innings and allowed only one hit. He isn’t a hard throw with a mid-upper 80’s fastball and an excellent slider that he uses as a swing and miss pitch or to get batters to pound the ball into the ground. Watson has excellent control and allowed more than two walks in only one of his starts. He is the only of UCLA’s starters that Fullerton has faced previously, making two midweek starts in 2012 when he went 1-0 and allowed four runs (3 ER) on ten hits and five walks in 10 2/3 IP<br />
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<b>Relievers</b><br />
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The bullpen for UCLA has been outstanding all season and has allowed their starters to shorten games and come out after six-seven innings and feel confident that the game is over and the Bruins are 35-0 when leading after seven innings and they are also 7-1 when games are tied after the eighth inning. UCLA has relied primarily on three relievers who are all in the top ten in appearances in the Pac 11 and they are 8-1 with a 1.45 ERA and 22 saves and have held opponents to a .193 AVG.<br />
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Soph #26 David Berg (RHP – 6-0, 0.81 ERA, 20 saves, 44 apps, 67 IP, 45 H, 7 BB, 69 K, .190 AVG, 2 HR, 4 HBP, 2 WP, 1-2 SB) came into the program as an unheralded walk-on but he was lights out as a FR because hitters were unable to pick up the ball coming out of his hand with his sidewinder delivery that is reminiscent of Kent Tekulve and Dan Quisenberry. He was a FR All-American with a 1.46 ERA, held opponents to a .165 AVG and led the nation with fifty appearances as the set-up man for Scott Griggs. Berg has been even better this season as the closer, once again leading the nation in saves, and had a 36 inning scoreless streak broken in the last weekend of the season and was the first reliever to ever be honored as the Pac 11 Pitcher of the Year.<br />
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FR #11 James Kaprielian (RHP – 0-0, 1.46 ERA, 2 saves, 29 apps, 37 IP, 19 H, 21 BB, 50 K, .152 AVG, 0 HR, 4 HBP, 10 WP, 2-3 SB) was projected to be drafted in the first ten rounds out of HS but he had a strong commitment to going to school and wasn’t picked until the last round of the draft. He was going to be the closer but didn’t pitch for the first couple of weeks and eventually became a dominant set-up man for Berg with a low 90’s fastball, a solid changeup and a power curve that can sometimes end up in the dirt and lead to wild pitches. Kaprielian can sometimes have control issues, averaging five walks per 9 IP, but has also been blowing hitters away and averaging 12 strikeouts per 9 IP. He faced Fullerton in both midweek games and allowed five runs (2 ER) on three hits and four walks in 5 2/3 IP with nine strikeouts.<br />
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JR #32 Zack Weiss (RHP – 2-1, 2.37 ERA, 40 apps, 38 IP, 33 H, 12 BB, 27 K, .237 AVG, 1 HR, 9 HBP, 6 WP, 3-6 SB) was in the weekend rotation in 2012, going 3-3 with a 4.28 ERA in thirteen starts and had problems with his control, hitting ten batters and averaging over four walks per 9 IP. He has thrived as a middle reliever this season and is second only to Berg in the Pac 11 in appearances, usually pitching one inning in either the sixth or seventh inning as the bridge between the starters and Kaprielian and Berg at the back end of the bullpen. Weiss has a low 90’s fastball that can tend to straighten out along with a solid changeup, slider and curveball. He was drafted in the 10th round out of HS and will be drafted around the 10th round again this weekend.<br />
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FR #34 Cody Poteet (RHP – 4-6, 4.84 ERA, 29 apps, 11 GS, 71 IP, 57 H, 31 BB, 56 K, .227 AVG, 3 HR, 9 HBP, 7 WP, 13-16 SB) was the midweek starter and a middle reliever on the weekends who would come into games if one of the starters came out early. He is a hard thrower with a fastball that sits in the 92-94 range and a decent breaking pitch. Poteet started both midweek games against Fullerton and lost both of them, allowing eight runs on nine hits in seven innings.<br />
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JR #40 Ryan Deeter (RHP – 2-0, 4.24 ERA, 21 apps, 17 IP, 12 H, 12 BB, 10 K, .194 AVG, 1 HR, 6 HBP, 3 WP, 2-2 SB) served a similar role to Weiss last season when he had a 0.89 ERA over 30 innings in 36 appearances but has been relegated to more of a mop-up role this season. He can run his fastball into the 92-94 range, which will probably get him drafted in the low teens this weekend, but has had issues with his control and made the coaching staff reluctant to use him in high leverage situations.<br />
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<br />
<b>Outlook</b><br />
<br />
With the pitching staffs that Fullerton and UCLA have, there don’t figure to be too many runs scored this weekend with both teams ranked in the top 20 nationally in ERA, AVG and walks allowed per nine innings as well as in fielding with both teams possessing strong defenses.<br />
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Both offenses led their conferences in walks and relied on getting runners on base on walks and hit batters to scratch out some runs, especially the Bruins due to their low batting average. Fullerton has had the more dynamic offense when they have been clicking and have much more power than UCLA, which makes them more of a threat to score runs in bunches.<br />
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There won’t be too many secrets between the coaching staffs with Vanderhook coaching at UCLA for three seasons before returning to Fullerton in 2012 so he is very familiar with the players on the Bruins roster from either recruiting and/or coaching them. Goodwin Field has been a house of horrors for Savage, where his teams have gone 4-18 during his career including being eliminated by the Titans in a super regional in 2007 and a regional in 2008. This will also be the first time that UCLA has played on an opponent’s home field in the postseason since that regional in 2008.<br />
<br />
These two teams are pretty evenly matched but Fullerton has been even more consistent than UCLA has been this season with the Titans winning every weekend series they have played and has a little more offense than the Bruins do and along with the home field advantage that Fullerton has they should be able to win a hard fought and tightly contested series and advance to the College World Series.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-55702461143863299902013-06-05T13:08:00.000-07:002014-04-19T04:48:43.014-07:00For Titans, a Seminal Series<b><i>By Samuel Chi</i></b><br />
<br />
This weekend's Super Regional matchup against UCLA is nothing short of a must-win series for the Titans. The program hasn't had one this important since these two teams last met in the Supers in 2010, when a seismic shift in Southern California college baseball landscape began to take shape.<br />
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When the Titans emerged as a powerhouse in the late 1970s and early 1980s, their first local nemesis was USC, whose five-year reign was snapped by the first-year Titans in the 1975 regional. Over time, the Titans have developed rivalries with Stanford and Arizona State, with the former largely owning the Titans while the Titans mostly dominating the latter, including this past weekend.<br />
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But then UCLA burst onto the scene; and the one person most responsible for the Bruins' sudden emergence as a national power is John Savage.<br />
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Before Savage took over, UCLA had been a major-league talent-producing machine under former coach Gary Adams. An affable man who was able to recruit future stars such as Eric Karros, Troy Glaus, Jeff Conine and Chase Utley, among others, Adams was an absolute underachiever when it came to on-field success. In his 30 years at the helm in Westwood, the Bruins made it to Omaha exactly once - in 1997.<br />
<br />
Savage came to UCLA from UC Irvine in 2005 and went about changing the culture of the place. While he was able to continue to reel in elite players - something UCLA never had trouble doing - he wanted to instill a focused toughness that had sorely been lacking in Westwood. Winning, instead of padding stats and looking good for pro scouts became more of a priority as UCLA won six Pac-10 titles in his first eight seasons.<br />
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A key hire he made in 2009 changed the Bruins' fortunes in the postseason. Rick Vanderhook, a longtime Fullerton assistant who was passed over for the head job when George Horton left for Oregon, brought a measure of scrappiness and nastiness to Westwood. In essence, he instilled the Fullerton Way to toughen up the oft-soft Bruins.<br />
<br />
And in 2010, a key moment for UCLA arrived.<br />
<br />
The Titans had always had UCLA's number, in postseason or otherwise. There was without a doubt which was the most dominant baseball program in Southern California, going back 35 years. By 2010, UCLA had made it to Omaha just twice in its history, whereas the Titans were in the College World Series six times in the previous nine years, winning their fourth national title in 2004.<br />
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And everything looked about more of the same in that 2010 Super Regional showdown in Westwood - the first time the Bruins ever hosted the Supers. After having eliminated UCLA in the 2007 and 2008 postseasons, the Titans were one out away from doing it a third time in four seasons, and with it, another trip to Omaha.<br />
<br />
But then the Bruins dug in and, thanks to a lapse in attentiveness on the Titans' part, the fortunes of both programs changed. Tyler Rahmatullah's two-run shot would indelibly alter the dynamics of Southern California baseball for the immediate future.<br />
<br />
The Bruins went on to win that Super Regional in three games, despite being outplayed for the first 53 outs, and they would go to Omaha again in 2012. This series will be their third Supers appearance in four years.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the Titans fell on hard times, by Fullerton standards. They matched their longest Omaha drought in the program's history when the Titans failed to even get to the regional final in 2011 and 2012. Dave Serrano left for Tennessee after the 2011 season and Vanderhook returned to Fullerton after three years at UCLA, this time as the head man.<br />
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After a disappointing season in 2012 when the Titans again came up short, Vanderhook has been nothing short of brilliant in his second season as Fullerton's head coach. He hired UC Irvine's Jason Dietrich as the pitching coach, who promptly tutored one of the nation's best pitching staffs, headed by two true freshmen. The Titans won the Big West by six games and at 51-8, have the fewest losses of any team entering Super Regional play.<br />
<br />
But none of that would mean squat if the Titans can't vanquish the Bruins on home soil this weekend.<br />
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This series is a war between Old Money and New Money; a contest between a program backed by a loyal and vocal fan base vs. one adored by the national media and few others; a bout between two programs that might be mirror images of each other on the field, but two schools that were galaxies apart in everything else.<br />
<br />
If the Titans lose this series, that would mean for the first time a senior who played all four years in Fullerton didn't make a trip to Omaha. It would mean a four-year drought made worse by the fact that UCLA were in the CWS three times during that period, including twice at Fullerton's expense. It would signal the possibility that the baseball program might be going the way of Titans softball.<br />
<br />
A Titans victory this weekend would go a long way of restoring order in SoCal baseball. By winning this series, the Titans will finally be able to put the 2010 nightmare to rest and treat it as a mere hiccup in the glorious and improbable history of Fullerton baseball. Getting past UCLA also means the Titans will be back in Omaha for the 17th time (but for the first time since the new ballpark opened) to continue their quest to be the only school to win a national title in every decade since the 1970s.<br />
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In short, a victory will allow the Titans to resume business as usual. That's why this series isn't just life and death - only a lot more important than that.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-68779768710143059712013-06-04T08:08:00.000-07:002014-04-19T04:47:43.788-07:00Not Giving the Devils Their Due<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Titans Win Fullerton Regional (3-0)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>def. Columbia 4-1, def. Arizona State 1-0, def. Arizona State 6-1</b></div>
<b><br /></b><b><br /></b><b><i>By Don Hudson</i></b><br />
<br />
You either saw the games in person or on ESPNU – no need to rehash the details of what you already witnessed. Rather than detailed recaps, I feel in more of a reflective mood as we get ready for the Super Regionals against the UCLA Bruins.<br />
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<b><u>Game 1 Reflections: Arizona State Sun Devils 4, New Mexico Lobos 3</u></b><br />
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Coming into the Regionals, both teams had advanced billing as prolific offenses, with ASU having better pitching. Both teams started their regular “Friday guys”, albeit with NMU’s Josh Walker coming in with an 11-0 record matched up with ASU’s Trevor Williams, who is a highly regarded pro prospect (selected #44 overall today) but had scuffled this year after earning all-conference honors and pitching for Team USA in 2012.<br />
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Part of the intrigue of this quartet of teams was that it included three pitchers with 11-0 regular season record: Walker, Fullerton’s Justin Garza and ASU’s Ryan Kellogg. All three pitched impressively and certainly well enough to win, but Walker and Kellogg ended up with their first losses of the season before the weekend was finished.<br />
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The lasting impression from this game was that neither team hit as well as their advance press clippings. The Lobos outhit the Devils, 8-4, but committed three errors and allowed three unearned runs and gave the game away. Two of the errors were by shortstop Jared Holley, who was named to the All-Regionals team; the other was committed by Walker himself, who struck out three, walked four and allowed just four hits in 7-1/3 innings. Williams was “good enough” for ASU, allowing eight hits, three walks and three hit-batsmen in 7-2/3 innings.<br />
<br />
It’s a strange feeling sitting at Goodwin Field when you don’t have a dog in the fight – you feel no stress, enjoy no adrenaline, don’t get too mad, don’t get too thrilled – don’t even get mad at Blue. It’s a nice reminder of how partisan we are when we watch a baseball game: the neutral fan sees a pitch low and a foot outside, while the die-hard fan with emotional investment sees it perfectly “painting the black” and screams “That’s on you, Blue!” when the hitter drives the next pitch into the alley.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Game 2 Reflections: Cal State Fullerton Titans 4, Columbia Lions 1</u></b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmK6hfr7PNgxzj_TFOiguqNyFa7gDbA2BX8vPmdVVORqLbUHHgQTg_nEgXeAKID4Hopeol9W90TZNLtrCQ6CFvNYAdKto-THbFq2-73seYwrYxK3Y8tlhST0ve8HmPUF9S5_6EBeFoqKKT/s1600/wiestf.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmK6hfr7PNgxzj_TFOiguqNyFa7gDbA2BX8vPmdVVORqLbUHHgQTg_nEgXeAKID4Hopeol9W90TZNLtrCQ6CFvNYAdKto-THbFq2-73seYwrYxK3Y8tlhST0ve8HmPUF9S5_6EBeFoqKKT/s320/wiestf.png" height="244" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wiest dominant<br />
<i>(Fullertontitans.com)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Maybe I worry too much.<br />
<br />
Even against an Ivy League opponent that had played just one game in the last three weeks, I was worried. I think I was worried as much about the Titans not wearing the orange uniforms in a Friday night opener as I was about eschewing our top two pitchers and going with Grahamm Wiest, a pitcher I have utmost confidence in but who had an ERA of 8.59 in his three prior starts.<br />
<br />
But my worries were misplaced: Wiest did a great job and pitched a complete game, allowing just one run (a home run by Columbia third-baseman David Vandercook) on three hits with no walks and three strikeouts. It was a very efficient outing for Wiest, who threw just 86 pitches.<br />
<br />
By completing the game, it allowed the Titans to eschew the use of closer Michael Lorenzen, lest he use up pitches and give his next opponents a chance to see him pitch in person.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOk6C6Q-8vWfgD18xQpoQYkfkuOtNhol6KMTYPCxTwwUOdhvP3vmTZHsIq1OipkF2TfNjtw7TCjdNuWf80ZUJKtVGxr9b-_1ZZvj6ZztBGfVqDjQOuweh2nz-zAUu4lNy1HxMAK2txgzsM/s1600/chapf.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOk6C6Q-8vWfgD18xQpoQYkfkuOtNhol6KMTYPCxTwwUOdhvP3vmTZHsIq1OipkF2TfNjtw7TCjdNuWf80ZUJKtVGxr9b-_1ZZvj6ZztBGfVqDjQOuweh2nz-zAUu4lNy1HxMAK2txgzsM/s320/chapf.png" height="263" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chapman goes deep<br />
<i>(Fullertontitans.com)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The offensive standout was Matt Chapman, who smoked a line-drive single to centerfield in the first inning to drive in Richy Pedroza with the game’s first run, then led off the fourth inning with a home run that gave the Titans a little breathing room.<br />
<br />
But what stands out the most to me was the amazing defense played by the infield. Pedroza demonstrated every possible shortstop skill in dazzling fashion – backhands deep in the hole; ranging far to his left (like somewhere in shallow centerfield) and throwing guys out; charging slow-hoppers and grabbing in-between hops; and eating up balls smashed hard. Third-baseman Chapman also had some late-game web-gems where both his glove and howitzer arm were on display. First-baseman Carlos Lopez also had some great scoops and stretches – there were a couple plays where “both ends” of the play were spectacular.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Game 3: Columbia Lions 6, New Mexico Lobos 5 (too many innings)</u></b><br />
<br />
College baseball has grown astronomically since ESPN began televising selected College World Series games back in 1980, in addition to a few locations at both the Regionals and Super Regionals. Based on the inaugural popularity, they began televising all the CWS games played in Omaha. This year’s progression to cover all games at all sites is a huge game-changer, albeit there being a pretty major difference between games shown on ESPN2 and ESPNU versus ESPN3 (internet only).<br />
<br />
For all their investment, ESPN gets to call the shots – which I can’t fault. They decide the starting times, when to resume play after commercials, when the national anthem shall be sung, whether supplementary lights will be used (to make for better picture quality), etc.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Being selected as a frequent host site for ESPN telecasts has been a mixed blessing for the Titans, although the pluses have far outweighed the negatives. The biggest plus is the national exposure given to the Titans “brand” and its powerful benefits recruiting players who want to play on the game’s biggest stage. One of the trade-offs has been the late starting times – especially an issue in Sunday night games or any game involving John Savage and his UCLA Bruins.<br />
<br />
It would have made infinitely more sense to play Game 3 (e.g. the game shown only on ESPN3) early in the afternoon, since the loser would be eliminated and the winner wouldn’t play again until the next day. That way, if the game went long, it wouldn’t impact the nationally telecast feature Game 4. But that isn’t what King ESPN wants, so the game began at 4:05 p.m. and just might have finished in plenty of time – until the Lions woke up and overcame a 5-0 deficit and tied the score in the top of the eighth inning.<br />
<br />
If you want to know what eternity feels like, just watch the reply of this game starting in the ninth inning. The Titans and Sun Devils fans lined up to watch the feature game ended up standing there for 3+ hours. Mercifully, the Lions scored a run in the top of the thirteenth inning and the Lobos rallied but were unable to tie the score in the bottom of the frame.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
After the Lions roared back and tied the score, it became a lengthy battle of bullpens and relief pitchers walking tightropes. Columbia’s Joey Donino was the game’s eventual winning pitcher, throwing 103 pitches and striking out eight Lobos in 6-2/3 innings of relief. Donino was the intended starter for their next game had Columbia advanced, so his stellar effort on Saturday afternoon/night created a big hole that they couldn’t overcome in their next game.<br />
<br />
It was cool to see an Ivy League underdog get their first-ever NCAA playoff win – just wish it didn’t take 4 hours, 36 minutes and 437 pitches to accomplish. The teams combined for 27 hits and there was just one error (by Lobos’ shortstop Holley).<br />
<br />
<b><u>Game 4 Reflections: Cal State Fullerton Titans 1, Arizona State Sun Devils 0</u></b><br />
<br />
The game pitted the aforementioned 11-0 freshmen pitchers – Fullerton’s Garza and ASU’s Kellogg – in what delivered on its promise to be a classic pitchers’ duel. This game was one of the best I’ve ever seen – too bad it started at almost midnight on the east coast and most of the national TV audience was sound asleep.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9ZYbsO-wKZwwOJRXk68O5eM9CLVuWh44LDGGIClMtlNlLGrP58FUdEQznvY_ZRUzb05w9ck3RzkqBzxmSpJhT5oRil08qiwqjGMRaplk9iCkF4WJ6Cm0OrO9GADSYJm9emHEENT5JpfE/s1600/garza.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9ZYbsO-wKZwwOJRXk68O5eM9CLVuWh44LDGGIClMtlNlLGrP58FUdEQznvY_ZRUzb05w9ck3RzkqBzxmSpJhT5oRil08qiwqjGMRaplk9iCkF4WJ6Cm0OrO9GADSYJm9emHEENT5JpfE/s320/garza.png" height="217" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garza brilliant<br />
<i>(Photo: Jorge Lopez)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The lasting impression: no matter how many ways the Titans invented to squander scoring opportunities, Garza was simply going to will the Titans to victory. While renowned for his fastball that begins in the 91-92 mph range and increases to 94-95 in the middle innings, it was Garza’s change-up that befuddled the Sun Devils, as he struck out nine and allowed just three hits and no walks in 8-2/3 innings of work. <br />
<br />
Kellogg wasn’t nearly as sharp as Garza, but he was very impressive nonetheless. He stranded two Titans runners in the bottom of the first inning and was the beneficiary of some dubious strategy and poor execution by the Titans in the second inning when they had a golden chance to give Garza an early lead. His infield defense was shaky – for sons of former MLB infielders, you’d expect more defensively from third-baseman Benjamin and shortstop Stankiewicz – but Kellogg was at his best when the Titans had runners in scoring position.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-tqyORwJT_iAJ7jhNd-bZkVuZEXVqTommI0lX6_APOLGpdbpAr1YxPBYmyd8Tg4tULDRo6xsxkJWfGaNZv59pdlb_Ek-zsHSHSCalYsL3zaKYD6OC9hDbqj_DGlj2dyLAydZ_AG7Z8Fn/s1600/dog.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-tqyORwJT_iAJ7jhNd-bZkVuZEXVqTommI0lX6_APOLGpdbpAr1YxPBYmyd8Tg4tULDRo6xsxkJWfGaNZv59pdlb_Ek-zsHSHSCalYsL3zaKYD6OC9hDbqj_DGlj2dyLAydZ_AG7Z8Fn/s320/dog.png" height="236" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Husky invasion<br />
<i>(Photo: Jorge Lopez)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But before the inning got really strange, a beautiful husky ran out on the field and provided some much-needed comedic relief to what was shaping up as a white-knuckle affair. (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alqZi9YHsOM">Video</a>)<br />
<br />
After the dog left through the gate beside the leftfield fair pole, Chad Wallach walked and Greg Velazquez blooped a single to start the inning. Hooky eschewed having Jake Jefferies bunt in a situation where it was pretty obvious, even though it isn’t the strength of JJ’s game. <br />
<br />
After Jefferies flied out on the first pitch and neither runner could advance, Austin Diemer singled to rightfield, where the ball was quickly charged by ASU’s strong-armed Trever Allen, who already had nine outfield assists this season. Wallach’s running is timed with a sundial instead of a stopwatch, so it was stunning when he was given the signal to try to score – Allen’s throw was perhaps fifteen feet up the third-base line, but Wallach was still another ten feet away before catcher Max Rossiter caught it and made the uncontested tag.<br />
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The peculiarities continued in the bottom of the fourth, as Velazquez reached second base with one out on a single and groundout. Diemer lined the ball sharply to centerfield and Velazquez made a quick determination that the ball was going to drop in for a hit, so he sprinted aggressively towards third base and was a “dead duck” when the ball hung up and was easily caught by ASU centerfielder Kasey Coffman, who lobbed the ball to second to double off Velazquez and end the threat.<br />
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Both pitchers were nails throughout the middle innings, but with Kellogg’s pitch count rising rapidly and his throws-to-first count getting up into the 30’s. I loved how the home crowd switched from booing the ASU pitcher’s tosses to first to mock cheering them. It was a great “in your face” move when Lopez stole a base off him after about eight straight pickoff attempts.<br />
<br />
The defense behind Garza was stellar, most notably a great diving grab by leftfielder Diemer on a sinking line drive.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJYDBLZ2L0pqRMrkQoyU438lOCa3WBz7NapivPOGM23a3vDyaUtOTu411RLtIOclbgt6qdGJLnZEdbHDUgTl0tY8ACvsrMt9W6mDlzooIgxsseyUqeVmMfznOdNiGbEzs0XvbzpaJ_pWA/s1600/jake.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJYDBLZ2L0pqRMrkQoyU438lOCa3WBz7NapivPOGM23a3vDyaUtOTu411RLtIOclbgt6qdGJLnZEdbHDUgTl0tY8ACvsrMt9W6mDlzooIgxsseyUqeVmMfznOdNiGbEzs0XvbzpaJ_pWA/s320/jake.png" height="227" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jefferies doubles, scores winning run<br />
<i>(Photo: Jorge Lopez)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Titans finally scored in the bottom of the seventh. Right after that time honored tradition, Jefferies led off and launched a deep fly off the wall in leftfield for a double. Diemer bunted the ball back to Kellogg, who clutched once and ignored the catcher’s instruction to throw to first base. On his second clutch, Kellogg threw to third, where third-baseman Michael Benjamin caught the ball and made no attempt to tag Jefferies, as though it was a force-out situation. I doubt Benjamin would have had Jefferies even with an attempted tag, but it might have been different had Kellogg thrown the ball on his first clutch.<br />
<br />
With runners at the corners and nobody out, Pedroza delivered a flyball just shy of the warning track in leftfield, allowing Jefferies to trot in with what would prove to be the game’s only run. Kellogg left the game to a well-deserved ovation from the partisan supporters of both teams.<br />
<br />
When Rossiter singled with one out in the top of the ninth, Hooky wasted no time in bringing in closer Lorenzen. Similar to when Kellogg left the game, fans on both sides gave Garza a hearty ovation for pitching a great game.<br />
<br />
Lorenzen came in blazing – he struck out the two batters he faced to nail down the 1-0 win. It was Lorenzen’s 35th career save – breaking the tie with Chad Cordero and Nick Ramirez and making him Fullerton’s all-time leader. Garza and Lorenzen combined for eleven strikeouts and allowed just four hits.<br />
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<b><u>Game 5: Arizona State Sun Devils 10, Columbia Lions 5</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>This was a typical Sunday afternoon elimination game, with both teams in the losers bracket in a dogfight to see which has enough pitching left to try to climb back into contention, facing the daunting task of subsequently having to beat the undefeated team twice. It really underscores the importance of winning the Saturday night game.<br />
<br />
Columbia fought gallantly and even outhit the Devils, 12-5. From a Titans fan’s perspective, the good news was that the Sun Devils used five pitchers, including their third-best starter, Zak Miller. <br />
<br />
ASU lit up the depleted Columbia pitching staff for all ten runs in the first four innings, including home runs by Coffman and Nate Causy. The Devils enjoyed the largesse of the Lions’ first two pitchers, with ten runs on five hits, four walks and two hit-batsmen in those four innings. Columbia relief pitcher Zak Tax threw five no-hit shutout innings.<br />
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My favorite recollection from this game: sitting behind a couple of ASU fans as their boys were pounding Columbia, they were in adamant agreement that “Fullerton definitely doesn’t want any part of us!” <br />
<br />
We’ll see.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Game 6: Cal State Fullerton Titans 6, Arizona State Sun Devils 1</u></b><br />
<br />
It was a comforting feeling to be sitting in the Titans’ position: it’s Sunday night, the other team has to beat you twice, their pitching staff is running on fumes and you’ve still got your Friday guy ready to go. <br />
<br />
The Titans’ Thomas Eshelman was matched with ASU sophomore Adam McCreery, a 6-9 sophomore left-handed pitcher from Bonita High School in lovely La Verne – a teammate one year ahead of Garza. He has a live arm but has yet to establish control, yielding a disproportionate number of walks and hit-batsmen. With the patience of the Titans’ offense, you knew this was not a match-up favorable to Arizona State.<br />
<br />
It was actually painful to watch McCreery pitch – he was nowhere near the plate. First inning walks to Pedroza, Chapman and J.D. Davis loaded the bases for Lorenzen, who sharply lined a two-run single into rightfield to give the Titans a quick 2-0 lead. With two outs, Velazquez walked to re-load the bases and Jefferies followed with an RBI walk. The Titans scored three runs on one hit and five walks in the first inning, with McCreery throwing 46 pitches before Eshelman threw his first.<br />
<br />
After a quick 1-2-3 bottom of the first, McCreery returned to the hill and showed no better command. There was a scary moment when Lopez was hit in the helmet on a high, inside fastball. When Chapman followed with a walk, ASU coach Tim Esmay had seen enough and called right-handed side-armer Josh McAlister from the bullpen.<br />
<br />
Davis jumped on McAlister right away with an RBI single that scored Lopez and sent Chapman to third. Lorenzen executed a perfect squeeze bunt and Chapman scored to make it 5-0 – a very comfortable feeling with Eshelman and the orange jerseys working for you.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1I_iVCzt4e8-5Ryn1g9iLqdn-G1PGGhrMKCeh4lpPsM_hbeAGF4YtdMI1qe1W7Baqdd5ZVvFrJt6zlP2Q3C5YZEdsjQmwzvrZOHi36RfAzB4734b27KDMM7ZxbNn2ZfOpgzeW6dJoYx03/s1600/eshf.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1I_iVCzt4e8-5Ryn1g9iLqdn-G1PGGhrMKCeh4lpPsM_hbeAGF4YtdMI1qe1W7Baqdd5ZVvFrJt6zlP2Q3C5YZEdsjQmwzvrZOHi36RfAzB4734b27KDMM7ZxbNn2ZfOpgzeW6dJoYx03/s320/eshf.png" height="233" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eshelman mows down ASU<br />
<i>(Fullertontitans.com)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Eshelman threw strikes in his habitual machine-like manner. McAlister got into trouble in the third but escaped with the bases loaded and no runs across for Fullerton.<br />
<br />
It felt like a one-sided game, but McAlister pitched great and the Sun Devils scored a run in the bottom of the fourth against Eshelman. Rossiter lined a one-out sinking line drive that Lorenzen made a diving attempt to catch when it appeared certain to be a single – the ball went by him for a triple. Allen singled with two outs to drive in Rossiter with ASU’s only run of the game. <br />
<br />
Not much else happened. Much has been written elsewhere about incidents that happened in the stands – I wasn’t anywhere near it, so I’ll leave it to others to describe and opine. My focus was directed towards the game and the team – and I was very pleased with the outcome.<br />
<br />
Eshelman scattered seven hits over eight innings of work, striking out seven and walking – yes, you guessed it – zero. Tyler Peitzmeier finished it off with an easy 1-2-3 ninth inning.<br />
<br />
The Titans and Devils both had six hits, but the Titans were aided by eleven walks and two hit-batsmen – Eshelman and Peitzmeier had zero walks and hit-batsmen. The Titans definitely won the WTF battle in this game.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Game 7 Reflections: “Not Necessary”</u></b><br />
<br />
I save the ticket stubs from every game. There is no better ticket than the one that goes unused because the Titans have already clinched a series.<br />
<br />
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3243779294032967497#learn"><b><u>So what did we learn in the Regionals?</u></b></a> <br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3243779294032967497#learn"><b><u><br /></u></b></a>Even though the pitching had been dominant throughout the season, there is always that bit of uncertainty when the playoffs begin. Wiest came in after three weekends of shaky performances (most notably at Riverside and Northridge) – it was huge for him to set the tone for the Regionals with a complete game victory and no walks allowed. <br />
<br />
There is also the uncertainty of how freshmen pitchers will pitch in the pressure of nationally televised playoff games and at that juncture of the season when there is concern that they will “hit the wall” as they amass innings and pitch totals far beyond their pre-collegiate experience. But Garza and Eshelman certainly were outstanding.<br />
<br />
In total, the pitching staff allowed just two runs and zero walks in 27 innings in the Regionals. Besides their obvious talents and skills, I think Eshelman and Garza were well prepared by the number of road games played against quality opponents in hostile environments, plus they had each pitched in televised games during the regular season. It’s cliché to say “they are no longer freshmen,” but it is obvious they both demonstrate the pitching command and maturity of juniors or seniors.<br />
<br />
I liked how Paul Lo Duca made several mentions how much Wiest has contributed to the rapid development of both freshmen phenoms.<br />
<br />
Pitching and defense are what wins championships – but defense doesn’t seem to matter much when they select the All Regionals team. Congratulations to Wiest, Garza, Chapman (4-for-10, 3 RBI home run), Davis (4-for-11, 4 RBI) and Jefferies (2-for-7, huge hit and scored only run in crucial winners bracket game) for their selections, with Garza named MVP – all well-deserved honors. <br />
<br />
New Mexico’s Holley batted .571 (4-for-7), while Pedroza was just 1-for-10 and scored three runs. But Pedroza was spectacular on defense and was a HUGE factor in the Titans’ wins, while Holley made three errors and almost single-handedly kicked away the opening game against Arizona State.<br />
<br />
Pedroza didn’t hit for much, but he got on base with walks and drove in the game’s only run with a sacrifice fly to beat ASU in the 1-0 game on Saturday night/Sunday morning. I understand how they try to have at least one player from each team and that Holley’s offensive numbers were outstanding, but if you actually watched the games and didn’t just scan the stats sheet, Pedroza was the obvious choice.<br />
<br />
Overall – including the regular season games and this weekend’s series – I wasn’t greatly impressed by Lo Duca. He was strong in certain areas – good insights on in-game action and strategies, plus he exhibited absolutely no bias towards Arizona State, his alma mater. (If anything, he sounded like a Fullerton sycophant.)<br />
<br />
But I don’t think the ESPNU broadcast team did much homework. Lo Duca worked five Fullerton games (regular season games against Long Beach State and UC Irvine, plus the three games in Regionals) and told the exact same stories each time about the Titans players whose dads he knew from MLB. (Paul, we get it: Jake learned to swing the bat under water and Chad used to be your batboy but now is a foot taller than you.) But every other player has a story to be told, not just the kids of guys who played with you on the Mets or coached you on the Dodgers. Not once did I hear any mention on ESPNU of Nick Hurtado or why #56 was so ubiquitously on display – contrast that with the FSN West telecast of the second UCI game that talked about Nick’s passing and what it has meant to his teammates.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oKIEHpDAJxTnCpddeVoPZ9myXv7uT97mfYv33tOuD5TZv21wBCnyqdXl-BMRSNlJcBAASCE1XEPrTxoWWORiM3ERBfZZ9qGW3BPxZ69xnCovt51pSppG_D_NaKZ4VjHZuffSzAJi4uh4/s1600/glove.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oKIEHpDAJxTnCpddeVoPZ9myXv7uT97mfYv33tOuD5TZv21wBCnyqdXl-BMRSNlJcBAASCE1XEPrTxoWWORiM3ERBfZZ9qGW3BPxZ69xnCovt51pSppG_D_NaKZ4VjHZuffSzAJi4uh4/s320/glove.png" height="320" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Glove Man earns lots of airtime<br />
<i>(Photo: Jorge Lopez)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was ready to let Lo Duca off the hook when he told the heart-warming story about Columbia designated hitter Joey Falcone celebrating his 27th birthday – which makes him even older than Carlos! – and how he had done three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan as a military medic. It was an incredible story about a remarkable young man – after I heard it, I stood and applauded every time Falcone came to bat – but then I realized the only reason LoDuca knew about it was because he had played with the kid’s father, Pete Falcone, who pitched for the Giants, Mets, Cardinals and Braves.<br />
<br />
I’m still not sure Lo Duca has figured out that “the guy with the big glove” is a heckler … he made numerous mentions to him having “the biggest glove I’ve ever seen” to catch foul balls hit into the stands. <br />
<br />
Lo Duca is one of the players I respect most for “owning” his inclusion in the Mitchell Report and publicly apologizing for his “mistakes in judgment.” He is an earnest guy and a likeable personality – I would like to see him work harder at becoming a student of color commentary if he is going to make that his vocation. Conversely, FSN West’s John Jackson did an amazing job in Game 2 of the UCI series, providing insightful commentary and a deep bench of stories about players and coaches from both teams.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pedroza named BWC top defender<br />
<i>(Fullertontitans.com)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The honors keep stacking up for the Titans. Congratulations to Eshelman and Lorenzen (utility, recognized as two-way player) for being amongst the seventeen players named Louisville Slugger first team All-Americans, while Garza was named second team All-American. Eshelman and Garza were both named this week to Collegiate Baseball’s Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team, with Eshelman named Freshman Pitcher of the Year.<br />
<br />
Lorenzen and Eshelman are also Golden Spikes Award semi-finalists. Lorenzen is also a semi-finalist for the John Olerud Award (best two-way player) and Dick Howser Trophy (best closer).<br />
<br />
The Titans also dominated Big West Conference honors, with Rick Vanderhook named Coach of the Year; Garza was Pitcher of the Year; Eshelman was Freshman Pitcher of the Year; Lopez was Co-Field Player of the Year; and Pedroza was Defensive Player of the Year. First-team All Big West first team honorees included Lorenzen, Pedroza and Lopez, while Chapman, Chad Wallach and Austin Diemer were on the second team. Wiest, Koby Gauna and Tyler Peitzmeier received honorable mention accolades.<br />
<br />
Of all the awards recognition, my favorite might be Carlos Lopez being named third-team Capital One Academic All-America honors, just the second Titans baseball player to earn this distinction. Carlos also has a slim lead in voting for the Senior CLASS Award – <a href="http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/DI_baseball_2013/">have you voted today</a>? <br />
<br />
And on Thursday night, Michael Lorenzen became the 15th Titan to be taken in the first or sandwich round when the Cincinnati Reds selected him 38th overall. He's the first Titans to go in the top round since both Christian Colon (No. 4) and Gary Brown (No. 24) were taken in the first round in 2010.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vedo: Stupid words</td></tr>
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Do you remember Matt Vedo? <a href="http://fullertonbaseball.blogspot.com/2012/05/titans-great-escape-out-of-santa.html">We spoke about him here last season</a>: Matt was the UC Santa Barbara pitcher who pitched brilliantly against the Titans in the middle game last season, but then shot his mouth off in the newspaper: “I knew they were a good-hitting team, but I know I have great stuff and I can make hitters look stupid. I made some of their better hitters look stupid, and I was loving it.”<br />
<br />
It was kind of a dumb thing to say in the press – especially since the series wasn’t finished. Karma bit Vedo in the ass the next day when his comments became bulletin board fodder and the Titans and their traveling fans broke out of their somnambulant state when Vedo entered the finale in the seventh inning of a 3-3 game. He got lit up for six runs (one in the eighth and five in the ninth) and grabbed his crotch and gestured with his junk towards the Titans side of the stands. After the 9-3 win, Hooky told the same reporter, “Number 27 popped off and said ‘it was fun making them look stupid (on Saturday), so I think we made him look a little stupider today.”<br />
<br />
Didn’t you just know karma would bite Drew Stankiewicz in the ass when he made comments in the Arizona newspaper the week before the Regionals: “Fullerton is just another team on our way. The only thing that’s going to be special is my grandparents live in Fullerton, and they’re going to see me play.”<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stankiewicz: Stupid words II</td></tr>
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I can understand lingering bitterness or resentment by Stankiewicz, who had signed a letter of intent with Fullerton out of Gilbert High School but was released following the Serrano-to-Vanderhook coaching transition and subsequently signed with ASU. It’s completely understandable that he would have added impetus to show that the incoming coaching staff had made a huge mistake … but the best way to do that is with your actions on the field, not with your words through the press. <br />
<br />
After making himself the lightning rod for attention, how did Stanky perform in the four games he played? He went 0-for-12 and was mediocre in the field: he made a couple decent plays but also misplayed a few. It was poetic justice that he was the final out in the loss to “just another team.”<br />
<br />
Instead of arguing with the fans, ASU pitching coach Ken Knutson might think about teaching his pitchers how to keep runners close using a slide-step. I felt badly for both Kellogg and McCreery for the incessant signals from the dugout to throw over to first to hold runners close. Notwithstanding irritating the crowd – who cares about that? – it took the pitchers out of their rhythm, took away their focus on the batter, consumed throwing energy, got the ASU fielders back on their heels and probably also impacted the ball/strike calls.<br />
<br />
So much for last weekend – this UCLA series ought to be epic. I have seen computer projections and message board polls that favor the Titans, but I believe this series is virtually a 50/50 coin flip: two virtually mirror image teams with dominating pitching, outstanding defense, opportunistic offenses and great coaching.<br />
<br />
There are two factoids that have me encouraged: the Titans are 9-1 against the Pac-11 and are riding a ten-game winning streak, their fourth such streak of the season.<br />
<br />
There are also two factoids that scare the shit out of me: the Titans are 9-1 against the Pac-11 and are riding a ten-game winning streak, their fourth such streak of the season.<br />
<br />
The Garza vs. Kellogg match-up was fantastic, but the Friday match-up between Garza and UCLA’s Adam Plutko takes it to another level. Plutko is 5-0 in his five career playoff starts, with an ERA of 0.97 – you can’t underestimate the importance of experience in these games as the stakes continue to get higher.<br />
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Eshelman against Nick Vander Tuig before a jam-packed sellout crowd on Saturday night should also be fantastic. It will be interesting to see how the Titans offense adapts to facing right-handed pitchers in the first two games after facing three southpaws in the Regionals. Anthony Hutting and Austin Kingsolver will get an opportunity to become offensive factors as the left-handed component of the corner outfield platoons.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the biggest weapon the Bruins hold, besides the post-season experience of their starting pitchers, is closer David Berg, the first reliever ever to be honored as Pac-11 Pitcher of the Year on the strength of a 6-0 record with 20 saves, ERA of 0.81, and a 69-7 strikeouts-to-walks ratio in 67 innings pitched. That is a staggering amount of innings for a closer – compare to 22-2/3 by Lorenzen. If you want to beat UCLA, you’d better be ahead by the sixth inning – after that, you’ll face formidable headwinds in the late innings against Berg and set-up men James Kaprielian and Zack Weiss. The Sheriff is obviously not afraid to bring Berg into the game earlier than most closers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UCI Super Fan pulling for Titans</td></tr>
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Finally, I wanted to share a note I received the day before the Regionals from Keith Franklin, better known as “The UCI Superfan.” To me, Keith is the epitome of a great college baseball fan – he fervently roots for his team from first pitch to last, first game to last, whether they are ahead or getting their asses kicked. And win or lose, he is the first guy to shake hands and extend congratulations and best wishes to the fans of UCI’s opponents. <br />
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<i style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Subject: Best Wishes from Irvine</i><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><i><br /></i><i>Donny Boy, now's the time, perpetuate destiny. You and your Titan comrades on the terraces are the bugle sound the charge for the boys, smell the muskets and the horses’ breath and dispel all who oppose you into certain death.</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><i><br /></i><i>With love from Superfan</i></span><br />
<br />
To me, it’s what makes college baseball such a great experience that transcends mere winning and losing. Whether it’s The UCI Superfan, Dr. Dan from Long Beach State, “Tempe Tim,” the witty hecklers from Texas A&M and University of Arizona, the Cal Poly parents, the UCLA and USC alums, the incredibly hospitable people at LSU and Southern Mississippi, etc., I truly treasure meeting and befriending fans whose passion for the sport is simply directed towards a different set of young student-athletes. Not every kid can be lucky enough to be a Titan!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-19243260256998119942013-06-01T23:24:00.000-07:002013-06-02T17:25:43.660-07:00Garza Bears Down Against Sun Devils<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4ZtSI4XAr4c" width="500"></iframe><br />
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Justin Garza strikes out Michael Benjamin on 3 pitches to strand ASU's tying run on 3rd in Titans' 1-0 win in Fullerton Regional.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-32254287964636965202013-05-31T23:21:00.000-07:002013-06-02T17:25:56.905-07:00Wiest Finishes Off Masterpiece<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/j7RS3GKYDcU" width="500"></iframe>
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Grahamm Wiest gets an assist from Matt Chapman and then completes 3-hitter as Titans defeat Columbia 4-1 in Fullerton Regional opener.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-85810603270766386972013-05-31T07:40:00.000-07:002013-05-31T07:40:52.588-07:00Fullerton Regional: New Mexico Preview<b><i>By FullertonBaseballFan</i></b><br />
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<b>No. 3 Seed – New Mexico Lobos</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Overall Record – 37-20</li>
<li>Conference Record – 25-5 (1st place) in the Mountain West Conference</li>
<li>How they qualified for a regional – At-large</li>
<li>Last regional appearance – 2012. 1-2 at UCLA regional. Win against San Diego, losses to UCLA and Creighton. </li>
<li>RPI/ISR – 51/38 (Fullerton opponent ISR comparison – UCSB 31, Texas A&M 43)</li>
<li>SOS – 115 (RPI)/85 (ISR)</li>
<li>Record vs. tournament field – 7-7. Non-conference – 1-2 vs. Oklahoma State, 0-1 at Arizona State, 1-1 at Arkansas. Conference – 5-3 vs. San Diego State.</li>
<li>Record vs. top 50/top 100 RPI – 1-5/14-11</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Season Summary</b><br />
<br />
Ray Birmingham arrived in Albuquerque for the 2008 season after a long and successful career coaching at the JC level and immediately changed the culture of the program and had New Mexico in a regional in his third season in 2010, when they played at Fullerton and beat Stanford in their first regional game since 1962 before losing their next two games to Minnesota and Fullerton. The Lobos had a rebuilding year in 2011 when they won only sixteen regular season games but got hot in the MWC tournament and upset heavily favored TCU twice to win the conference’s automatic bid and had Arizona State on the ropes in the opening game of the regional in Tempe before the Sun Devils came back late to win and they lost their next game to Arkansas. New Mexico was much better in 2012 and shared the regular season championship with TCU and rolled to the MWC tournament title by outscoring their three opponents 40-5 and defeated San Diego in their opening game at the UCLA regional before losing to UCLA and Creighton to be eliminated.<br />
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New Mexico expected to have a strong team this season because they were returning their four best hitters from 2012, including All-American DJ Peterson, and were nationally ranked in some of the pre-season polls despite losing two of their best starting pitchers. The Lobos got off to a slow start at 2-6 after losing their opening series at home to Oklahoma State, losing two out of three games in a tournament at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and losing both games at Nebraska and split four games against UC Riverside in their last non-conference series. New Mexico was only 6-9 going into their MWC schedule when they started playing much better and won two out of three games in each of their first four series, swept their next four series, won two out of three at Fresno State and swept their series at San Diego State to end the regular season on an 18-2 roll with a 25-5 conference record to win the regular season title by seven games. The Lobos won their first two games in the MWC tournament against Nevada and UNLV before running out of pitching and losing twice to San Diego State 8-7 and 9-4 as the Aztecs won the tournament and the conference’s automatic bid.<br />
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<br />
<b>Offense</b><br />
<br />
· Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 133 (increases offense by 33%). Albuquerque is a mile above sea level and New Mexico doesn’t use a humidor like the Colorado Rockies do to keep the ball from flying out of the yard.<br />
· Batting Average – .336 (NCAA ranking – 1st, conference ranking 1st); .354 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Scoring – 479 (1, 1), 8.4 runs per game; 279 (1st), 9.3 runs per game in conf. games.<br />
· Home Runs – 52 (17, 1); 33 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Slugging Percentage – .510 (2, 1); .560 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· On Base Percentage – .424 (1, 1); .436 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Walks – 282 (11, 1), 4.9 per game; 147 (1st), 4.9 per game in conf. games.<br />
· HBP’s – 61 (113, 4); 26 in conf. games (5th).<br />
· Stolen Bases – 71-98 (105, 2); 30-49 in conf. games (3rd).<br />
· Sac Bunts – 49 (88, 3); 30 in conf. games (3rd).<br />
· Strikeouts – 346 (DNR, 6), 6.1 per game; 167 (6th), 5.6 per game in conf. games.<br />
<br />
New Mexico had the best offense in the country this season and led the nation in scoring, batting, and on base percentage and was second in slugging. Playing at elevation and in a conference where four of the six ballparks significantly inflate offense has helped them to put up those types of lofty numbers but that type of production isn’t a fluke. The Lobos have been held to four runs or less only thirteen times this season. New Mexico has a sound hitting philosophy where they are very patient and wait for their pitch and when they get it they usually don’t miss it because they are eleventh in the country in walks but had the fewest strikeouts in their conference. New Mexico will also play some little ball with five players having six or more SAC bunts and four players having at least eight stolen bases.<br />
<br />
<b>Batting Order</b><br />
<br />
RF – JC transfer #12 Chase Harris (RH – .328/.380/.470, 5-48-19) came into the program this season and has literally hit the ground running and is second in the MWC in stolen bases and is also among the conference leaders in R, H, 2B, HR and RBI. He is an aggressive hitter who doesn’t walk much with a 16/35 BB/K but makes up for it with the power that he provides as a leadoff hitter. Harris is a good bunter and will also try to use his speed to bunt for hits and has six SAC bunts.<br />
<br />
2B – FR #5 Sam Haggerty (Both – .280/.418/.379, 1-32-4) was the Co-FR of the Year in the MWC and 2nd team all-conference as an all-around solid player offensively and defensively. He does an excellent job of getting on base and was second in the MWC in runs. Haggerty will work counts and see lots of pitches, drawing lots of walks as the leader in the conference in that area and also striking out quite a bit with a 47/45 BB/K ratio. He is an excellent bunter and led the MWC with fifteen SAC bunts so he will often be asked to bunt runners over.<br />
<br />
1B – JR #33 DJ Peterson (RH – .411/.525/.823, 18-70-5) has been one of the best hitters in the country over the last two seasons and also hit over .400 in 2012 with 17 HR and 78 RBI. He is in the top ten nationally in AVG, R, 2B, HR, RBI, SLG and OBP, will be one of the finalists for the Golden Spikes award for the national player of the year and will be a first round pick in the MLB draft next week. Peterson has excellent plate discipline for a power hitter with a 46/32 BB/K ratio and teams have showed him a great deal of respect by intentionally walking him sixteen times instead of letting him beat them.<br />
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C – SR #10 Mitch Garver (RH – .387/.455/.580, 5-65-12) is a three year starter and the leader of the team who has done an excellent job of providing protection in the lineup for Peterson and was Co-MVP of the MWC with him. Garver led the conference in hits, was second in the MWC in AVG and RBI and was also among the leaders in the conference in R, 2B, 3B, HR, SLG and OBP. He is a versatile player with good speed for a catcher and was also in the top ten in the MWC in SB’s. Garver has good plate discipline and had a solid 27/33 BB/K ratio. He is a semi-finalist for the Johnny Bench Award for the national catcher of the year and the MLB scouts have also noticed his ability and he will be drafted in the 7th-10th rounds next week as a good SR signing.<br />
<br />
DH – Soph #3 Alex Real (RH – .320/.405/.524, 8-36-2) only hit .271 as a FR but has stepped up his game this season and was among the MWC leaders in HR’s and SLG as a power threat in the middle of the lineup. Real didn’t hit much in non-conference games but had a strong conference season when he hit .349 with 6 HR’s and a .624 SLG% and was second team All-MWC. He will see lots of pitches and also swing at lots of pitches and had a 27/40 BB/K ratio. Soph #34 Ryan Padilla (LH – .270/.396/.443, 3-18-0) hit .353 as a FR but hasn’t hit as well this season and has become the fourth OF and part-time DH and would be the most likely batter called upon to pinch-hit late in a game.<br />
<br />
CF – SR #24 Josh Melendez (RH – .335/.434/.491, 3-41-13) came into the program as a JC transfer in 2012 and had an immediate impact, hitting .349, and has continued to hit this season and was among the conference leaders in R, H, 2B, 3B, RBI and OBP and was 1st team All-MWC. He is another patient hitter who had a strong 36/34 BB/K ratio and was third in the conference in walks. Melendez also has good speed and was among the MWC leaders in SB’s and will sometimes try to drop a bunt down for a hit and has six SAC bunts.<br />
<br />
LF – SR #18 Luke Campbell (RH – .382/.447/.602, 7-49-8) hit .301 and was third on the team in AVG as a JC transfer in 2011 but had to redshirt last year when he was injured a week before the season started. He has been busy making up for lost time and was 2nd team All-MWC after finishing among the conference leaders in AVG, R, H, 2B, HR, RBI and SLG. Campbell doesn’t walk much but doesn’t strike out much either with a solid 18/20 BB/K ratio.<br />
<br />
3B – SR #4 Alex Albritton (RH – .321/.353/.418, 2-38-3) is one of the team leaders with Garver as a four year starter who has played all over the infield during his career. He didn’t hit much in his first three years with a .250 AVG but has had a good SR season that was recognized by the conference coaches who voted him first team All-MWC. He has below average plate discipline with an 11/35 BB/K ratio. Albritton is a good bunter with 23 SAC bunts over the last three seasons, including seven this year.<br />
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SS – FR #6 Jared Holley (RH – .280/.385/.320, 0-18-3) is a little guy who is about the same size as Fullerton’s Richy Pedroza and has the same scrappy approach to playing the game. He doesn’t have much power with only six extra base hits (all 2B’s) and doesn’t walk much but does a good job of making contact and has a 13/22 BB/K ratio. Holley is an excellent bunter and was third in the MWC with twelve SAC bunts.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Defense</b><br />
<br />
· Fielding – .969 (113, 2) – 70 errors, 48 unearned runs. .974 (2nd) with 31 errors in conf. games. New Mexico is a decent fielding team that did a better job during conference play. Peterson and Albritton are solid on the corners and have been used to playing more challenging positions earlier in their careers. Haggerty and Holley have good range up the middle and were second and third in the MWC in assists but they are FR and have combined to make 26 errors. Campbell, Melendez and Harris have good range because OF’s need to with the way the ball flies all over the park at New Mexico. The pitchers have been their own worst enemies because they have made sixteen errors.<br />
<br />
· Stolen Base Attempts – 58-81 (DNR, 4). Garver has a solid arm and runners are 47-64 on stolen base attempts against him.<br />
<br />
· WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 76 (DNR, 6). Garver does not do a good job of blocking pitches and New Mexico allowed the most WP’s/PB’s in the MWC.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Pitching</b><br />
<br />
Pitchers don’t have an easy go of it trying to get hitters out in the launching pad at New Mexico but every season there are a few pitchers for the Lobos who put up solid numbers while the rest of the staff struggles and this year is no different. New Mexico has only had one reliable starter for most of the year but had an excellent trio of relievers who were able to shorten games while the offense bashed their way to wins until one of those relievers was moved into the rotation three weeks ago and became another viable starter.<br />
<ul>
<li>ERA – 5.03 (221/4); 4.65 in conference (2nd). </li>
<li>AVG – .284 (196/3); .284 in conference (3rd). </li>
<li>HR – 36 (DNR/6); 14 in conference (1st). </li>
<li>SLG – .404 (DNR/4); .390 in conference (3rd). </li>
<li>Walks – 223 (188/4), 3.9 BB’s/9 IP; 102 (3rd) in conference, 3.4 BB’s/9 IP. </li>
<li>HBP – 66 (DNR/3); 43 in conference (1st). </li>
<li>OBP – .370 (DNR/4); .369 in conference (3rd). </li>
<li>Strikeouts – 354 (174/5), 6.2 K/9 IP; 158 in conference (6th), 5.3 K/9 IP. </li>
</ul>
<b>Starters</b><br />
<br />
JR #37 Josh Walker (RHP – 11-0, 3.91 ERA, 7 saves, 28 apps, 3 GS, 1 CG, 71 IP, 72 H, 18 BB, 52 K, .268 AVG, 4 HR, 5 HBP, 1 WP, 2-3 SB) is in the top ten nationally in wins despite not starting a game until three weeks ago and ended up finishing third in the MWC in appearances and saves. Walker has been effective all season with a 3.05 ERA except for one disastrous outing against San Diego State when he allowed seven runs to inflate his ERA by almost a run. He was moved into the rotation three weeks ago as New Mexico attempted to find anybody to get outs as a weekend starter and he has been solid with a 3-0 record and a 2.38 ERA in his three starts, throwing a shutout at Fresno State, allowing three runs in five innings at San Diego State and allowing three runs in 8 2/3 IP against Nevada in the MWC tournament. Walker throws from a low 3/4 arm slot that makes it tough on hitters to pick up the ball and has an upper 80’s fastball and a slider. He does a very good job of holding runners.<br />
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SR #7 Sam Wolff (RHP – 7-3, 3.05 ERA, 15 GS, 86 IP, 78 H, 36 BB, 78 K, .244 AVG, 5 HR, 7 HBP, 9 WP, 14-22 SB) has been the one constant in the weekend rotation, has had an excellent SR season and was voted first team All-MWC after finishing among the conference leaders in W’s, ERA, IP, K’s and AVG. He was especially tough in MWC games, where he went 5-1 with a 2.21 ERA, and has allowed three runs or less in each of his last ten starts including four straight starts in which he only allowed one run. Wolff has been tough to hit and has only given up fifteen hits in his last 33 IP over his last five starts. He wasn’t striking out many hitters earlier in the season but has been averaging a strikeout per inning over his last four starts. Wolff isn’t a big guy but throws hard with a fastball that sits in the 93-95 range along with a solid changeup and breaking ball but sometimes runs into control issues and averages about three walks allowed per game. He doesn’t do a good job of holding runners so that is something to keep an eye on. Wolff is expected to drafted in the 8th-10th round next week as a good SR signing.<br />
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FR #20 Drew Bridges (RHP – 3-1, 4.46 ERA, 11 apps, 9 GS, 42 IP, 37 H, 18 BB, 21 K, .247 AVG, 1 HR, 6 HBP, 4 WP, 2-3 SB) would be one of the options to start a third game this weekend. He is a tall guy with some upside but has been inconsistent and hasn’t thrown more than five innings in a start since his best outing of the season when he allowed no runs in 5 1/3 IP at Arkansas. Bridges was taken out last Saturday after allowing two runs on five hits in three innings to San Diego State in the MWC tournament. He has struggled with his control and doesn’t have a swing miss pitch to put hitters away.<br />
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JC transfer #28 A.J. Carman (RHP – 1-1, 6.05 ERA, 14 GS, 58 IP, 70 H, 28 BB, 24 K, .307 AVG, 3 HR, 6 HBP, 5 WP, 10-15 SB) would be the other option to make a start this weekend but would be on a very short leash because he hasn’t gotten out of the fourth inning in any of his last four starts. He isn’t a hard thrower and doesn’t have good control, which results in him putting too many runners on base by walks and guys hitting the ball around the yard against him.<br />
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<b>Relievers</b><br />
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New Mexico had three excellent options to go to when Walker was the closer but they had to move somebody into the rotation to give stabilize things. They still have a good RHP/LHP combo in the bullpen in the set-up and closer roles but things thin out in a hurry after that.<br />
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SR #2 Gabe Aguilar (LHP – 5-2, 2.55 ERA, 3 saves, 27 apps, 35 IP, 29 H, 9 BB, 37 K, .232 AVG, 2 HR, 6 HBP, 4 WP, 5-5 SB) inherited the closer’s role from Walker and has had an excellent season after only throwing five innings in 2012 and was first team All-MWC. He has a funky sidearm motion that is especially tough on LH hitters that has allowed him to strike out a batter per inning despite not being a hard thrower. New Mexico has gone to Aguilar often this season and he was fourth in the conference in appearances.<br />
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SR #29 Hobie McClain (RHP – 3-1, 4.44 ERA, 1 save, 30 apps, 47 IP, 49 H, 19 BB, 33 K, .274 AVG, 2 HR, 12 HBP, 4 WP, 2-2 SB) also throws from a sidearm slot that makes it tough on RH hitters but LH hitters have hit well against him. He has control issues, averaging about 3 1/2 walks per 9 IP, and was among the MWC leaders in HBP’s. McClain has also taken the ball often and was second in the conference in appearances.<br />
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<b>Other relievers</b><br />
<br />
JC transfer #11 Jonathan Cuellar (RHP – 2-1, 5.87 ERA, 1 save, 17 apps, 2 GS, 38 IP, 50 H, 14 BB, 19 K, .323 AVG, 3 HR, 6 HBP, 5 WP, 6-9 SB)<br />
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JR #38 Jake McCasland (RHP – 1-1, 5.09 ERA, 1 save, 16 apps, 18 IP, 19 H, 8 BB, 16 K, .279 AVG, 0 HR, 4 HBP, 6 WP, 2-3 SB)<br />
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JR #58 Josh McAlister (RHP – 0-1, 1.29 ERA, 11 apps, 14 IP, 11 H, 7 BB, 9 K, .220 AVG, 0 HR, 2 HBP, 0 WP, 1-1 SB)<br />
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Soph #26 Alex Estrella (LHP – 0-1, 6.68 ERA, 1 save, 17 apps, 5 GS, 32 IP, 41 H, 12 BB, 21 K, .311 AVG, 5 HR, 1 HBP, 6 WP, 0-0 SB)<br />
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JC transfer #19 Kevin Baumgartner (LHP – 2-5, 8.35 ERA, 12 apps, 6 GS, 32 IP, 47 H, 10 BB, 22 K, .333 AVG, 5 HR, 3 HBP, 3 WP, 10-11 SB)<br />
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SR #41 Will Mathis (LHP – 0-4, 8.05 ERA, 21 apps, 19 IP, 32 H, 11 BB, 15 K, .376 AVG, 2 HR, 4 HBP, 6 WP, 1-2 SB)<br />
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<br />
<b>Outlook</b><br />
<br />
New Mexico didn’t start the season off well, struggling with some good opponents (Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Nebraska) and went 1-5 against those teams and even split four games at home with Riverside, one of bottom three teams in the Big West conference. The light bulb went on for the Lobos once they got into conference play and they have been playing well since then until getting upset twice by San Diego State last weekend. The question for New Mexico is going to be which team shows up, the one that struggled against better competition in non-conference games or the one that usually drilled lesser opponents in the MWC but they will not be psyched out by playing on the big stage because this is the fourth straight season that they have played in a regional. Moving Walker into the rotation gives the Lobos a chance to put together solid starts in the first two games and that could potentially make them one of the final two teams left standing this weekend but the depth in the rotation drops off of the cliff after that. New Mexico would probably have to bash their way to wins on Sunday and potentially Monday but Fullerton and ASU figure to have enough offense and too much pitching depth, especially Fullerton, for the Lobos to advance out of the regional and into a super regional next weekend.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-35528105174254717292013-05-30T06:48:00.000-07:002013-05-30T06:49:11.408-07:00Fullerton Regional: Arizona State Preview<b><i>By FullertonBaseballFan</i></b><br />
<br />
<b>No. 2 Seed – Arizona State Sun Devils</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Overall Record – 35-20-1</li>
<li>Conference Record – 16-14 (4th place, tied with Stanford)</li>
<li>How they qualified for a regional – At-large</li>
<li>Last regional appearance – 2011. 3-0 at Arizona State regional – wins against New Mexico, Charlotte and Arkansas. 1-2 vs. Texas at Austin super regional. Ineligible for post-season in 2012.</li>
<li>RPI/ISR – 21/17 (Fullerton opponent ISR comparison – Cal Poly 18)</li>
<li>SOS – 30 (RPI)/12 (ISR)</li>
<li>Record vs. tournament field – 12-5. Non-conference – 2-0 vs. Arkansas, 2-0 at Wichita State, 1-0 vs. New Mexico, 2-1 vs. Valparaiso. Conference – 2-1 vs. Oregon, 2-1 vs. UCLA, 1-2 at Oregon State.</li>
<li>Record vs. top 50/top 100 RPI – 7-4/17-12</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Season Summary</b><br />
<br />
Unlike the other two teams who are traveling to Fullerton this weekend, Arizona State is traditionally one of the elite programs in the country and when you ask somebody to name some of the best college baseball programs, ASU will be on the short list of names that comes up. The Sun Devils have made 36 regional appearances, won five national championships and have gone to Omaha eleven times since their most recent College World Series title in 1981, including four times in six years between 2005 and 2010, and they have won at least 30 games for fifty straight seasons. ASU played in regionals twelve straight times from 2000 to 2011 until they were placed on probation for violations committed by former head coach Pat Murphy and were ineligible for the post-season in 2012 so they came into this season looking to make amends and start a new post-season streak.<br />
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ASU lost their four leading home run hitters, their best starting pitcher and their closer from 2012 but a program like ASU doesn’t rebuild, they reload and that is exactly what they did with a consensus top ten recruiting class. The Sun Devils got the season started by winning series at home against Bethune-Cookman and on the road at Tennessee before hosting a tournament that included Arkansas, whom they beat twice, Pacific, whom they beat once, and Gonzaga, whom they tied due to a travel curfew. ASU improved their record to 11-2-1 going into conference play when they swept Long Beach at home and won a midweek game against New Mexico in extra innings.<br />
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ASU got off to a slow start in Pac 11 play by losing their first two series to Washington State and at Oregon State, the highlight of which was a no-hitter by FR LHP Ryan Kellogg at OSU. The Sun Devils returned home and re-established themselves as one of the better teams in the conference when they won their series against UCLA and Oregon, which got them started on a 16-5 run that included series wins against USC, Valparaiso and Utah and wins in five of six midweek games. ASU has not been playing well over the last month and is only 6-7 during that time while losing three of their four weekend series, which includes losing a series at home to Stanford, winning a series at Cal and losing series at home to Arizona and at Washington to end the regular season.<br />
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<br />
<b>Offense</b><br />
<br />
· Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 118 (increases offense by 18%). The elevation at Packard Stadium is almost 1200 feet high so the ball flies out of the ballpark, especially in the short power alleys at 365 feet. The grass on the playing surface is kept short and gets rock hard when the weather warms up so balls get through the infield quickly.<br />
· Batting Average – .296 (NCAA ranking – 41, conference ranking 1st); .289 in conf. games (2nd).<br />
· Scoring – 360 (44, 2), 6.4 runs per game; 183 (2nd), 6.1 runs per game in conf. games.<br />
· Home Runs – 46 (27, 1); 26 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Slugging Percentage – .450 (21, 1); .441 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· On Base Percentage – .378 (53, 3); .374 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Walks – 212 (168, 4), 3.8 per game; 120 (3rd), 4.0 per game in conf. games.<br />
· HBP’s – 63 (107, 5); 33 in conf. games (3rd).<br />
· Stolen Bases – 43-66 (209, 6); 18-30 in conf. games (8th).<br />
· Sac Bunts – 24 (253, 10); 18 in conf. games (10th).<br />
· Strikeouts – 358 (DNR, 3), 6.4 per game; 184 (4th), 6.1 per game in conf. games.<br />
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Playing little ball isn’t part of ASU’s game plan because they hardly ever bunt to move runners over and don’t attempt to steal bases too often. With their ballpark, that’s not a bad way to run their offense because the Sun Devils go up to the plate looking to swing their bats and hit the ball somewhere – hard – and the result of that philosophy has been the Sun Devils having the best offense in the Pac 11. ASU’s hitters will work counts and see lots of pitches because they walk at a good rate and they also strike out quite a bit. The Sun Devils have played 39 games in the desert or at elevation and have averaged 7.1 runs per game in those games and in the seventeen games they have played at sea level the offense has averaged a more pedestrian 4.8 runs per game and been held to four runs or less in ten of those games.<br />
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<b>Batting Order</b><br />
<br />
CF – JR #8 Kasey Coffman (LH – .335/.431/.532, 7-43-9) only hit .234 as a Soph but is a good athlete who has played up to his ability level this season and is among the leaders in the Pac 11 in AVG, R, H, 3B, HR, RBI, SLG, OBP and total bases and was an All-Pac 11 selection. He has very good plate discipline with a 24/25 BB/K ratio and also leads the team with 12 HBP’s. Coffman has really turned it on in conference games and leads the Pac 11 with a .589 SLG % and six HR’s and has been one of the hottest hitters on the team, going 11-29 over the last two weeks. He has good speed and leads ASU with nine SB’s and will probably be drafted in the teens in the MLB draft.<br />
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3B – JR #9 Michael Benjamin (RH – .349/.377/.569, 8-44-4) hit .322 as a Soph and is another player who has taken a leap forward, increasing his SLG % by almost 150 pts to lead the Pac 11. He is also among the conference leaders in AVG, R, H, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI and total bases and was an All-Pac 11 selection. Benjamin is tied for the lead in Pac 11 games with Coffman with 6 HR’s and leads the conference in runs scored by one over Coffman. He has been productive over the last two weeks with ten RBI in the last seven games. The one area that Benjamin has issues with is his plate discipline because he has a poor 9/47 BB/K ratio and is third in the Pac 11 in strikeouts. He will probably be drafted in the teens in the MLB draft.<br />
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SS – JR #7 James McDonald (Both – .264/.356/.407, 5-35-6) has good power for a middle infielder who isn’t that big with twenty extra base hits. He doesn’t hit for a high average but he is a good run producer with solid plate discipline with a 26/34 BB/K ratio that has been even better in Pac 11 games, where he has an excellent 22/16 BB/K ratio. He has cooled off recently and only gone 5-27 over the last two weeks. McDonald was drafted in the eleventh round out of HS and will probably be drafted in the late teens to early twenties in the MLB draft.<br />
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C – SR #55 Max Rossiter (RH – .279/.377/.363, 1-25-2) was the only returning position player to receive all-conference honors in 2012 and has had a decent year but not quite like he did last season when he hit .326. He has very good plate discipline with a 23/22 BB/K ratio and does a good job of making contact and spraying the ball around the field. Rossiter has only gone 5-28 over the last two weeks but has stayed patient by drawing six walks. He will probably be drafted around the 10th round as a good SR signing and was an honorable mention All-Pac 11 selection.<br />
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DH – Soph #11 Nathaniel Causey (LH – .287/.421/.451, 4-24-1) will start vs. RHP’s and is a big man with solid power potential. He has an excellent 27/22 BB/K ratio for somebody hitting in the middle of the lineup and is second on the team with a .328 AVG in Pac 11 games and has been one of the hotter hitters on the team, going 8-19 with six walks over the last two weeks. FR #14 RJ Ybarra (RH – .315/.372/.514, 5-22-0) will start vs. LHP’s and is one of the team leaders in SLG. Unlike Causey, he has a poor 5/28 BB/K ratio and takes a big swing but when he connects the ball usually goes a long way.<br />
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RF – Soph #20 Trever Allen (RH – .304/.378/.525, 9-48-7) is one of the better athletes on the team with his power/speed combo and leads the team in HR’s and is second in SB’s. He has been one of the better power hitters in the Pac 11 and is among the conference leaders in HR’s, RBI’s, SLG, R and total bases and was an honorable mention All-Pac 11 selection. Allen’s plate discipline is average with a 19/34 BB/K ratio. He has cooled off some recently and only gone 6-27 over the last two weeks. Allen is draft eligible and will probably be the highest drafted position player for ASU in the 8th-10th round range.<br />
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2B – Soph #17 Drew Stankiewicz (Both – .312/.379/.420, 2-25-7) originally committed to Fullerton but changed his mind when there was a change of coaches after 2011. He is hitting much better than he did as a FR when he hit .265 and his plate discipline has been excellent in Pac 11 games with a 13/13 BB/K ratio and he is hitting .318 in conference games. Stankiewicz has good speed and is one of the few threats in the lineup to steal a base.<br />
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1B – FR #13 Dalton DiNatale (LH – .313/.406/.426, 2-25-3) is a big man with quite a bit of potential that figures to develop over the next two seasons. He has a good line drive stroke that figures to turn doubles into HR’s as he gets stronger. DiNatale’s swing can get a little long and he has struck out about 1/4 of the time. He has been hitting well over the last two weeks, going 9-27 with an HR and six RBI.<br />
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LF – Soph #21 Jake Peevyhouse (LH – .261/.369/.415, 2-26-3) has struggled during conference games with a .236 AVG but does a good job of making contact and taking good AB’s with a 23/28 BB/K ratio. He has been hitting better recently with five RBI in his last seven games.<br />
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<br />
<b>Defense</b><br />
<br />
· Fielding – .964 (181, 9) – 83 errors, 54 unearned runs. ASU has underachieved on defense because their players should not be making this many errors. McDonald and Stankiewicz have good range and are second and third in the Pac 11 in assists but those two and Benjamin have combined to make 46 errors, with Stankiewicz making twelve of his errors in Pac 11 games.<br />
DiNatale doesn’t move around that well at 1B. Peevyhouse is average in LF. Coffman in CF and Allen in RF both have good arms and good range.<br />
· Stolen Base Attempts – 88-112 (DNR, 11). Runners are 72-83 against Rossiter and the other three teams in this regional are aggressive on the bases so it could be a long weekend for Rossiter with runners looking to run often against him.<br />
· WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 35 (DNR, 2). Rossiter may have issues throwing out runners but he does an excellent job of blocking pitches in the dirt.<br />
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<br />
<b>Pitching</b><br />
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Friday SP Brady Rodgers and closer Jake Barrett were both third round picks in 2012 so some of the younger pitchers needed to step up and ASU brought in several FR and two of them have moved right into prominent roles on the pitching staff. The Sun Devils were getting solid pitching during the non-conference schedule when they allowed three runs or less in nine out of fourteen games going into Pac 11 play. ASU’s pitching staff started to falter during conference play and the team ERA ballooned up to 5.18 and is next to last in conference play. The Sun Devils are a pitch to contact, ground ball staff and they have allowed the fewest HR’s in the Pac 11 but that has also resulted in lots of chances and errors by their infielders. ASU’s pitchers have tended to be wild and they have allowed the most free bases on walks and HBP’s in the conference.<br />
<ul>
<li>ERA – 4.22 (141/8); 5.18 in conference (10th). </li>
<li>AVG – .264 (79/5); .292 in conference (6th). </li>
<li>HR – 11 (DNR/1); 9 in conference (4th). </li>
<li>SLG – .331 (DNR/3); .370 in conference (5th). </li>
<li>Walks – 216 (168/10), 3.8 BB’s/9 IP; 115 (9th) in conference, 3.8 BB’s/9 IP. </li>
<li>HBP – 73 (DNR/1); 39 in conference (2nd). </li>
<li>OBP – .358 (DNR/7); .380 in conference (8th). </li>
<li>Strikeouts – 366 (141/5), 6.5 K/9 IP; 175 in conference (8th), 5.8 K/9 IP. </li>
</ul>
<b>Starters</b><br />
<br />
JR #43 Trevor Williams (RHP – 5-6, 4.17 ERA, 15 GS, 3 CG, 104 IP, 116 H, 23 BB, 77 K, .287 AVG, 1 HR, 7 HBP, 1 WP, 12-17 SB) was an all-conference selection in 2012 after he went 12-2 with a 2.05 ERA and pitched for Team USA last summer so big things were expected for him this season. He delivered on those expectations in his four non-conference starts when he went 3.0 with a 1.20 ERA but things changed when ASU got into Pac 11 play. Williams allowed nine runs in his first conference start to WSU and four runs at OSU in losing his first two starts. He had a strong start against UCLA when he only allowed one run in 7 2/3 IP but he has allowed at least four runs in six of his last eight starts and went 1-6 with a 5.59 ERA in ten conference starts and Pac 11 teams hit .329 against him. Williams usually has solid control but has walked three batters in four of his last six starts. He is still expected to be drafted in the 2nd-3rd round range despite his poor season because of his big frame and a fastball that sits around 91-92 and can get up to 95 but it tends to straighten out and his slider and breaking ball are average so he doesn’t really have a swing and miss pitch and when he gets strikeouts they usually come by blowing his fastball by hitters.<br />
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FR #49 Ryan Kellogg (LHP – 11-0, 3.26 ERA, 14 GS, 97 IP, 89 H, 15 BB, 51 K, .243 AVG, 3 HR, 6 HBP, 2 WP, 12-13 SB) was one of the two highest rated players in ASU’s recruiting class and was drafted in the 12th round out of HS because he is a 6’5” LHP with a fastball that sits around 90 and his best off-speed pitch is a curveball with good break to it. He has been in the rotation since day one and has been the anchor of the weekend staff with the inconsistencies that Williams has had. Kellogg was outstanding in his first five starts with a 4-0 record and a 0.79 ERA, allowing only eighteen baserunners (14 H, 4 BB) in 34 IP, culminating with a no-hitter at Oregon State with only two runners reaching base, both on errors. He wasn’t as sharp in his next two outings against UCLA and Oregon, allowing 11 runs in 15 IP, but still picked up two more wins. Kellogg was better against lesser competition, picking up wins against USC, Valparaiso and Utah, but has struggled over the last month with only one strong start against Arizona two weeks ago when he allowed one run in 6 2/3 IP and allowed seventeen runs in 16 2/3 IP in his other three starts and he ended up going 7-0 with a 4.06 ERA in conference games and was an All-Pac 11 selection, one of two FR to receive All-Pac 11 honors. He has outstanding control and has allowed two walks or less in thirteen of fifteen starts, allowing three walks in his other two starts. Kellogg prefers to let his fielders do the work behind him because he hasn’t struck out more than four batters in any of his past seven starts. Kellogg has a good move to first with three pickoffs but if runners get a break on him, they are almost always successful because only one runner has been thrown out against him.<br />
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JR #25 Zak Miller (RHP – 4-0, 4.56 ERA, 12 apps, 10 GS, 49 IP, 60 H, 23 BB, 22 K, .316 AVG, 2 HR, 8 HBP, 2 WP, 12-14 SB) was originally the midweek starter, where his stuff profiles better, but ASU ran through several other options in the Sunday SP spot before deciding to go with Miller in the weekend rotation for the last month of the season. He made six midweek starts, going five to 5 2/3 innings in five of them, and allowed three runs or less in five of them, with his worst midweek start his last one when he allowed five runs in five innings to Arizona. Miller picked up a win against Stanford when he allowed three runs in 5 IP and three no decisions when he allowed five runs in 3 1/3 IP at Cal, five runs in 3 2/3 IP against Arizona and two runs in 5 2/3 IP at Washington in one of his best starts of the season. He isn’t a hard thrower and relies on pitching to contact and letting the fielders do their jobs. Miller made a midweek start against Fullerton in 2012 when he allowed no runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 IP.<br />
<br />
<b>Relievers</b><br />
<br />
The bullpen for ASU has been a mixed bag. They have two relievers that they have relied on heavily, one a FR who has taken over in the closer role and one a SR who has provided good leadership, and the others are a combination of guys who tried their lot at being the Sunday SP without much success and high profile arms who haven’t had much of an impact. The effectiveness of their closer and primary set-up man is a big reason why ASU is 13-1 when they score either four or five runs due to their ability to shorten games. One thing to note with their bullpen is the group of relievers most likely to come into games this weekend have combined to allow an average of 5.4 walks per nine innings.<br />
<br />
FR #32 Ryan Burr (RHP – 4-2, 2.18 ERA, 11 saves, 29 apps, 41 IP, 19 H, 20 BB, 56 K, .140 AVG, 0 HR, 3 HBP, 3 WP, 10-10 SB) came into ASU with quite a bit of promise as one of the top 100 players in the country as a HS SR and he has lived up to it by taking a stranglehold on the closer position and was an honorable mention All-Pac 11 selection. He is a big man who throws hard with a fastball that sits in the 92-94 range that bumps up into the mid 90’s, uses a curveball as his swing and miss pitch and he is averaging over 12 strikeouts per nine innings. Burr has been extremely difficult to hit but he has had control issues, averaging well over four walks per nine innings.<br />
<br />
SR #31 Matt Dunbar (LHP – 1-1, 2.01 ERA, 1 save, 35 apps, 40 IP, 35 H, 24 BB, 29 K, .248 AVG, 0 HR, 5 HBP, 2 WP, 2-5 SB) has been a very effective and often used reliever for the last couple of seasons (1.54 ERA in 23 apps in 2012) who is in the top five in the Pac 11 in appearances. He is tough on LH hitters but the coaches don’t mind letting him go over an inning as the bridge between the starters and Burr. Dunbar is ASU’s most difficult pitcher to run on and has picked off three runners.<br />
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Soph #15 Darren Gillies (RHP – 2-2, 4.81 ERA, 1 save, 27 apps, 1 GS, 34 IP, 28 H, 17 BB, 28 K, .235 AVG, 0 HR, 9 HBP, 4 WP, 12-14 SB) was a starter for most of 2012 but has been working out of the bullpen as a middle reliever. He is tall and has a fastball that sits in the low 90’s but has had control issues and averaged four walks per 9 IP during and hit twenty batters during his two years at ASU.<br />
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SR #47 Alex Blackford (RHP – 4-1, 4.88 ERA, 1 save, 23 apps, 3 GS, 31 IP, 24 H, 23 BB, 33 K, .209 AVG, 0 HR, 7 HBP, 8 WP, 14-15 SB) has mostly been a midweek starter and middle reliever during his career. He isn’t a big guy but has been throwing harder this year, averaging a strikeout per inning, but he has also had control issues that he didn’t have earlier in his career.<br />
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JR #58 Josh McAlister (RHP – 0-1, 1.29 ERA, 11 apps, 14 IP, 11 H, 7 BB, 9 K, .220 AVG, 0 HR, 2 HBP, 0 WP, 1-1 SB) has been effective in his limited amount of appearances.<br />
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JR #3 Billy Young (RHP – 0-2, 6.75 ERA, 10 apps, 3 GS, 23 IP, 32 H, 10 BB, 10 K, .333 AVG, 3 HR, 2 HBP, 2 WP, 7-9 SB) started in ASU’s most recent midweek game against BYU so he might get the ball if they play a fourth game this weekend.<br />
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Soph #51 Adam McCreery (LHP – 2-3, 5.94 ERA, 14 apps, 7 GS, 36 IP, 37 H, 34 BB, 30 K, .287 AVG, 1 HR, 13 HBP, 6 WP, 4-8 SB) came onto campus to quite a bit of fanfare as a 6’8” LHP who was drafted in the 14th round out of HS but he has had injury issues going back to HS that have limited the amount of time he has been able to pitch and his effectiveness. He started the season as the Sunday starter but wasn’t effective in that role due to his is wildness. McCreery leads the conference in HBP’s despite the limited amount of innings he has thrown.<br />
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FR #26 Brett Lilek (LHP – 2-1, 4.42 ERA, 10 apps, 1 GS, 18 IP, 16 H, 8 BB, 16 K, .246 AVG, 0 HR, 5 HBP, 4 WP, 0-2 SB) was a big prospect in HS as a tall LHP who can throw in the low 90’s but he hasn’t been able to get many opportunities to pitch until recently.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Outlook</b><br />
<br />
ASU doesn’t enter this regional with much momentum after losing three of their previous four series and none of the teams that they lost series to will be playing in regionals this weekend. The Sun Devils have tended to play to the level of their opponents, winning two games against Arkansas and winning series against UCLA and Oregon, so they hope that trend continues this weekend but they played all of those teams much earlier in the season. ASU will take some confidence into their match-up with New Mexico after going 8-1 against the Lobos over the last six seasons, although New Mexico gave the Sun Devils all they could handle with ASU coming from behind to win the opening game of the 2011 regional, split games with ASU in 2012 and lost a midweek game in extra innings in Tempe earlier this season. The Sun Devils and Fullerton are also not strangers to each other after playing midweek series each season from 2008 to 2012 and prior to that matching up in some memorable regionals and super regionals four times in five seasons from 2001 to 2005. It is critical for ASU to win the opening game and get a good outing from Williams because they probably don’t have the pitching depth to win the regional coming from the loser’s bracket. The Sun Devils should be one of the final two teams standing this weekend but it doesn’t look like they will have enough arms to get past Fullerton.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-18012664029033465182013-05-28T13:26:00.002-07:002013-05-28T13:26:47.492-07:00Fullerton Regional: Columbia Preview<b><i>By FullertonBaseballFan</i></b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>No. 4 Seed – Columbia Lions</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Overall Record – 27-19</li>
<li>Conference Record – 16-4 (1st place)</li>
<li>How they qualified for a regional – Automatic bid. Won conf. championship series 2-0 against Dartmouth</li>
<li>Last regional appearance – 2008 (0-2 at Coastal Carolina regional – lost to Coastal Carolina and East Carolina)</li>
<li>RPI/ISR – 102/141 (Fullerton opponents ISR comparison – Oral Roberts 132, Hawaii 152)</li>
<li>SOS – 187 (RPI)/222 (ISR)</li>
<li>Record vs. tournament field – 1-2. 1-0 at Army, 0-2 at Miami</li>
<li>Record vs. top 50/top 100 RPI – 0-2/1-9</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Season Summary</b><br />
<br />
Columbia traditionally wasn’t known as one of the better programs in the academically prestigious Ivy League before Brett Boretti was hired to be the head coach prior to the 2006 season but he changed things around quickly in the Morningside Heights area of New York City. The Lions won the Ivy League championship in 2008 in his third season, which was their first conference championship since 1977, and qualified for a regional for the first time since 1976, which was their only previous appearance in a regional. Columbia was the regular season conference champion in 2010 but lost to Dartmouth in the Ivy League championship series that is played to determine who will receive the conference’s automatic bid. The Lions were a middle of the pack team the last two years but thought they had something to build on this season despite losing Ivy League player of the year Dario Pizzano because they only lost three position players and one starting pitcher from 2012.<br />
<br />
Columbia set up their schedule to challenge their veteran squad, going on the road to play for the first three weeks of March (Ivy League teams don’t schedule games in February). The Lions started out 2-11 after they lost all four games they played at a solid Lamar squad, lost two out of three in a competitive series at defending national champion Arizona where their losses were by one and two runs, lost three out of four games at Central Florida and lost two midweek games at Miami. Since that road trip, Columbia is 25-9 and had the best record in the Ivy League at 16-4 with the only hiccups along the way being a two game series sweep by Dartmouth and a two game midweek sweep by Fordham. The Lions won the Lou Gehrig division, named after one of the greatest players in baseball history and a Columbia alum, to qualify for the Ivy League championship series against Dartmouth and got revenge against the Big Green, who were 32-7 going into the series, by winning both games at home 6-5 in ten innings and 12-5 to win the conference’s automatic bid.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Offense</b><br />
<br />
· Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 66 (decreases offense by 34%). Field turf helps the fielders, bad weather most of the season helps the pitchers, unique dimensions with deep corners and a short CF with a 20 foot high fence because their ballpark is up against the Hudson River.<br />
· Batting Average – .268 (NCAA ranking – 174, conference ranking 3); .286 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Scoring – 219 (209, 3), 4.8 runs per game; 5.2 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Home Runs – 19 (121, 2); 10 in conf. games (3rd).<br />
· Stolen Bases – 77-91 (32, 1); 42-46 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Slugging Percentage – .374 (126, 3); .400 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· On Base Percentage – .360 (129, 2); .369 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Walks – 153 (249, 2), 3.3 per game; 62 (1st) in conf. games, 3.1 per game.<br />
· HBP’s – 63 (103, 1); 24 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Sac Bunts – 50 (73, 1); 28 in conf. games (1st).<br />
· Strikeouts – 240 (DNR, 7), 5.2 per game; 95 (1st) in conf. games, 4.8 per game.<br />
<br />
Columbia is an aggressive team at the plate that finished with the second most strikeouts in their conference and only had two players with over twenty walks, although both of those players have excellent BB/K ratios. The Lions only had three players hit above .290 for the season after the team hit in the .240’s during their non-conference schedule but their average went up by forty points against the softer competition they were facing in the Ivy League. Columbia doesn’t have much power with only two players having more than three HR’s and they play quite a bit of little ball to put pressure on teams, leading the Ivy League in SAC bunts and averaging close to two stolen bases per game with two players having 20+ steals. They will also stand in and take HBP’s, another area they led their conference in.<br />
<br />
<b>Batting Order</b><br />
<br />
LF – SR #12 Eric Williams (LH – .206/.337/.262, 0-15-4) doesn’t have much power with only eight extra base hits (all doubles), has struggled with the bat all season and only hit .215 against Ivy League pitching. The main positive attribute that he has at the plate is his bat control because he has an excellent 28/17 BB/K ratio and is second in the conference in walks. Williams is also a very good bunter and was second on the team and in the conference with nine SAC bunts.<br />
<br />
CF – Soph #3 Jordan Serena (RH – .284/.366/.401, 1-13-27) only hit .240 with three extra base hits as a FR but has been much improved this season and was 1st team All-Ivy League. He has sixteen extra base hits and hit .300 in conference games and the main reason that he received All-Ivy League honors was his speed because he led the conference in stolen bases and was only caught stealing one time all season, using his speed to end up second in the conference in runs. Serena will stand in and take a HBP to get on base and try to run and is second on the team and in the Ivy League with eleven HBP’s. He will also try to bunt to use his speed to get on base and is a very good bunter with seven SAC bunts. An area that Serena struggles with is his bat control because he has a poor 11/40 BB/K ratio and led the conference in strikeouts.<br />
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1B – SR #27 Alex Black (RH – .320/.451/.510, 7-29-4) is a big guy who is the main power threat in the lineup and is the best hitter on the team. He was 2nd team All-Ivy League and led the team and was among the leaders in the conference in AVG, OBP, SLG, HR and RBI and the player that opponents cannot let beat them. Black was also solid in 2012 when he hit .370 and was 2nd team All-Ivy League but only started in a little over half of their games. He has an excellent 27/17 BB/K ratio for a power hitter, was second in the conference in walks and hit .370 in Ivy League games.<br />
<br />
DH – Soph #16 Joey Falcone (LH – .333/.398/.535, 5-27-0) is another big guy in the middle of the lineup and has solid potential after finishing among the conference leaders in HR, RBI and SLG despite starting about 2/3 of their games. He was 2nd team All-Ivy League and hit four of his HR’s in conference games.<br />
<br />
RF – SR #6 Nick Ferraresi (RH – .270/.331/.380, 3-26-9) was honorable mention All-Ivy League as a JR when he hit .310 but hasn’t had quite as good of a season but he has still been a productive player and is third on the team in HR’s and RBI. He has good speed and is also third on the team in SB’s.<br />
<br />
SS – JR #10 Aaron Silbar (RH – .314/.349/.384, 0-22-7) has been one of the most improved players on the team after only hitting .218 in 2012 and was 1st team All-Ivy League this season after hitting .343 in conference games. He has some solid pop in his bat for a middle infielder and has eleven doubles but doesn’t walk much with a 9/20 BB/K ratio. Silbar has pretty good speed with seven SB’s.<br />
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3B – Soph #18 David Vandercook (LH – .207/.348/.326, 1-16-4) has struggled at the plate and the one thing that he has excelled at is crowding the plate and getting hit by pitches because he led the Ivy League with 13 HBP’s. He has below average plate discipline with a 16/31 BB/K ratio.<br />
<br />
2B – SR #11 Nick Crucet (RH – .271/.365/.306, 0-21-20) is a scrappy little player with excellent speed who is a threat to steal whenever he gets on base and was second in the Ivy League in SB’s. He has very little power with only five extra base hits (all doubles) but does an excellent job of putting the ball in play with only thirteen strikeouts (14/13 BB/K ratio). Crucet is an excellent bunter who will use his speed to try to beat out bunts for hits and led the conference with 14 SAC bunts.<br />
<br />
C – JR #4 Mike Fischer (RH – .196/.304/.304, 1-13-0) has struggled hitting all season but was 2nd team All-Ivy League due to his defense. He has trouble making contact with a 14/29 BB/K ratio.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Defense</b><br />
<br />
· Fielding – .970 (78, 2) – 49 errors, 32 unearned runs. Black is a good athlete at 1B, Crucet and Silbar have good range up the middle but have combined to make seventeen errors, Vandercook is solid at 3B. Williams is average in LF, Serena and Ferraresi have very good range in CF and RF.<br />
· Stolen Base Attempts – 29-53 (DNR, 2). Runners are only 19-37 against Fischer and he has been difficult to run on.<br />
· WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 55 (DNR, 8). Fischer does not move well behind the plate so look for Fullerton to be aggressive on the bases on pitches in the dirt.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Pitching</b><br />
<br />
Columbia figured their pitching would be the backbone of the team after returning three of their four starting pitchers from 2012 and they had a 3.50 ERA for the season and were excellent in Ivy League games, where they had a 1.94 ERA and allowed teams to only hit .213 against them. The Lions had some solid arms that were also efficient because they are in the top thirty nationally in strikeouts per game and K/BB ratio. Columbia held teams to four runs or less in 29 of their 46 games.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>ERA – 3.50 (57/3); 1.94 in conference (1st). </li>
<li>AVG – .355 (49/3); .213 in conference (1st). </li>
<li>HR – 11 (DNR/1); 3 in conference (2nd). </li>
<li>SLG – .329 (DNR/2); .263 in conference (1st). </li>
<li>Walks – 134 (83/4), 3.2 BB’s/9 IP; 38 in conference (2nd), 2.1 BB’s/9 IP. </li>
<li>HBP – 44 (DNR/7); 17 in conference (5th). </li>
<li>OBP – .337 (DNR/3). .281 in conference (1st). </li>
<li>Strikeouts – 335 (16/1), 8.1 K/9 IP; 153 in conference (1st), 8.5 K/9 IP. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Starters</b><br />
<br />
JR #23 David Speer (LHP – 6-2, 2.17 ERA, 10 GS, 5 CG, 66 IP, 55 H, 15 BB, 63 K, .235 AVG, 1 HR, 6 HBP, 4 WP, 9-15 SB) was 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 2012 but has been much better this season and was 1st team All-Ivy League after winning all five of his conference starts with four complete games and a 1.06 ERA, led the conference in strikeouts and was second in IP. His best start of the season could have been at Arizona when he held the Wildcats scoreless over six innings, allowing eight hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Speer started the first game of the Ivy League championship series against Dartmouth and allowed four runs on seven hits in 7 1/3 IP with no walks and twelve strikeouts. He isn’t a hard thrower with a mid 80’s fastball but he has good control of a changeup, curveball and slider to keep hitters off balance. Speer has a good move to first and has picked off three runners.<br />
<br />
JR #19 Joey Donino (RHP – 6-0, 3.06 ERA, 1 save, 12 apps, 8 GS, 50 IP, 42 H, 17 BB, 61 K, .228 AVG, 0 HR, 3 HBP, 9 WP, 2-3 SB) is the best prospect on the team because of his size and a low 90’s fastball. He throws from a 3/4 arm slot that is tough on RH hitters and also has a power breaking pitch that is his swing and miss pitch that he can sometimes have trouble controlling and was second in the Ivy League in wild pitches. Donino was second in the conference in wins and strikeouts and was 2nd team All-Ivy League after going 4-0 with a 1.74 ERA in his five conference starts. He started the second game of the Ivy League championship series against Dartmouth and allowed three runs on five hits in five innings.<br />
<br />
SR #45 Tim Giel (RHP – 3-3, 2.73 ERA, 10 apps, 9 GS, 3 CG, 59 IP, 59 H, 13 BB, 47 K, .265 AVG, 2 HR, 9 HBP, 4 WP, 3-5 SB) led the staff in IP as a JR and was a workhorse again this season after ending up fourth in the conference in IP and was honorable mention All-Ivy League. He was only 2-2 in his five conference starts but had an excellent 1.71 ERA with two complete games.<br />
<br />
FR #36 Adam Cline (RHP – 3-3, 3.94 ERA, 11 apps, 7 GS, 46 IP, 42 H, 13 BB, 43 K, .251 AVG, 1 HR, 5 HBP, 5 WP, 4-8 SB) has solid upside with a good pitching frame and a solid arm but he struggled in his starts in conference and only had a 6.43 ERA in five Ivy League games.<br />
<br />
<b>Relievers</b><br />
<br />
Columbia will let Speer pitch deep into games but they do have a deep bullpen with six relievers that have been effective and all of them have ERA’s under four.<br />
<br />
Alex Black (RHP – 0-1, 2.93 ERA, 4 saves, 12 apps, 15 IP, 16 H, 4 BB, 14 K, .271 AVG, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 0 WP, 1-2 SB) is most likely to come into a game to finish things off but they are cautious with doing that because he is also their 1B so he will usually only pitch one inning when he comes in. He has a solid fastball that touches 90.<br />
<br />
Stefan Olson (RHP – 1-1, 1.86 ERA, 3 saves, 5 apps, 10 IP, 4 H, 6 BB, 11 K, .121 AVG, 0 HR, 2 HBP, 0 WP, 0-1 SB) was a starter in 2012 and was honorable mention All-Ivy League with a 3.65 ERA. He suffered a hamstring injury and missed most of the season but returned for the last few weeks and pitched very well, throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings to finish the conference title series clinching game with six strikeouts.<br />
<br />
Kevin Roy (RHP – 3-1, 2.00 ERA, 13 apps, 2 GS, 27 IP, 20 H, 11 BB, 21 K, .200 AVG, 1 HR, 6 HBP, 2 WP, 2-3 SB) was honorable mention All-Ivy League and led the relievers in innings pitched. He can tend to be wild and allowed seventeen BB’s/HBP’s in 27 IP.<br />
<br />
Zack Tax (RHP – 4-1, 3.72 ERA, 11 apps, 19 IP, 20 H, 2 BB, 14 K, .282 AVG, 1 HR, 4 HBP, 3 WP, 1-1 SB) is a long reliever and would be most likely to come into a game if a starter was pulled early.<br />
<br />
Mike Weisman (LHP – 0-1, 3.10 ERA, 3 saves, 14 apps, 20 IP, 21 H, 9 BB, 23 K, .259 AVG, 1 HR, 3 HBP, 5 WP, 1-2 SB) is a situational lefty who will be brought into a tight game if a team has some LH hitters coming up.<br />
<br />
Thomas Crispi (LHP – 1-3, 3.38 ERA, 16 apps, 1 GS, 21 IP, 21 H, 15 BB, 16 K, .284 AVG, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 2 WP, 2-5 SB) was second in the Ivy League in appearances.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Outlook</b><br />
<br />
Columbia is obviously the underdog in this regional as the four seed and Ivy League teams haven’t fared well in regional play since the NCAA tournament went to the four team regional format with a 3-28 record. The Lions have only played once since winning their conference championship series the first weekend of May so they figure to be rusty in their opening game against Fullerton. Columbia is a squad that relies on pitching and small ball in a regional filled with teams that can bang the ball all over the yard. The Lions have a pitching staff that could keep them in games but it doesn’t look like they have the hitting to keep up with their opponents this weekend and it would be a surprise if they won a game in this regional.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-74948632618838175622013-05-26T23:57:00.002-07:002013-05-27T08:10:24.862-07:00No-Fear Titans Sweep Through the Valley<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Titans at CSUN: Won 5-2 (Thursday), Won 6-4 (Friday), Won 9-6 (Saturday)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<b><i>By Don Hudson</i></b><br />
<br />
<i>(Author’s preface: my apologies for not getting an article posted following the epic series against UC Irvine. My damned job gets in the way every so often – I was tied up all week on a business trip to Denver.)</i><br />
<br />
The Cal State Fullerton Titans finished the regular season with a road series sweep of the Cal State University Northridge (CSUN) Matadors and advanced to the NCAA playoffs on a seven-game winning streak and clicking on all cylinders.<br />
<br />
Look for more coverage and insight in the coming days at this website as the brackets are announced and the analysis begins. FullertonBaseballFan is the best I’ve ever read at analyzing upcoming college baseball series, so I can’t wait to read what he has to say this week.<br />
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<br />
<b><u>Game 1: Titans 5, CSUN Matadors 2</u></b><br />
<br />
With the Big West Conference (BWC) title clinched last weekend by virtue of the Titans’ sweep of UCI and Cal Poly’s sweep of CSUN, the Titans set about this series to solidify their hold of a national seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament bracket.<br />
<br />
But they also wanted to benchmark improvement from last season when they suffered an April Fool’s Day home loss to the Matadors and their “hefty lefty” freshman, Jerry Keel. The Matadors won that game, 5-1, with Keel pitching a complete game, allowing nine hits and throwing 133 pitches. It was an ugly loss in an ugly season – one run on nine hits and two walks and players yanked from the game for missing signs or not lining up cutoff throws.<br />
<br />
This is a different season. Very different.<br />
<br />
Richy Pedroza served notice quickly as he drove the second pitch of the game back through the middle for a leadoff single. Pedroza went to second on a sacrifice by Carlos Lopez and scored on a two-out single by Michael Lorenzen, following a walk to Matt Chapman. Lorenzen went to second when Chapman just barely beat the throw to third, but Keel escaped further damage by inducing a flyball from Chad Wallach.<br />
<br />
Keel was matched with Koby Gauna for the Titans, getting a “spot start” with the series starting on Thursday and the coaching staff lining up the pitching in anticipation of hosting Regionals next weekend.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAADGP-GAYTq7Rw654GTp8uLD6aEOaCexN-1iOryIN_KHNONxhlPTQgUGRGgJXG7TuaPWF1qwdIkL_UJxS-wns2_8tWne35qDRu4ccPwRVDvUBATAqW5dOdO6UtHHbeANXsPKzh10Ljqk/s1600/gauna.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAADGP-GAYTq7Rw654GTp8uLD6aEOaCexN-1iOryIN_KHNONxhlPTQgUGRGgJXG7TuaPWF1qwdIkL_UJxS-wns2_8tWne35qDRu4ccPwRVDvUBATAqW5dOdO6UtHHbeANXsPKzh10Ljqk/s320/gauna.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gauna splendid in start</td></tr>
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Gauna pitched a scoreless first inning, but was touched up for two runs in the bottom of the second as the Titans played sloppy defense against the Matadors’ “small ball” offense. Alexis Mercado led off with an infield single and stole second when Wallach’s throw was far wide of the base and sailed into centerfield for what could have been his first error of the season, but plate umpire Dave Gimbi ruled interference on batter Kyle Attl: Mercado returned to first and Attl was out, which helped this inning from being far more damaging. It was a pretty obvious call, but still one you don’t see often.<br />
<br />
Chester Pak doubled down the leftfield line to put runners on second and third with one out. Ryan Raslowsky dropped down a suicide squeeze bunt which scored Mercado with the tying run. But there was confusion with the coverage at first-base, with first-baseman Lopez charging and second-baseman playing back and getting a late jump to take the throw from third-baseman Chapman – Raslowsky beat it out and Pak scored from second when Chapman’s throw went beyond the uncovered base. The Matadors led, 2-1, but Gauna retired the next two hitters to minimize the damage of three hits, a walk and an error, aided by the batter interference.<br />
<br />
But the Titans immediately responded with the “counter-punching” that has become the team’s trademark this season. The pesty Pedroza battled with Keel for seven pitches and singled on a 1-2 count. After Pedroza moved to second on a passed ball, Lopez attempted to bunt the tying run to third but ended up beating it out for a single that placed runners at the corners with nobody out. Chapman tied the game with a sacrifice fly.<br />
<br />
The next batter suddenly untied the game: J.D. Davis gave the Titans a 4-2 lead with a towering home run to centerfield. There was a brisk wind blowing in that knocked down balls hit towards right and centerfields, so it was a pretty good shot. When Lorenzen lined a double to leftfield after the Davis home run, Keel’s day was done. In 2-1/3 innings, Keel allowed four runs (all earned) on six hits and a walk, registering zero strikeouts. He has emerged as a top-flight Division I pitcher, so the early knockout is indicative of the improvement in the Titans from one season to the next.<br />
<br />
The Titans added their fifth and final run in the fourth inning on singles by Austin Diemer and Pedroza, followed by an RBI groundout by Lopez.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Gauna was pounding the strike zone and dominating the CSUN line-up. After his second inning perils, Gauna did not allow another base-runner until a one-single in the bottom of the seventh by Pak. He retired fourteen consecutive batters before allowing the hit. But the runner was quickly erased on a 5-4-3 inning-ending double-play: the ball was hit so hard to Chapman that he knocked it down and still had time to recover and send it around the horn, courtesy a pivot by second-baseman Matt Orloff.<br />
<br />
Willie Kuhl came out of the Fullerton bullpen and quickly faced the potential tying run with no outs after allowing a leadoff walk to pinch-hitter Anthony Lombardo and a single to Michael Livingston, but he retired the next three hitters in order. His breaking pitches were moving sharply.<br />
<br />
The Titans eschewed the use of Lorenzen in a potential save situation and instead gave the ball to Davis, who efficiently retired the side on just nine pitches, including a strikeout.<br />
<br />
Pedroza led with three of the Titans’ nine hits, supported by Lopez and Lorenzen with two each. Gauna was the winning pitcher, allowing just two runs on five hits and one walk in seven innings of working, including three strikeouts. Davis was the “two way” star, hitting the game-deciding home run and notching his third save of the season.<br />
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<br />
<b><u>Game 2: Titans 6, CSUN Matadors 4</u></b><br />
<br />
The Titans overcame a 2-0 deficit, took a 4-2 lead which was dissipated into a 4-4 tie before Matt Chapman’s late home run gave them the winning margin. By clinching the series win, the Titans completed the 2013 series winning every weekend series – unbelievable!<br />
<br />
The pitching matched Titans freshman phenom Justin Garza (11-0) with the Matadors’ Calvin Copping, with a plan to limit both Garza and Thomas Eshelman to limited duty as a final weekend “tune up” in preparation for the playoffs. As it played out, Eshelman and Garza ended up the regular season with 11 wins each and identical 99-2/3 innings of work.<br />
<br />
Garza surrendered a solo tally in the bottom of the first on a leadoff single by Livingston, a walk to Nate Ring and a two-out RBI single by Mercado. The Matadors scored again in the third inning on singles by Ring and Cal Vogelsang and a balk.<br />
<br />
Copping tamed the Titans the first three innings, allowing just a two-out double by Chapman in the first inning. But the Titans had better success the second time through the line-up. <br />
<br />
Lopez led off with a bouncing double along the rightfield line. Chapman then ‘push bunted’ between the mound and first-base and he beat it out by a whisker to give the Titans runners at the corners with no outs. Davis walked on eight pitches to lead the bases for Lorenzen.<br />
<br />
Lorenzen was hit by a pitch to cut the deficit in half, and Anthony Hutting hit a sacrifice fly to tie the score, 2-2. Wallach ripped a single into rightfield to make it 3-2, followed by an RBI dribbler in front of the plate by Jefferies.<br />
<br />
Eshelman entered in the bottom of the fourth, staked to a 4-2 lead. The Titans got a little sloppy, allowing a run on a double by Pak, a passed ball and sacrifice fly by designated hitter Miles Williams. Nicolas Osuna kept the inning alive with an infield too-hot-to-handle single and stole second when nobody covered the bag on a delayed steal play.<br />
<br />
The sloppiness continued in the fifth inning. Vogelsang singled with one out and went to second on a wild pitch. Josh Goossen-Brown singled to rightfield, and third base coach Sergio Brown waved Vogelsang home to attempt to score the tying run. Austin Kingsolver charged the ball aggressively and seemed likely to throw the runner out at home by a mile – except the ball stayed down and went past him to the fence for an error that allowed Goossen-Brown to reach third with just one out and the score tied, 4-4.<br />
<br />
The infield was playing back, but when Chapman made a great stop on a rocket hit down the line by Mercado, he had time to throw home for a play on Goossen-Brown, who slid late and with spikes high. Wallach applied the tag and his body language suggested some irritation for getting spiked, but plate umpire Allen Williams quickly got between the catcher and the runner and cool heads prevailed. Eshelman worked out of jeopardy by striking out Attl after he had fouled off six pitches.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSZ2sBsTT4Im_otmdyCF3ZcHMhGmH0XAisXYr51jDwBKnt3g7-gDKs3hayMB1qTiCSVLW7XLBZqgXa6otiPIz5g3aqLc40-vaicJ_RCov7b1O5-0-9c8fzYKEWpPCKC6-0YrV8QO1w60m/s1600/chap.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSZ2sBsTT4Im_otmdyCF3ZcHMhGmH0XAisXYr51jDwBKnt3g7-gDKs3hayMB1qTiCSVLW7XLBZqgXa6otiPIz5g3aqLc40-vaicJ_RCov7b1O5-0-9c8fzYKEWpPCKC6-0YrV8QO1w60m/s320/chap.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chapman delivers</td></tr>
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Copping went six solid innings and gave way in the seventh to D.J. Milam, who swapped zeros with Eshelman in the inning.<br />
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Pedroza battled Milam and led off the eighth inning with a single after fouling off three straight 3-2 pitches. Lopez squared around to represent bunting the potential go-ahead run into scoring position, but then swung away on a ‘slash’ play. He scorched the ball, but, unfortunately, it was a short-hopper right to the shortstop heading to cover second-base, who easily converted it into a double-play.<br />
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But nothing dispirits the Titans these days. Their possible big rally thwarted, Chapman took matters into his own hands by crushing a home run deep to leftfield to give the Titans a 5-4 lead.<br />
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Kuhl came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and his breaking stuff was filthy. Absolutely filthy. Attl struck out looking, Pak went down swinging, as did Williams.<br />
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Seeking an insurance run, Lorenzen led off the ninth with a single, went to second on a sacrifice by Hutting and to third on a single by Wallach, who was replaced by pinch-runner Diemer. The Titans tried to steal a run when Diemer took off and was caught between first and second, but Lorenzen was held on third by Chad Baum as Diemer used his speed to escape jeopardy and get back to first. (I think the Matadors learned how to play pickle from Oral Roberts.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGWHmm-FspIXs5Hytje25Sf7LU0_O6Vij7smpUkhN5y00ec4Qh5zZgJCnyfllhuN-8WiTjar6hgNJkBZ8LSpFh_BFYlFeUcWrLxKqECa4cAF34PnwP1ksqZjYdLZGXWIBM03qKcJTvSRR/s1600/jdd.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGWHmm-FspIXs5Hytje25Sf7LU0_O6Vij7smpUkhN5y00ec4Qh5zZgJCnyfllhuN-8WiTjar6hgNJkBZ8LSpFh_BFYlFeUcWrLxKqECa4cAF34PnwP1ksqZjYdLZGXWIBM03qKcJTvSRR/s320/jdd.png" width="169" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Davis: 2 saves in 2 days</td></tr>
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Matt Orloff delivered a sacrifice fly to centerfield, with Lorenzen making a great slide to score the insurance run that gave the Titans a 6-4 lead, which held up when Davis pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his fourth save of the season and his second in two days.<br />
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Chapman led the way offensively with a single, double and game-winning home run. Lorenzen and Wallach added two hits each. Eshelman was the winning pitcher, improving his record to 11-2.<br />
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There was an interesting circumstance in this game, with a predetermined plan in effect that Garza would start the game but pitch fewer than five innings, with Eshelman coming out of the bullpen to get some work, both on a low pitch count. Garza entered with eleven wins, tied with Tyler Pill’s record for wins by a freshman Titans pitcher – I felt badly when he turned over a 2-0 lead to the bullpen in the Irvine series, only to see the game tied with the Anteaters’ two-out ninth inning rally. By starting in this situation, were the rules conspiring to prevent possibility of Garza being unable to be credited with a win by virtue of the requirement for a starting pitcher to pitch at least five innings and leave the game as the pitcher of record with his team with a lead that is not subsequently relinquished?<br />
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In a word: no. Here are the <a href="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mwc/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/mw-12-m-basebal-2012-ncaarules.pdf">NCAA baseball rules</a>.<br />
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In particular, look at Rule 25.b.(3) on page 128: it covers the circumstance of determining the winning pitcher in the event the starting pitcher works fewer than five full innings. It says, “By pre-arrangement, if three or more pitchers are to be used, the pitcher of record shall be the winning pitcher.” This is what is referred to as a “designated staff day.”<br />
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Had Garza left with the lead and the game was never subsequently tied nor the Titans fall behind, he was eligible for the win. The only exception would have been had he, as the pitcher of record, had pitched “briefly and ineffectively” in the judgment of the official scorer.<br />
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Garza was still the pitcher of record when the Titans scored their four runs in the top of the fourth and he left as the pitcher of record with a 4-2 lead – even though the Titans actually trailed 2-0 when he finished his work for the day after the bottom of the third. But because the Matadors subsequently tied the score, he became ineligible to be the pitcher of record. <br />
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<b><u>Game 3: Titans 9, CSUN Matadors 6</u></b><br />
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The series finale on Saturday matched Grahamm Wiest with the Matadors’ lefty John Salas. <br />
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After two scoreless innings, it looked like the Titans would turn this into an easy sweep when they took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth. Fullerton scored the first run in the third on three straight singles by Lopez, Chapman and Davis (RBI). They pushed the lead to 3-0 in the fourth on a single by Diemer, a two-out RBI double by Lopez and an RBI single by Chapman, chasing Salas from the bump. Chapman was called out at the plate trying to score on a single by Davis, although my handy-dandy lens seemed to show him safe.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Be sure to "Vote 4 Carlos"</td></tr>
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The Titans added two runs in the top of the fifth on just one hit (an RBI double by Diemer), aided by a walk, an error and stolen bases by Lorenzen and Greg Velazquez.<br />
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With a 5-0 lead and Wiest coasting – and lots of hydration on this hot sunny day – I thought it was a safe time to visit the rest room, which is in nearby Pacoima. I made it back in just three batters – which is my all-time best personal record – but the crowd noise gave me a hint that I wouldn’t be happy when I looked up at the scoreboard: it was now 5-3, with first-pitch singles by Pak and Attl before a first-pitch home run by Williams, who had gone deep last year at Goodwin Field against Wiest. Three pitches, three runs.<br />
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(Note to self: no more drinking water during games….and break out the Depends.) Singles by Livingston, Vogelsang and Goossen-Brown cut the Titans’ lead to 5-4 and brought lefty Tyler Peitzmeier out of the bullpen. He struck out Mercado with two runners on base to end the threat.<br />
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But Peitzmeier got into his own jam in the bottom of the sixth. He retired the first two batters routinely before allowing a single to Williams. Osuna then hit a ball back through the box that Peitzy deflected and had plenty of time to pick it up and throw him out, but he couldn’t find the ball in time and it went for an infield hit.<br />
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Then came a controversial play. Livingston pulled a ball sharply over the third-base bag, looking like a certain bases-clearing double – until it was intercepted by Chapman on a great diving backhand play, and he stepped on the base well ahead of the runner. But as the Titans left the field high-fiving Chapman, CSUN Coach Curtis was pleading with Blue for a catcher’s interference call – which he actually got. I was standing a few feet away from the dugout when Curtis came back from his confab with umpire Rob Hansen, with a big shit-eating smirk on his face. It was one of those “nothing to lose” arguments that you never expect to get away with – but every once in a while you put one over on Blue: Livingston was awarded first base on catcher’s interference and the bases were loaded when play resumed. <br />
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The deception paid off as Ring delivered a two-run single that deflected away from shortstop Pedroza – the Matadors took a 6-5 lead, but committed a base-running blunder by having the final out notched when the runner from first was easily retired trying to go to third. Both runs off Peitzmeier were unearned.<br />
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The counter-punching Titans tied the score (6-6) in their next at-bats on a single by Jared Deacon and an RBI double by Diemer, who was thrown out attempting to stretch it into a triple – one of three Titans runners thrown out on the bases this game.<br />
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After Jose Cardona pitched a scoreless seventh inning, the Titans put him in position to record a win when they scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth. Chapman led off getting plunked and went to second on a wild pitch. With one out and first base open, with Velazquez due up, CSUN opted to intentionally walk Lorenzen – hardly a decision you could fault. But pinch-hitter Clay Williamson ruined the strategy by lining the first pitch thrown to him by reliever Goossen-Brown into centerfield for an RBI single that gave the Titans a slim 7-6 lead.<br />
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For the third consecutive day, Kuhl was summoned to pitch the bottom of the eighth and he continued to baffle the Matadors, easily setting them down in order.<br />
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The Titans picked up two insurance runs in the ninth. Deacon led off with his second single of the day and advanced on a sacrifice by Diemer and a groundout by Keegan Dale. With two outs and Lopez up, Coach Curtis opted to intentionally walk Lopez to pitch to the red-hot Chapman. I understand the whole lefty-righty thing, but this seemed like a mistake from the moment the catcher came out of his crouch with his glove hand extended outward to call for the walk. Chapman whacked the second pitch he saw into centerfield for an insurance RBI single; Davis followed suit with an RBI single up the middle that gave the Titans a 9-6 lead.<br />
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After two days using Davis as the closer, Lorenzen was brought in to nail it down and to get a little mound work before the playoffs. As has been the case recently, Michael made it interesting, allowing a single, a walk and a wild pitch, but he ended the game with a ten-pitch strikeout of Mercado, who was representing the tying run at the plate.<br />
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The 2-3-4 hitters for the Titans went a combined 10-for-15, led by Davis with four hits and three each by Lopez and Chapman. The Titans 17-hit attack also included three hits by the catchers: one by A.J. Kennedy and two by Deacon. But of the seventeen hits, perhaps none was bigger than the RBI pinch-single by Williamson that gave the Titans the lead which they never relinquished.<br />
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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<br />
<br />
<b>So what did we learn this weekend</b> in the San Fernando Valley, cradle of pornography, albeit one whose commerce has been decimated by the passage in 2012 of Measure B requiring use of condoms during production of adult films?<br />
<br />
It was a solid weekend series for the Titans, with the BWC championship already wrapped up and a national seed a virtual certainty. The CSUN series outcome implications were minimal – perhaps a matter of “how high” they would be seeded nationally, not “if” they would be seeded. After the tense and highly dramatic riveting series against UC Irvine, the Northridge series felt more like those games last fall against UNLV and UC Santa Barbara – you are definitely playing to win and to make a favorable impression on the coaches, but without a high level of intensity and pressure. It was actually kind of fun to have a relaxing weekend sandwiched between the UCI series and the Regionals.<br />
<br />
I like the balance of the offense: many teams we play have a string of two to four quality hitters in a row, but the Titans have found offense from top to bottom of the batting order. In the CSUN series, six Titans with 8+ at-bats hit better than .350, led by Lopez (.545, 6-for-11, 5 runs, 2 RBI and 2 doubles); Chapman (.500, 6-for-12, 4 RBI, double and tie-breaking home run in second game); Diemer (.500, 4-for-8, 2 doubles and 2 RBI); Lorenzen (.444, 4-for-9, 3 runs, 2 RBI, double, 3 walks and a save); Davis (.412, 5-for-12, 4 RBI, home run and two saves); and Pedroza (.364, 4-for-11). Back-up catchers Deacon (2-for-2) and Kennedy (1-for-2) contributed when Wallach was given some much-deserved rest in the series finale. Williamson contributed off the bench with a clutch RBI pinch-hit in the final game after Lorenzen was intentionally walked. Orloff made a couple “true Titan” contributions that might get overlooked in the box score: took a dose (hit-by-pitch) in the opener and drove in a key insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the second game.<br />
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There were also some outstanding pitching performances, led by Gauna in the series opener. Kuhl worked in all three games, and after allowing the first two hitters he faced in the opener to reach base (walk and single on 0-2 pitch), he was downright filthy. It was fun to sit behind the plate and watch how much his ball was breaking: every Matador hitter knew it was coming but they couldn’t do anything with it. <br />
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Davis also was excellent in back-to-back games, allowing Hooky to close out close wins without over-taxing closer Lorenzen, who got the save in the finale. It was Michael’s 34th career save, tying him for the Titans’ record with Chad Cordero and Nick Ramirez. Let’s hope Lorenzen breaks that record in the playoffs.<br />
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It’s going to be fascinating to see how the pitching roles emerge in the Regionals and (hopefully) beyond. <br />
<br />
The batting order and positions are locked in with respect to roles: The first five in the batting order will be Pedroza (SS), Lopez (1B), Chapman (3B), Davis (DH) and Lorenzen (CF) regardless whether the pitcher throws right-handed, left-handed or underhanded like Eddie Feigner.<br />
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The sixth through ninth spots will depend on the opposing pitcher. Hutting and Diemer platoon in leftfield and Kingsolver and Velazquez platoon in rightfield, purely dependent on whether the opposing starting pitcher is right-handed or left-handed. Diemer and Kingsolver will always be in games with leads in the late innings for defensive purposes. <br />
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Wallach starts against both right-handed and left-handed pitchers (e.g. not a pure platoon), but the coaches have confidence in Deacon both offensively and defensively. Wallach is likely to start every playoff game unless the Titans fall into the losers’ bracket and are forced to play twice in a day, and will also be subject to replacement by a pinch-runner late in a close game.<br />
<br />
Jefferies has earned the starting role against all pitchers, with Orloff entering for defense when the Titans hold a late-inning lead. The plays Orloff made in the Friday and Saturday games against UC Irvine were spectacular and perhaps were the difference between victory and defeat.<br />
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But the pitching roles are still evolving, which is a natural phenomenon in baseball – you’re only as good as your last appearance. In short playoff series, everybody is on a shorter leash and you tend to go with the pitchers who have been hottest recently. Roles change.<br />
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One of the biggest decisions coaches make in playoff series is whether to start with your “Friday Guy” in the opening game of the Regionals. When you are the #1 team in the Regional - especially if you are a national seed and draw an inferior who qualified as champion of a weak conference - you often have the luxury of starting a pitcher who isn’t your usual Friday Guy. <br />
<br />
Who can ever forget how Brian Wilson – primarily a designated-hitter after transferring to Fullerton from Loyola Marymount – made his first career start with the Titans in the opening game of the 2008 Regionals? He pitched a complete game shutout, struck a career-high eight batters – and he also hit a home run – as the Titans shut out Rider, 11-0. When the Titans’ depleted staff needed a starter for the Monday night championship game after fighting back from the losers’ bracket after losing their second game to UCLA, Wilson came back on two days rest and made his second career start. He gallantly battled through four innings and got the “staff day” win in the Titans’ epic 5-4 win against the Bruins. <br />
<br />
Wilson brought back memories of Scott Sarver, whose ascent from bullpen obscurity to starting and winning pitcher in elimination games in the Regionals and College World Series made him a hero in the 2004 championship season.<br />
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While there was no great significance to the Northridge series on a team basis, the individual success of Gauna as a starter and Kuhl and Davis pitching back-to-back at the end of the bullpen may become pivotal in the playoffs. The only bullpen roles that have been virtually the same pole-to-pole is that of Lorenzen as closer and Peitzmeier anywhere from the sixth to eighth innings – he is usually brought in with runners on base and has an uncanny knack for stranding runners. He has developed far beyond a role as specialist to retire one or two left-handed hitters. <br />
<br />
Gauna had a great stretch of dominance as an eighth-inning set-up man earlier in the season, but he is versatile and can start, as well as pitch long and short relief. He and Davis are similar in that respect.<br />
<br />
The eighth inning role has been unsettled down the stretch, reaching a peak when Lorenzen was brought in for a five-out save with a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning against Irvine. I was surprised the ball didn’t go to Gauna or Davis in that situation. Lorenzen came in from centerfield throwing 97-98 miles per hour and was brilliant that night, but his velocity was down the next night and he got hit by the generally mediocre bottom of the Anteaters’ batting order. <br />
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Similarly, I was surprised Wiest went out to pitch the eighth inning against Irvine, allowing two runs when the bullpen was armed and rested. The dramatic walk-off home runs by Lopez made us forget all of that, but it might have turned out differently and we could be fretting instead of crowing. Wiest had pitched well through seven innings in the UCI game, but he has an ERA of 8.59 in his last three starts and has been vulnerable to crooked numbers (six-run first inning against Riverside and four-run fifth inning against Northridge.)<br />
<br />
Congratulations to four Titans who earned their degrees and graduated this semester: David Birosak, Michael Lopez, Austin Kingsolver and Anthony Hutting. (They join Carlos Lopez and Matt Orloff, who had previously completed their undergraduate programs and graduated.) I am always impressed when a student-athlete performs exceptionally in both capacities: earning a four-year degree requires tremendous effort and time investment, as does playing for a Division I baseball program. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hutting's 3-run homer vs. UCLA on Senior Day<br />
<i>(Photo courtesy of Alex Calish)</i></td></tr>
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Kudos to Coach Vanderhook for starting all six senior position players and keeping them in the entire game against UCLA on Senior Day; he also started a senior (Michael Lopez) and brought in senior David Birosak in the second inning, and he was the game’s winning pitcher, fueled by a three-run blast by senior Anthony Hutting. At the time, the game had major impact as the team’s final “RPI booster” heading down the stretch, and it says a great deal about values that the coaching staff did not use the seniors in cameo roles. It had to be tempting to bring regular hitters like Davis off the bench in one or two critical spots, but Hooky stuck with his seniors and they delivered a crucial victory.<br />
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It was nice to see Sergio Brown and I’m glad he is back in the Big West coaching community. You can see the imprint he has made in his first season with the Matadors: improved defense, winning record (fourth place – first time in top half of BWC standings since they won it in 2002) and execution of ‘small ball’ right out of the Titans book of yore (sacrifice bunts, delayed steals and squeeze bunts). While Sergio has made a big impact already, look for even more down the road when his renowned prowess as a recruiter begins to bear fruit for the Matadors.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSFhUiRITJoNooV6a_s6LeSwHCblGiQTU706iVWZWco-yWwRk1TEGVO46J6lY2HszoK6Yt_v0B9hyYiKyxciNBOZ8old28MCBXMHWzNvM4lZ25pCOfbQAjdfteXZqZrzPa5G6NeymN4Ek/s1600/sergio.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSFhUiRITJoNooV6a_s6LeSwHCblGiQTU706iVWZWco-yWwRk1TEGVO46J6lY2HszoK6Yt_v0B9hyYiKyxciNBOZ8old28MCBXMHWzNvM4lZ25pCOfbQAjdfteXZqZrzPa5G6NeymN4Ek/s1600/sergio.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sergio Brown (right)</td></tr>
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I am happy for the improvement in the CSUN program and believe it will continue to get stronger under Coach Matt Curtis. National respect for Cal State Fullerton is impacted by the company we keep; e.g. the perception of the Big West Conference. It’s in Fullerton’s interest to have strong programs up-and-down the conference: not only on the field, but in their coaching staffs, administration, media/marketing and facilities. It’s hard for the Big West Conference to wear ‘big boy pants’ when it has facilities like Northridge and Davis.<br />
<br />
The field itself at Northridge isn’t so bad – nothing like what we see at Riverside. But is has no lights and the rest room facilities are a block-and-a-half off campus. They pepper-spray small children who don’t immediately return foul balls to the rightful owners. A pop-up tent concession stand – they ran out of bottled water and hot dogs by the second inning on Saturday. It was a beautiful holiday weekend Saturday and you’re playing an opponent whose fans travel well – don’t you think it would have made sense to buy more than a dozen weenies? <br />
<br />
The “cozy” tin-can seating section behind home plate is a vast improvement made over the last decade – but still not ideal to have the two partisan groups co-mingled in such close proximity. It’s easier to reach consensus on taxes and gun control laws than whether Blue is “calling it both ways” or whether he is squeezing or stretching the strike zone. You could just see how irritated the Northridge folks were getting – put yourself in the shoes of the Matador parents who are blissfully watching their son pitch in his home stadium and you find yourself surrounded just a few feet away by a boisterous chorus screaming “Leave him in!” and “Take him out!” when the pitching coach comes out for a chat.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dumpster Diver</td></tr>
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But perhaps the most fascinating ‘local color’ feature of Matador Field is the local women who sneak in once they shut down the ticket booth mid-game and vigilantly monitor the trash cans for refundable beverage containers. It is highly competitive – each of the three trash cans in the walkway behind the screen is the ‘turf’ of an innocuous little old lady who scoops plastic bottles and aluminum cans out of the trash as soon as they are discarded. The question begs to be asked – why doesn’t the university pepper-spray the old women, collect the recycling money themselves and use it to buy lights and build a bathroom on campus?<br />
<br />
Note the final regular season WTF (Wild Thing Factor) records for the pitching staff – the pitching has been amazing and will hopefully provide recognition for Coach Jason Dietrich in the national “Assistant Coach of the Year” polling. WTF is the ratio of walks, hit-batsmen and wild pitches allowed per nine innings. I find it very revealing that this statistic, which has no basis in pitchers’ results when the ball is put into play by the batter or by strikeouts , is a remarkable indicator of pitching effectiveness. Eshelman’s WTF of 0.72 is sick – WTF!<br />
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Small data sizes are not statistically reliable. The largest sample size is the most reliable; e.g. the Titans’ and their opponents’ team totals. Do you think the 48-8 record has been aided by the 243-83 advantage the Titans have in walks received versus walks allowed? It says a lot about the control of our pitchers as well as the patience of the hitters.<br />
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If I may end the regular season on a personal note, I want to express my gratitude for your readership and the many kind words you have expressed. It amazes me how far and wide our readership is – from people who attend nearly every game to others that live somewhere else and can’t attend in person but love to ‘keep up’ on the team or perhaps a friend or relative on the team. I love it when a person I’ve never met before comes up to me and says, “You like Stockton better than Hawai’i? Me too!” <br />
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It struck me recently when somebody came up to me after a recent series and said, “I was here for all three games – I can’t wait to read what you have to say!” It struck me that people are actually interested in my perspective – I’m just another dumbass fan with an opinion, a keyboard and a camera that shoots Auto-Focus.<br />
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This has obviously been a very special season so far in the Titan Nation – and we hope the magic continues deep into June. I love taking the photos down on the field on Mothers Day, but it would be an even bigger event if we are all still together on Fathers Day – that can only happen if we make it to Omaha. <br />
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Speaking of mothers and fathers, I want to thank the parents, siblings and extended families of the Titans’ players for their kind friendship throughout the years. I make it a practice of not referring to them individually by name in my articles (lest anybody think their kid was written about preferentially), but they are some of the finest people I have ever met and I deeply appreciate their friendship. There is something very special about parents who hug all the kids after the game, not just their son; who make out-of-town trips with small likelihood of their kid getting even one at-bat; who become best friends even though their sons are competing for playing time at the same position; who stand up to a fan that makes derisive personal comments about a player other than their own son; who root their ass off for every Titans pitcher or hitter, not just the one they raised.<br />
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We even have “summer ball” parents that have traveled to remote locations to watch their “summer sons” play for the Titans and have become hardcore fans of the program. Meeting and getting to know people like this is a life-enriching experience that I cherish.<br />
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It is hard to write about a game that one loves and respects when it is played by people that you are very close to, walking the fine line between accuracy and insight while being an unabashed fan and friend of those players and their families. <br />
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It would be fun to cover a professional sports team and dish out opprobrium like T.J. Simers does in the <i>Los Angeles Times</i> – but that is not what this forum is about. I think Titans’ fans and families care much more about this team than they ever could about a professional team. That movie line has stayed with me: “You always loved the Red Sox….but did they ever love you back?” <br />
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Thank you for allowing me to be part of your enjoyment and consumption of Titans baseball.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-66595097261428318882013-05-22T07:19:00.000-07:002013-05-22T07:23:37.099-07:00Cal State Northridge Series Preview<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Titans at Cal State Northridge</b></div>
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<b>Thursday 3 p.m.; Friday 3 p.m.; Saturday 1 p.m.</b></div>
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<b><i>By FullertonBaseballFan</i></b><br />
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Cal State Fullerton has answered every single challenge put in front of them this season, winning all fourteen weekend series and putting together three separate ten game winning streaks and another seven game winning streak on the way to the best start in the storied history of the program. The Titans had one more challenge put in front of them this weekend when they had a chance to clinch their fourth straight Big West championship by winning their series against their cross county rivals from UC Irvine. Fullerton not only won the series, they swept the Anteaters for only the second time in thirteen series since Irvine brought their baseball program back in 2002 in one of the most exciting series sweeps that anybody would ever hope to see. Fullerton didn’t get a hit until the seventh inning in the first game but came storming from behind to win 5-2 with Carlos Lopez getting the go ahead RBI single, got a walk-off HR from Lopez to win the second game 3-2 and got another walk-off HR from Lopez to win the final game 7-5 to finish off the sweep and clinch the conference title.<br />
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Fullerton got last week started by celebrating Senior Night with a 5-2 win against #8 UCLA to win both of their midweek games against the Bruins. UCLA scored a run in the top of the first off of SR starter Michael Lopez, who was making the first start of his career, and the Titans had six seniors in the lineup and came out motivated to bounce back from the previous Sunday’s loss at UC Riverside, jumping on starter Cody Poteet for three runs in the bottom of the inning when Matt Chapman and Michael Lorenzen singled with two outs and Anthony Hutting pulled an 0-2 pitch down the line and into the netting above the fence for a three run HR to take a 3-1 lead. Fullerton scored in the third without the benefit of a hit when Chapman was hit by a pitch and stole second, Lorenzen and Hutting walked and Chad Wallach’s ground out to shortstop scored Chapman. SR David Birosak followed Lopez and threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings and picked up his first win of the season. After Koby Gauna allowed a run in the fifth that cut the lead to 4-2, the Titans scored a run in the seventh to put the game away when Richy Pedroza walked, moved up on a ground out and a wild pitch and scored on a single by Chapman, the first hit for Fullerton since the first inning. Tyler Peitzmeier and J.D. Davis combined to throw three scoreless innings and Lorenzen finished things off in the ninth for his Big West leading sixteenth save.<br />
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Friday’s game figured to be a pitchers’ duel under the bright lights of the ESPNU broadcast and both starting pitchers shined as Thomas Eshelman and Andrew Thurman were busy trading zeroes through the first five innings. Irvine had a threat in the first when Dominique Taylor tripled but was stranded when Eshelman struck out the dangerous Conner Spencer, the Big West leader in AVG, and Taylor Sparks, the Big West leader in HR’s. Fullerton drew two walks in the bottom of the inning but weren’t able to push a run across. Both teams were retired in order in each of the next three innings and stranded a runner in the fifth, Irvine getting a single and Fullerton getting another walk. The Anteaters broke through with two runs in the sixth when Taylor singled with two outs, Spencer doubled him in and Taylor singled in Spencer. The Titans got another walk off of Thurman in the bottom of the inning as they continued to build up his pitch count but were still held without a hit. Thurman didn’t allow a hit against Fullerton until the ninth in his start against them last season, making 14+ innings that he had held them to only one hit. The Titans finally got to Thurman in the seventh when Lorenzen led off the inning with a single up the middle and Wallach’s long RBI double cut the lead to 2-1. Jake Jefferies followed with a walk and with two outs, Pedroza came through with a clutch single to tie the game and end Thurman’s night. Mitch Merten came into the game and had an epic fourteen pitch battle with Lopez that the SR first baseman won by roping an RBI single to give Fullerton the lead. Merten hit Chapman to load the bases and Davis broke the game open by singling to drive in two runs. Eshelman gave up a leadoff hit to start the eighth and Peitzmeier came into the game, getting a groundout before giving up a single to Spencer. Lorenzen came into the game from CF to face Sparks, who was the tying run, and struck him out and got a web gem diving catch from defensive replacement 2B Matt Orloff to end the inning and retired the side in order in the ninth for his seventeenth save. Eshelman improved his record to 10-2 with the win, allowing two runs on six hits and no walks with seven strikeouts.<br />
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There were more bright lights on Saturday night with the game being broadcast by Fox Sports West and the starting pitchers for both teams, Justin Garza and Matt Whitehouse, didn’t disappoint as they engaged in another pitchers’ duel. Fullerton had the only threat in the first two innings when Pedroza led off the game with a walk for the second straight night and Davis singled with two outs but they couldn’t push a run across. The Titans took the lead in the third when Lopez walked, Chapman doubled him to third and Lorenzen doubled them both in. Both teams squandered chances in the fourth when Irvine left the bases loaded, the only threat they were able to muster against Garza, and Fullerton had the bases loaded with one out before a double play ended the inning. The Titans also had potential rallies squashed by double plays in the fifth and seventh as Whitehouse did a good job of bobbing and weaving in and out of trouble as he allowed only two runs on ten hits and three walks in 7 2/3 innings. Garza was taken out after a single and a HBP with two outs in the eighth and Peitzmeier benefitted from another outstanding play by defensive replacement Orloff with a diving stop to get Spencer out to end the threat. Lorenzen came in to finish things off and after Hutting made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Sparks and getting a ground out, the wheels came off and the Anteaters got three straight singles to score a run and cut the lead to one. Lorenzen struck out the next batter but the pitch in the dirt got past Wallach to allow the tying run to score before Lorenzen got out of the inning. Irvine brought in closer Race Parmenter to try to get the game to extra innings and after retiring the first two hitters, Lopez came up and took a big cut at the first pitch he saw but missed it, let the second one go by and hammered the next pitch that he saw into the netting above the RF wall to set off a wild celebration at home plate. Lorenzen picked up his third win despite allowing two runs and Garza got a no decision despite allowing no runs on five hits and one walk with four strikeouts in 8 2/3 IP.<br />
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There were two more good pitchers taking the bump on Sunday with Grahamm Wiest starting against Andrew Morales, who entered the game with a 10-0 record. Fullerton jumped on Morales for two runs in the first when Pedroza once again led off the game with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball. Chapman walked with one out, Davis singled in Pedroza and Lorenzen’s SF scored Chapman. Both pitchers cruised through the next two innings before Taylor tripled off the orange stripe on top of the wall on a ball that was initially ruled a HR and Spencer’s SF drove him in to cut the lead to one. Morales retired twelve straight hitters from the second through the fifth and Irvine got through against Wiest in the sixth when Taylor, who was outstanding with a 6-12 series, led off with a single and Spencer doubled him to third, Sparks singled in Taylor for the first run and a ground out scored the second run to give the Anteaters the lead. Pedroza and Lopez walked to start the sixth but Fullerton failed to score and Irvine pushed across two more runs against Wiest in the eighth to take a 5-2 lead. Morales came out of the game after seven innings due to the Titans getting his pitch count up and they jumped on Irvine’s bullpen once again when Pedroza led off the inning with a double against Jimmy Litchfield and Chapman singled with one out to chase him from the game. Merten came in and got a strikeout but grooved a pitch to Lorenzen that he smacked to deep right center for a triple to score two runs and cut the lead to 5-4 but was stranded there. Gauna came into the game and left two runners on base when he got Spencer to ground out to end the top of the ninth. Jefferies singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth, Austin Kingsolver bunted him over and Pedroza walked once again and Irvine went to another reliever with Evan Brock coming into the game. Lopez ended the game by launching another walk-off HR into the net in RF that set off another wild celebration at home for the second straight game as Fullerton clinched their fourth straight conference championship in style.<br />
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After pummeling the Riverside pitching staff the previous weekend, Fullerton knew things would be much more difficult last weekend against a strong Irvine starting rotation and their starters were solid, holding the Titans to eight runs on fifteen hits in 20 2/3 IP for a 3.48 ERA. However, Fullerton treated the Anteaters bullpen like they did the Riverside pitchers and scored seven runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 IP against the Irvine relievers and the Titans ability to repeatedly hit their mistakes was the difference in the series along with Fullerton’s patience at the plate in drawing twelve walks against the Anteaters starting pitchers to drive up their pitch counts. Lopez was obviously the hero of the weekend in his final regular season home games with the game winning RBI on Friday and walk-off HR’s on Saturday and Sunday to earn conference player of the week honors. Other hitters who had good series were Lorenzen (4-11, 4 RBI), Davis (3-11, 3 RBI) and Pedroza (five walks, four runs). Eshelman and Garza continued their amazing FR seasons and are now a combined 21-2 with a 1.73 ERA and the pitching staff had a 2.33 ERA for the weekend.<br />
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Fullerton will wrap up the regular season with a series at the biggest surprise in the conference this season, the Cal State Northridge Matadors. Expectations were low for Northridge as they have been for the last decade but the Matadors far outplayed them by going on a 24-6 run that propelled them into the top part of the Big West standings before struggling the last two weekends when they lost their series at home to UCSB and were swept at Cal Poly. Fullerton has beaten Northridge like a drum over the last decade and gone 29-5 against the Matadors since 2003 and they are looking to see if they can do something about that this weekend.</div>
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<b>Cal State Northridge Matadors (31-23, 15-9 – tied for 2nd) </b></div>
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<li>2012 Overall Record – 23-30</li>
<li>2012 Conference Record – 10-14 (tied for 6th)</li>
<li>2012 Post-Season – None. </li>
<li>2013 RPI/ISR – 88/56. 2012 RPI/ISR – 157/116.</li>
<li>Pre-season/Current ranking – None</li>
<li>Predicted conference finish – 6th by Perfect Game, 7th by Baseball America, 8th by the Big West coaches and Easton College Baseball.</li>
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<b>2012 Summary and 2013 Preview</b></div>
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Cal State Northridge hired former Fresno State assistant coach Matt Curtis after the 2010 season and he started making his imprint on the roster by bringing in thirteen newcomers and the Matadors got off to a decent start at 14-11 but many of those games were played against mediocre competition and Northridge wasn’t really prepared for what hit them in Big West play and they started out 1-11 before going 5-7 down the stretch. Northridge turned over the roster some more in 2012 with eighteen more newcomers and got off to a solid 6-3 start last season with series wins at Sac State and vs. Northwestern before they went on a 6-15 skid when they lost the final three games of a tournament in San Diego and lost four straight series on the road at Portland, St. Mary’s and then at Fullerton and UCSB to start Big West play. The Matadors started playing better when they were able to play some games at home and went 10-6 over the next month, winning series against Cal Poly, Riverside and Irvine. Northridge had a chance to finish in the top half of the conference standings but lost their series to UC Davis and were swept at Pacific, half of the conference wins that the Tigers had, to finish tied for sixth.<br />
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Northridge was one of the worst hitting teams in the Big West last season, finishing last in the conference with a .255 average and they only averaged 4.5 runs per game, scoring four runs or less thirty times. The Matadors had an all or nothing offense because they were second in the Big West with 22 HR’s but were near the bottom of the conference in SLG % because they weren’t doing much except for swinging hard and were among the Big West leaders in strikeouts. Northridge didn’t have much team speed because they were also near the bottom of the conference in doubles and triples and had the fewest steals in the Big West. The Matadors started bunting more than they had in the past and were in the middle of the conference with about a SAC bunt per game.<br />
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Northridge brought back two of their starting pitchers from 2011 and expected to have a solid rotation with the addition of FR Jerry Keel, who ended up being one of the better SP’s in the conference but despite the great year that he had, the rest of the pitching staff imploded and only two pitchers had ERA’s under five. The two returning starters were only 6-16 and the Matadors were next to last in the Big West in ERA and were last in opponents AVG with teams hitting over .300 against them. Northridge didn’t have the arms to compete besides Keel and were near the bottom of the conference in walks and struck out the fewest number of hitters in the Big West. The Matadors pitchers weren’t helped by the defense that was porous as usual and allowed 72 unearned runs.<br />
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Northridge had more changes in the off-season with fifteen newcomers arriving as well as two new assistant coaches, former Fullerton assistant Sergio Brown and pitching coach Sam Peraza. Things looked promising with the Matadors getting off to a 4-1 start after winning a series against St. Mary’s but then they went on a 2-11 skid and it looked like the same old Northridge after they lost weekend series to USC, Washington State and Sacramento State and a midweek series to Oregon but most of those games were during a stretch of ten straight games away from home. Things started turning around for Northridge when they swept a home series against Utah Valley and all of a sudden they got hot and went 24-6 as the most surprising team in the Big West, sweeping Riverside, Hawaii, Pacific and UC Davis but also losing series during that time at Long Beach and Irvine. The Matadors were getting some national attention and thinking about possibly being a regional team when they were only a game out of first at 14-4 going into their home series with UCSB but they lost the series to the Gauchos. Northridge had a tough series to follow that up with by going on the road to Cal Poly and were swept by the Mustangs, eliminating them from the conference race and officially ending their chances at post-season play.<br />
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Northridge isn’t hitting much better this season with a .263 AVG that is next to last in the Big West but they have been better in conference play and hit in the .280’s. The Matadors have been finding ways to get key hits and have been near the top of the Big West in scoring and are second in conference games and have been helped by being patient at the plate and are third in the Big West in walks. Northridge has also been playing much more small ball to manufacture runs and they lead the conference in SAC bunts and are third in steals. The offense was averaging over five runs a game in Big West play going into the UCSB series but the Matadors only scored eight runs in their five losses during their 1-5 stretch against the Gauchos and Cal Poly and also had trouble earlier in the season when they only scored twelve runs in the final five games of the series at Long Beach and Irvine.<br />
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Northridge had a bad pitching staff in 2012 other than Keel but this year it has been a night and day difference with two newcomers joining him to form a good rotation with all three of them having solid ERA’s and the depth hasn’t been limited to the starters. The Matadors have had eight relievers make at least fifteen appearances and/or throw at least twenty innings with five of them having ERA’s under four. Northridge’s ERA has improved by about 1 1/2 runs per game and teams are hitting forty points less against them. The Matadors have also improved their control by almost a walk per game and they are striking out over a batter more per game. Northridge’s pitchers have also been helped out by a drastically improved defense that has gone from one of the worst in the Big West to one of the best and they have cut their unearned runs in half down to 35.</div>
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<b>Offense </b></div>
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<li>Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 115 from ’09-’12 (increases offense by 15%) due to not having lights so all games are played during the day and the ball carries well. The dimensions are small for a western ballpark at 325 down the lines, 375 to the alleys and 400 to CF. The playing surface also isn’t the best so it helps balls get past infielders.</li>
<li>Batting Average – .262 (8th in the Big West, 211th nationally); .282 in conference (4th). .255 in 2012 (9/253); .245 in conference.</li>
<li>Scoring – 273 (4/168), 5.1 runs per game; 129 (2nd), 5.4 runs per game in conference. 236 (6/240), 4.5 runs per game in 2012; 95 in conference, 4.0 per game.</li>
<li>Home Runs – 21 (4/127); 8 in conference (6th). 22 in 2012 (2/169); 9 in conference. </li>
<li>Slugging Percentage – .351 (8/196); .372 in conference (5th). .338 in 2012 (7/249); .320 in conference.</li>
<li>On Base Percentage – .347 (6/193); .358 in conference (2nd). .338 in 2012 (8/253); .316 in conference.</li>
<li>Walks – 193 (3/135), 3.6 per game; 82 (2nd), 3.5 per game in conference. 179 in 2012 (6/204), 3.4 per game; 71 in conference, 3.0 per game.</li>
<li>HBP’s – 51 (8/180); 21 in conference (8th). 52 in 2012 (8/167); 17 in conference.</li>
<li>Strikeouts – 356 (2/xx), 6.6 per game; 164 (1st), 6.8 per game in conference. 313 in 2012 (4/xx), 5.9 per game; 143 in conference, 6.0 per game.</li>
<li>Stolen Bases – 62-88 (3/109); 23-39 in conference (5th). 28-52 in 2012 (9/273); 16-23 in conference.</li>
<li>Sac Bunts – 64 (1/20); 33 in conference (1st). 55 in 2012 (6/69); 20 in conference.</li>
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<b>Lineup</b></div>
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Northridge lost two team leaders who platooned at C and 1B but returned their other infielders, which has helped to solidify their defense.</div>
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C – Soph #9 Alexis Mercado (RH – .283/.341/.385, 1-25-5. ’12 – .200 in 35 AB’s) didn’t play much while sitting behind Marty Bowen and Steven Keller, who was honorable mention all-conference, but has moved into the lineup and done a solid job offensively while usually hitting sixth. He is on a seven game hitting streak, has hits in 15 of his last 18 games and is tenth in the Big West with a .348 AVG in conference games. Mercado has some solid pop in his bat and is among the Big West leaders in doubles. He could have better plate discipline and has an 11/33 BB/K ratio. Mercado does the little things well and has six SAC bunts and five steals. He has hit much better at home (.307) than he has on the road (.268). Mercado went 0-3 at Fullerton in 2012.</div>
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1B – JR #10 Josh Goosen-Brown (RH – .276/.339/.365, 2-45-3. ’12 – Medical redshirt. ’11 – .158 in 38 AB’s) didn’t play much earlier in his career and was injured in 2012 but has taken advantage of his opportunity with Bowen and Keller moving on and has been an excellent run producer in the cleanup spot and is second in the Big West in RBI. He was in a 4-32 slump before getting two hits in each of the final two games of the Cal Poly series, including his second HR of the season. Goosen-Brown is hitting .330 at home, almost 100 points better than he is on the road. He does a solid job of making contact and has a 14/22 BB/K ratio.<br />
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2B – Soph #35 Michael Livingston (LH – .282/.406/.336, 0-11-6. ’12 – .179 in 56 AB’s) didn’t play much as a FR and when he did he hit poorly but took advantage of some injuries to break into the lineup this season. He does an excellent job of seeing lots of pitches and is third in the conference in walks. Livingston was moved into the lineup spot earlier in the season around the same time that Northridge started playing well. He doesn’t have much power with six extra-base hits (all doubles). Livingston is a good bunter and has six SAC bunts and has good speed.<br />
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Soph #2 Ryan Raslowsky (RH – .286/.359/.371, 0-9-5 in 70 AB’s. ’12 – .278/.347/.285, 0-12-3) didn’t start once in the first thirteen games as a FR but took advantage of an injury to the starter at 2B to get into the lineup and was a sparkplug as the leadoff hitter. He got off to a slow start this season but was starting to hit better when he got injured and missed 22 games before returning for the final game of the UCSB series. He hasn’t been able to play in the field and has been the DH for two of the last four games. Raslowsky hit well at Fullerton in 2012 and went 5-13.</div>
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SR #5 Tommy Simis (RH – .295 in 44 AB’s. ’12 – .268/.344/.280, 0-9-0. ’11 – .258/.335/.399, 4-29-5) started most of 2011 at 3B before shifting over to SS the last month of the season and took over at 2B in 2012. He led the team in HR and was tied for 2nd in RBI in 2011 and got off to a good start last season before injuring his elbow a couple in late March and missed most of the rest of the year. Simis got a few starts earlier in the season but wasn’t able to break into the lineup when Raslowsky got hurt and is a reserve.</div>
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SS – SR #6 Kyle Attl (RH – .279/.356/.373, 3-28-6. ’12 – .225/.295/.342, 4-22-1. ’11 – .241/.310/.319, 1-15-0) started most of 2011 at SS but was benched for the last few weeks of the season due to his struggles on offense. He was back in the lineup last season because his defense helped solidify the middle infield and stayed there despite not hitting much but he did show some pop in his bat and was third on the team with four HR’s. Attl has hit much better this season and is second on the team in RBI and is fifth in the Big West with 18 RBI in conference games. His power has come due to taking a big swing and he is third in the conference with 47 strikeouts. He will hit second and he does an excellent job of bunting runners over and leads the Big West with eleven SAC’s. Attl did not hit well at Cal Poly and went 1-13 but his only hit was a HR. He went 0-11 at Fullerton in 2012.</div>
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3B – FR #37 Nicolas Osuna (RH – .246/.366/.263, 0-16-2) emerged out of a pack of several players who were splitting time at 3B in the first month of the season and has been the regular starter over the last two months. He didn’t hit much as he got used to D1 pitching but he is hitting .270 in conference games with 13 RBI and will usually hit in the lower part of the lineup.<br />
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FR #26 William Colantono (LH – .159/.247/.225, 0-7-0 in 59 AB’s) has gotten an occasional start at 3B and DH as one of only three LH hitters on the roster but hasn’t done much with his chances.<br />
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<b>Outfield</b><br />
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Northridge expected to have a better outfield this season with only one SR getting playing time in 2012 but one of their best hitters transferred out and two other starters have been injured with one of them out for the season.<br />
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LF – SR #3 Cal Vogelsang (RH – .313/.337/.386, 0-16-3 in 83 AB’s. ’12 – .278/.308/.359, 1-18-3) broke into the lineup as a JC transfer in 2012 and had a solid season while playing CF. He was starting in CF at the beginning of this season but was injured in early March and missed 31 games and has hit .346 in fourteen games since returning to the lineup. Vogelsang has poor plate discipline with an 8/45 BB/K ratio over the last two seasons. He went 4-13 with two RBI at Fullerton in 2012.<br />
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CF – SR #7 Nate Ring (RH – .259/.379/.353, 4-22-14. ’12 – .267/.347/.329, 0-18-9) was a part-time player in LF early last season as a JC transfer before carving out more playing time for himself as the season went on. He was starting in LF before Vogelsang got hurt and was moved over to CF and has stayed there due to his good speed, which makes him one of the biggest threats on the bases in the conference and he is third in the Big West in SB’s. Ring will usually hit third and is one of the most patient hitters in the conference and is second in the Big West with 37 walks. Unlike most of his teammates, he has had difficulty hitting at home where he has only batted .227. Ring been struggling recently and is hitting .135 over the last fifteen games. He went 3-10 with three RBI at Fullerton in 2012.<br />
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RF – Soph #8 Chester Pak (RH – .268/.341/.368, 2-18-12. ’12 - .271 in 59 AB’s) didn’t play much as a FR but got a chance to get more playing time this season and has been a fixture in the lineup. He has been one of Northridge’s best hitters in conference games, hitting .319 and leading the team in runs, doubles and total bases. Pak didn’t hit well at Cal Poly when he went 2-12 with five strikeouts, which has been an issue for him with a 13/32 BB/K ratio. He has hit much better at home with a .316 average and both of his HR’s two weeks ago against UCSB and only hit .241 on the road with two RBI.</div>
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DH – FR #38 Anthony Lombardo (LH – .191/.247/.225, 0-10-1) and JC transfer #22 Kyle Ferramola (RH – .194/.351/.371, 2-7-1) have been among several players to take turns at the DH spot, although Ferramola hasn’t played much recently. Lombardo is one of the few LH bats on the roster.<br />
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JR #13 Miles Williams (RH – .221/.302/.477, 7-23-4. ’12 – .258/.349/.396, 6-25-3. ’11 – .262 in 65 AB’s) moved into the lineup late in 2011 and was the regular RF last season. He was one of the main power threats in the lineup over the last two seasons, was second in the conference with six HR’s in 2012 and was leading the Big West this season with seven HR’s before a season ending injury in late March. </div>
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<b>Defense</b><br />
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Fielding % – .975 (4/27) with 51 errors, 35 unearned runs. .976 (2nd) in conference with 22 errors, 15 unearned runs. .964 (8/171) with 74 errors in 2012, 72 unearned runs. .967 with 32 errors in conference, 21 unearned runs. Northridge’s defense has steadily improved from poor to below average and this year it has been very good and is right there with the better teams in the conference. Goosen-Brown is a good athlete at 1B and Livingston and Attl have very good range up the middle. Good range in the OF with Vogelsang, Ring and Pak, who all have solid arms.<br />
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Stolen Base Attempts – 44-63 (5th), 19-28 in conference (4th). 63-88 (8th) in 2012. Runners are 33-43 against Mercado and 10-13 against the backup catchers who rarely play.<br />
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WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 73 (10th), 38 in conference (10th). 67 (8th) in 2012. Blocking pitches is one of the few areas that Mercado has had issues with because Northridge leads the conference in WP’s/PB’s.</div>
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<b>Pitching</b></div>
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<ul>
<li>ERA – 3.84 (5/93); 3.66 in conference (4th). 5.27 in 2012 (8/219); 4.84 in conference.</li>
<li>AVG – .272 (6/136); .263 in conference (5th). .305 in 2012 (9/251); .313 in conference.</li>
<li>HR – 18 (6/xx); 7 in conference (5th). 24 in 2012 (7/xx); 7 in conference.</li>
<li>SLG – .364 (5/xx); .321 in conference (3rd). .420 in 2012 (9/xx); .407 in conference. </li>
<li>Walks – 152 (4/33), 2.9 BB’s/9 IP; 49 in conference (3rd), 2.1 BB’s/9 IP. 185 (7/133) in 2012, 3.6 BB’s/9 IP; 74 in conference, 3.1 BB’s/9 IP. </li>
<li>HBP – 59 (4/xx); 34 in conference (2nd). 48 in 2012 (5/xx); 31 in conference.</li>
<li>OBP – .347 (5/xx). .321 in conference (3rd). .383 in 2012 (8/xx); .384 in conference.</li>
<li>Strikeouts – 319 (5/207), 6.0 K/9 IP; 138 in conference (4th), 5.2 K/9 IP. 242 (9/285), 4.7 K/9 IP in 2012; 108 in conference, 4.5 K/9 IP.</li>
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<b>Starters</b></div>
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Northridge returned one of the best pitchers in the Big West from last season in Jerry Keel, the conference FR pitcher of the year, and along with FR Calvin Copping and JC transfer John Salas they have been the backbone of the team and a big reason for the success the Matadors have had this season. All three have very good to excellent control while averaging around two walks allowed per nine innings with batters hitting around .250 against them.<br />
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Soph #40 Jerry Keel (LHP – 7-2, 2.27 ERA, 16 apps, 13 GS, 91 IP, 84 H, 20 BB, 69 K, .254 AVG, 1 HR, 12 HBP, 7 WP, 7-12 SB. ’12 – 6-3, 2.07 ERA, 16 apps, 13 GS, 91 IP, 88 H, 24 BB, 48 K, .258 AVG, 1 HR, 16 HBP, 0 WP, 11-18 SB) is huge at 6’6”, 280 lbs but he’s not really a hard thrower despite his size. He relies more on changing speeds and working inside (28 HBP’s over the last two seasons) to get hitters out and works up in the zone more to get hitters to pop up or hit weak fly outs. Keel had a few control issues early in his FR season but worked through those quickly and allowed an average of two walks per 9 IP in his Big West starts on his way to finishing second in the conference in ERA. He has been very consistent this season and has allowed two earned runs or less in ten of his starts, walked two batters or less in eleven of his starts and is among the leaders in the Big West in ERA, wins, IP and strikeouts. Keel can sometimes have a little trouble in the first couple of innings and build up his pitch count, which will be part of Fullerton’s strategy as it has been all season long. He had his worst start of the season last weekend at Cal Poly when he allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks in 3 2/3 IP and has been decent on the road with a 3-2 record and a 3.14 ERA but he has been lights out at home, where he is 4-0 in five starts with a 1.13 ERA. Keel picked up Northridge’s only win in the series at Fullerton in 2012 when he allowed one run on nine hits in a CG effort for which he was awarded Big West pitcher of the week honors.<br />
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FR #21 Calvin Copping (RHP – 5-5, 3.74 ERA, 13 GS, 77 IP, 83 H, 20 BB, 47 K, .277 AVG, 2 HR, 10 HBP, 17 WP, 6-9 SB) isn’t a hard thrower and relies on a sinking fastball and slider to get batters to pound the ball into the ground and because he such sink on his pitches, he leads the Big West in wild pitches and had five of them last weekend at Cal Poly so look for the Fullerton runners to be active against him and looking to take extra bases. He has good control and has walked a little over two batters per 9 IP but he also doesn’t mind pitching inside and is among the conference leaders in HBP’s. Copping pitched well in his first two starts of the season but struggled in his next four starts when he couldn’t get past the fifth inning and bottomed out at Long Beach when he allowed six runs in five innings. He was much better after that start, going 3-1 with two no-decisions over his next six starts and allowed three earned runs or less in five of them, before having a bad start at Cal Poly last weekend when he allowed six runs on eight hits in four innings. Copping also throws much better at home, where he is 3-1 with a 1.89 ERA in five starts, than he does on the road, where he is 2-5 with a 5.15 ERA in eight starts.<br />
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JC transfer #25 John Salas (LHP – 4-6, 3.30 ERA, 20 apps, 12 GS, 76 IP, 68 H, 12 BB, 50 K, .245 AVG, 4 HR, 4 HBP, 2 WP, 5-9 SB) also isn’t a hard thrower but spots his fastball well and gets good movement on it along with his slider and has been tough on hitters, allowing more than six hits in only one of his starts. Much like with the other two pitchers in the rotation, his worst start of the season was last weekend at Cal Poly when he allowed four runs on five hits and two HR’s in five innings. Salas was a midweek starter and reliever on the weekends earlier in the season but worked his way into the weekend rotation and averaged six innings a start over six starts in conference play, allowing two earned runs or less in five of them, before his start in SLO. Much like with the other two starters, he has been much better at home where he is 3-2 with a 1.64 ERA than he has been on the road, where he is 1-4 with a 5.57 ERA.<br />
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<b>Relievers</b> </div>
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Northridge didn’t have much depth on their pitching staff last season with only one pitcher other than Keel having an ERA under five so it’s no surprise that they have lots of newcomers pitching meaningful innings and for the most part they have been doing well and shortening the games for their starters to get the ball to their closer.<br />
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JR #10 Josh Goosen-Brown (RHP – 2-3, 3.63 ERA, 9 saves, 18 apps, 22 IP, 26 H, 6 BB, 9 K, .295 AVG, 0 HR, 5 HBP, 3 WP, 1-1 SB. ’12 – Medical redshirt. ’11 – 4-3, 4.74 ERA, 5 saves, 19 apps, 4 GS, 49 IP, 72 H, 8 BB, 43 K, .340 AVG, 4 HR, 1 HBP, 3 WP, 9-11 SB) was a part-time closer in 2011 before missing last season. He has been very effective as the closer and is third in the conference in saves and relies on a slider to get batters to hit the ball into the ground. Goosen-Brown had a 1.71 ERA going into his most recent appearance when he went into a scoreless game in the ninth inning against UCSB and allowed five runs in 1/3 of an inning.<br />
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FR #30 DJ Milam (RHP – 4-0, 3.30 ERA, 2 saves, 21 apps, 30 IP, 19 H, 7 BB, 16 K, .183 AVG, 1 HR, 6 HBP, 1 WP, 3-3 SB) has been very tough to hit and with his size projects to have a bright future. He has been the main set-up guy for Goosen-Brown.<br />
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JR #18 Harley Holt (RHP – 3-2, 5.31 ERA, 2 saves, 20 apps, 4 GS, 39 IP, 49 H, 21 BB, 25 K, .329 AVG, 1 HR, 3 HBP, 7 WP, 6-10 SB . ’12 – 0-3, 3.71 ERA, 3 saves, 19 apps, 4 GS, 44 IP, 50 H, 16 BB, 22 K, .289 AVG, 2 HR, 5 HBP, 5 WP, 4-6 SB) was one of the few effective pitchers on the staff in 2012 and was in the rotation to begin the season but wasn’t effective as he was out of the bullpen.<br />
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Soph #32 Brandon Warner (RHP – 2-2, 4.98 ERA, 15 apps, 5 GS, 34 IP, 43 H, 1 BB, 13 K, .305 AVG, 4 HR, 2 HBP, 2 WP, 2-2 SB. ’12 – 1-3, 5.52 ERA, 18 apps, 5 GS, 44 IP, 63 H, 14 BB, 17 K, .348 AVG, 3 HR, 3 HBP, 3 WP, 8-10 SB) was a midweek starter as a FR and has made some midweeks starts earlier in the season but has been pitching out of the bullpen most of the time. He has excellent control but his problem is he gets too much of the plate and is prone to getting hit.<br />
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JC transfer #27 Brycen Rutherford (RHP – 1-1, 3.35 ERA, 14 apps, 5 GS, 38 IP, 34 H, 17 BB, 23 K, .243 AVG, 3 HR, 4 HBP, 3 WP, 4-5 SB) has been the midweek starter and allowed one run in eleven innings in his last two starts against San Diego and UCLA. Northridge hasn’t had a midweek game for the last two weeks so he will be available in relief.<br />
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FR #33 Oscar Sandoval (LHP – 2-0, 3.86 ERA, 21 apps, 12 IP, 14 H, 8 BB, 7 K, .311 AVG, 0 HR, 2 HBP, 0 WP, 2-3 SB) is the only LHP in the bullpen and is a situational LHP who is only brought in to face one or two hitters.<br />
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FR #28 Anthony Cortez (RHP – 0-0, 1.35 ERA, 1 save, 16 apps, 13 IP, 9 H, 6 BB, 17 K, .196 AVG, 0 HR, 3 HBP, 5 WP, 3-4 SB) is a situational RHP who will only face one or two batters.)<br />
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JC transfer #20 Michael Coates (RHP – 0-0, 5.21 ERA, 19 apps, 1 GS, 19 IP, 24 H, 11 BB, 23 K, .296 AVG, 1 HR, 4 HBP, 2 WP, 4-4 SB) is a middle reliever who will throw one to two innings.</div>
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<b>Outlook</b> <br />
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It would appear that Fullerton doesn’t have much to play for this weekend after wrapping up the Big West title last weekend but that is far from the case because they have much bigger goals to play for, such as hosting a regional and super regional as a national seed. It would also appear that Northridge doesn’t have much to play for after being eliminated from conference championship and post-season contention last weekend but the Matadors are going to be motivated to be the first team to win a series against the Titans this season and finish as high as second in the Big West standings.<br />
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Fullerton isn’t always a consistent hitting team on the weekends but they have been consistent at maintaining a patient approach to work counts, draw walks and drive up the pitch counts for starting pitchers to get into the bullpen of their opponents, a formula that has been productive and made them the best offense in the conference. Northridge has been an opportunistic offense that has been one of the better ones and solid at executing with a small ball approach and manufacturing runs with key hits, although their offense has cooled off over the last couple of weeks. <br />
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It will be interesting to see what Fullerton does with their starting rotation this weekend with the series starting one day earlier than normal and the coaching staff probably looking to limit the innings of some of their starters to rest them for the post-season run. The starting rotation for Northridge has been solid all season, especially at home where each of their starters have ERA’s under two, and a major reason for the big improvement by the Matadors, although their rotation began to show some cracks last weekend when all three of their starters had their worst starts of the season at Cal Poly.<br />
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Fullerton usually is one of the best defensive teams in the conference and this year is no exception and often making the exceptional play to help out their pitchers. Northridge traditionally had a porous defense and made life difficult for their pitchers but this year they turned that around and you have to credit their coaches and players for putting in the hard work to make that happen as they quit beating themselves and giving away games.<br />
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This doesn’t figure to be an easy series for Fullerton with one goal behind them and more goals coming up while playing at a motivated opponent looking to end their season on a high note. If Northridge puts everything together in all three phases of the game they could possibly pull off the upset this weekend but the senior leaders for Fullerton do not want to end the season on a low and are motivated to finish off the regular season on a positive note so look for the Titans to win a hard fought series. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-43055600797422058692013-05-20T10:30:00.000-07:002013-05-27T00:12:31.485-07:00Titans-Eaters: The Rest of the Story<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>UCI at Titans: Won 5-2 (Friday), Won 3-2 (Saturday), 7-5 (Sunday)</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqO2jNqe3qkN8LwYQHXRc9wZCLD_Aej7jcOXpMF0oc9r9BdQYWUYKt4ZzpBzHIoJUD-La_G4jEHZardw1KlqPWHffd-vc8-acbak46TaTg8Pwn8JSMytrfP00tp0qb1ScInycCadIBt97/s1600/BKqeDP0CQAAPL4t.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqO2jNqe3qkN8LwYQHXRc9wZCLD_Aej7jcOXpMF0oc9r9BdQYWUYKt4ZzpBzHIoJUD-La_G4jEHZardw1KlqPWHffd-vc8-acbak46TaTg8Pwn8JSMytrfP00tp0qb1ScInycCadIBt97/s400/BKqeDP0CQAAPL4t.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><i>By Jim Venuto </i></b><br />
<i>(A Letter From a Fan)</i><br />
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<i>“Now, for the Rest of the Story ...”</i><br />
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“In a 14-pitch at-bat, in which Lopez fouled off nine straight, he eventually won the encounter, lacing a RBI single into right field as the Titans took a 3-2 lead when Jefferies crossed the plate.”<br />
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That sounds exciting, but there’s much more to the story...and it’s true. It happened this weekend. The incident above was actually on national TV (ESPN) Friday night. The funny thing about it: Lopez was laughing between pitches, every pitch after his sixth foul tip. He kept looking over to his teammates on the Cal. State Fullerton bench and smiling and laughing. This was an important game. Fullerton needed to win to maintain a top-8 seed in the NCAA Regional tournament, where, like NCAA basketball, the top 64 teams play. But in baseball, the final 8 teams come to Omaha for the College World Series. Fullerton was rated 4 or 5, depending upon the poll, and Irvine was rated 24-26. Irvine wanted to win to remain in the top 45, as 18-19 teams win automatic berths by winning their leagues or conference tournaments, and the UC-Irvine Anteaters were in 4th place in their conference with no year-end tournament to allow them to qualify for an “at-large” berth.<br />
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Anyone that played baseball knows fouling off nine consecutive pitches is difficult, rare, and almost never done. It wasn’t 6, 7, or 8 consecutive pitches; it was exactly 9. Incredible. And it was, indeed, nine (9) consecutive pitches against Irvine’s top reliever. Most batters would have been extremely nervous and sweating, and maybe Lopez should have been. But the camera showed, and the ESPN commentators pointed out, that Carlos flashed a big smile and was “giggling.” Actually, he had fouled off two (2) other pitches in the same at bat, but they were not part of the “nine straight.” Perhaps the smiling and giggling kept him loose. Fullerton won the game in the bottom of the ninth. Now, for <i>“the rest of the story ...”</i><br />
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I was lucky enough to have dinner with Carlos and his father, when I drove down to Tulsa about 3-4 weeks ago to watch Fullerton play three games against Oral Roberts. I went out to dinner with a friend from Fullerton, Don Hudson. When I arrived at the restaurant, Don was sitting with Carlos and his dad. The elder Lopez was a tall thin man (probably 6’2”) that wore a Panama (straw) hat to all the games. I had met him before - in Dallas when I attended a series of games against TCU, last year. The older Mr. Lopez remembered me only because I was the “guy from Nebraska”. And I remembered him because he was always smiling and seemed to know everybody and he was always relaxed and happy-go-lucky. So, I sat at the same restaurant table for about an hour and talked to Carlos, his dad, and Don Hudson, while we ate barbequed ribs. It was a “delightful” experience, and I came to like Carlos (and his dad) more. I also learned Carlos is an excellent student, a “fifth-year senior” that was not drafted last year, like most 3 and 4-year Fullerton players. There had been considerable concern that he might not come back this year and play baseball.<br />
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Last fall, he enrolled (I believe in Fullerton’s graduate school). He had decided to play baseball one more year. The Fullerton players seem to appreciate Carlos; he is humble, works hard, plus he’s quiet and friendly – one of those guys that “never says ‘boo’.” And he smiles a lot. Interestingly, by the time the baseball season started in February, he had lost 35 lbs. and was trim, faster, and going into Friday night’s game, he was batting .330+ in 199 at bats. Also, he had recently been selected by the NCAA as one of 10 NCAA baseball student-athletes who excel both on and off the field for a 2013 “Senior CLASS Award.” (To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division-I senior and have “notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character, and competition.”) I don’t mean to “name-drop” by telling you I ate dinner with Carlos; I wanted you to know he is a good kid and a good student ... and I ate dinner with him.<br />
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Anyway, I promised you <i>“the rest of the story ...”</i><br />
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After he won the game Friday night on national TV, Fullerton was down in the bottom of the ninth to Irvine Saturday night, also, and up steps Carlos Lopez, again. That’s right, bottom of the ninth, two out, probably a 3-2 count. What does he do? “One swing of the bat from Carlos Lopez, and No. 4 Cal State Fullerton left UC Irvine on the field with a two-out walk-off home run in Saturday night’s 3-2 series-clinching victory at Goodwin Field.”<br />
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But I promised you <i>“the rest of the story ...”</i> and that’s not it. That was last night. What about today, Sunday?<br />
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This afternoon, Sunday, May 19th, Fullerton was down yet again, this time 5-2, and going into the ninth inning, still down 5-4. “Entering the ninth, trailing the Anteaters, 5-4, UC Irvine reliever Mitch Merten surrendered a leadoff single to Jake Jefferies and issued a one-out walk to Richy Pedorza. The Anteaters’ Evan Brock then came to the mound, and for the third day in a row, Lopez came to the plate with the game on the line. The fifth-year senior delivered, again. He took Brock's 1-1 offering and left UCI on the field with a three-run walk-off homer to right.” The Cal. State Fullerton Titans (45-8) are now assured of winning their 27th conference championship in 39 years. (They didn’t play baseball before then.) Let’s hope the Titans get to Omaha for the CWS so you can see how much fun this team is to watch, and so you can see, and maybe even meet, Carlos...and his dad. (His dad will be the one wearing a Panama hat. And he’ll likely be smiling.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-24379840157689352472013-05-19T22:17:00.003-07:002013-05-27T00:11:49.180-07:00Carlos Lopez's Big West-Winning Homer<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="http://www.snappytv.com/snap/carlos-lopez-delivers-again-for-cal-state-fullerton-his-2n-about-cal-state-fullerton-baseball-on-cal-state-fullerton-baseball?w=500&h=300" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe>
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With the Titans down 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Lopez delivers his second consecutive walk-off homer in as many days, this time a three-run shot to give Fullerton a 7-5 victory over UC Irvine and outright title of the Big West Conference.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-12869897381325631622013-05-18T23:19:00.000-07:002013-05-20T09:19:51.032-07:00Carlos Lopez's Saturday Night Special<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/leuh1Nb_dvM" width="500"></iframe>
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With the score tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Lopez drills a 1-1 pitch over the right field fence to give the Titans a 3-2 victory over UC Irvine.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-38339373302068208742013-05-16T06:58:00.000-07:002013-05-16T07:01:23.951-07:00UC Irvine Series Preview<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>UC Irvine at Titans</b></div>
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<b>Friday 8 p.m. (ESPNU); Saturday 6 p.m. (FS West); Sunday 1 p.m.</b></div>
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<b><i>By FullertonBaseballFan</i></b><br />
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Cal State Fullerton started out the season 31-4, scuffled for a bit when they went 3-3 and dropped a game in all three weekend series during that stretch, and rebounded to go on a five game winning streak after shutting out Hawaii in the final two games on the islands and returning home to sweep Long Beach State. The Titans went on the road to Riverside last weekend and extended their winning streak to seven games by bludgeoning the Highlanders 14-7 and 12-0 before dropping the final game of the series 7-6 on Mother’s Day. The win by Riverside also snapped Fullerton’s seven game winning streak in the Inland Empire at their former house of horrors.<br />
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After a scoreless first inning on Friday, Fullerton jumped on starter Dylan Stuart, who had shut them out in 2012, by scoring four runs in the top of the second when J.D. Davis singled, Michael Lorenzen was hit by a pitch, Chad Wallach bunted them over and reached first when Stuart’s throw was wide of the bag, Greg Velazquez singled in two runs and Richy Pedroza and Carlos Lopez followed later in the inning with RBI singles. The Titans added to the lead in the third when Wallach doubled and Velazquez singled him in. Fullerton scored another run in the fourth when Pedroza singled to third and went to second on an error on the throw and Lopez singled him in. The Titans finished off Stuart’s night in the sixth with four runs to make it 10-0 when Pedroza walked, Lopez singled, Matt Chapman doubled them in, Lorenzen doubled in Chapman and Wallach doubled in Lorenzen. Thomas Eshelman was the beneficiary of the scoring onslaught and threw five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and lowering his ERA to 1.42 while improving his record to 9-2. After Riverside scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth, the destruction continued in the top of the seventh when Fullerton scored four more runs after Matt Orloff singled, Pedroza walked, Lopez singled in a run, Chapman tripled in two runs and Davis doubled in a run. The Titans had seventeen hits and were led by Lopez going 4-6 with 2 R and 3 RBI, Wallach going 3-3 with 2 R and an RBI, Chapman going 2-6 with 2 R and 4 RBI, Pedroza going 2-3 with 3 R and an RBI and Velazquez going 2-4 with a R and 3 RBI.<br />
<br />
Fullerton stayed as hot as the temperatures were in Riverside on Saturday when they scored six runs in the first inning to pretty much end the game before it had started. Pedroza led off the game against starter Ben Doucette with a walk, Chapman singled him to third, Davis singled in Pedroza and Wallach crushed one to LF for a three run HR. Velazquez kept things going with a walk, Jake Jefferies singled and Austin Diemer doubled them in to finish off the scoring in the inning. The Titans continued to bash the ball in the second when they scored five more runs to end Doucette’s night when Chapman nailed a HR to left-center, Davis singled, Lorenzen doubled, Wallach singled them in and Velazquez smacked one out to left-center for a two run HR. That was pretty much it for the scoring because Highlander reliever held Fullerton off of the scoreboard for the next five innings. Justin Garza threw five shutout innings to lower his ERA to 2.12 and improve his record to 11-0 and Jose Cardona, Tyler Peitzmeier, Willie Kuhl and Koby Gauna each threw a scoreless inning to preserve the shutout. The seventeen hits were pretty evenly distributed with thirteen batters each getting hits, Wallach getting five RBI and Velazquez and Diemer each drove in two runs.<br />
<br />
The start of Sunday’s game was the exact opposite of the first two games with Riverside jumping on Grahamm Wiest for five runs in the first inning when nothing went right for Fullerton. Two ground ball singles and a double scored a run, a pop to short left that Pedroza lost in the sun scored another run, two more ground balls found holes through the infield to score a run, a based loaded walk scored a fourth run and a double play scored the fifth run of the inning. Wiest allowed another run in the second inning to end his day and it looked like Fullerton was in for a long game with starter Zach Varela throwing well. The Titans scored a run in the fourth when Lorenzen and Anthony Hutting singled and a ground ball to second by Jefferies was booted to score a run. The Highlanders scored a run in the fourth off of Gauna to make it 7-1 and that insurance run came in handy later in the game. Fullerton knocked Varela out of the game in the sixth when they scored two runs after Davis walked, Hutting doubled him in and Jefferies doubled in Hutting. Peitzmeier held down the fort with 3 2/3 scoreless innings to allow the Titans to continue to tighten things up. Fullerton cut the lead to 7-4 in the seventh when Pedroza led off with a single and eventually scored on a ground out by Chapman after Riverside had brought in their closer, Trevor Frank. The Titans scored two runs to cut the lead to one in the eighth when Hutting singled for his third hit of the game and went to second on a wild pitch, Jefferies singled him in and Wallach doubled in Jefferies but was left stranded there. Fullerton started the ninth with singles by Lopez and Chapman and Davis was asked to bunt to move the tying and go ahead runs into scoring position but popped up. Lorenzen followed with an infield single to shortstop to load the bases but Hutting struck out and Jefferies flied out to end the rally and the game.<br />
<br />
Fullerton has sometimes had issues on offense against weekend pitching but that definitely wasn’t the case at Riverside as the Titans had their second best output in a series this season with 32 runs on 46 hits for a .368 average. Fullerton continued to have a patient approach at the plate and also walked twelve times in the series. The Titans were led at the plate by Wallach (5-10, HR, 10 RBI, 5 R), Chapman (5-15, HR, 6 RBI, 4 R), Pedroza (6-12 with two hits in each game, 2 RBI, 5 R) and Lopez (5-13, 3 RBI) and Lorenzen and Davis both went 4-12 and scored four runs. The freshmen starters Eshelman and Garza improved their combined record to 20-2 with ten scoreless innings and Peitzmeier threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his two appearances to lead the pitching staff.<br />
<br />
Fullerton got this week started by celebrating Senior Night with a 5-2 win against #8 UCLA to win both midweek games against the Bruins this season. UCLA scored a run in the top of the first off of SR starter Michael Lopez, making the first start of his career, and the Titans had six seniors in the lineup and came out motivated to bounce back from Sunday’s loss and jumped on starter Cody Poteet for three runs in the bottom of the inning when Chapman and Lorenzen singled with two outs and Hutting pulled an 0-2 pitch down the line and into the netting above the fence for a three run HR. Fullerton scored in the third without the benefit of a hit when Chapman was hit by a pitch and stole second, Lorenzen and Hutting walked and Wallach’s ground out to shortstop scored Chapman. SR David Birosak followed Lopez and threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings and ended up picking up his first win of the season. After Gauna allowed a run in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-2, the Titans scored a run in the seventh to put the game away when Pedroza walked, moved up on a ground out and a wild pitch and scored on a single by Chapman, the first hit for Fullerton since the first inning. Peitzmeier and Davis combined to throw three scoreless innings and Lorenzen finished things off in the ninth for his Big West leading sixteenth save.<br />
<br />
Fullerton is two games ahead of Northridge in the conference standings and has a chance to possibly clinch the Big West championship this weekend, depending on how the Matadors do at Cal Poly, but it won’t be easy because the Titans will be welcoming UC Irvine to Goodwin Field. This is an important series for Fullerton because they are looking to stay in contention for a national seed. This is also an important series for the Anteaters because their hopes for getting an at-large berth in a regional are teetering on the brink due to playing a home heavy non-conference schedule that has hurt their RPI and not playing well on the road. Fullerton has played thirteen series against Irvine since they brought their program back for the 2002 season and has won eleven of the series, including the last three, and has a 23-13 advantage in those series. An interesting thing to note is there has only been one series sweep and that occurred in 2004 in Fullerton’s most recent national championship season.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>UC Irvine Anteaters (31-17, 13-8 – 3rd) </b><br />
<ul>
<li>2012 Overall Record – 31-25</li>
<li>2012 Conference Record – 13-11 (4th)</li>
<li>2012 Post-Season – None. </li>
<li>2013 RPI/ISR – 65/28. 2012 RPI/ISR – 89/50.</li>
<li>Pre-season/Current ranking – Pre-season: 30th by Collegiate Baseball, 33rd by NCBWA. Current: 24th by NCBWA, 25th by Collegiate Baseball and USA Today/Coaches Poll</li>
<li>Predicted conference finish – 2nd by the Big West coaches, Baseball America, Perfect Game and Easton College Baseball.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>2012 Summary and 2013 Preview</b><br />
<br />
Irvine finished second to Fullerton in the regular season in 2011 but nearly went to the College World Series after winning all three of their games at the UCLA regional and taking a lead into the bottom of the ninth in the third game of their super regional at Virginia before allowing two runs with two outs, the second time in four years that the Anteaters had been eliminated in a super regional in dramatic fashion under coach Mike Gillespie. Irvine entered 2012 ranked in the mid to high twenties in most of the polls and expected to be playing in a regional for the seventh straight year but things didn’t end up that way. After winning three games in the RBI Tournament in Houston, the Anteaters went 6-8 over the next fourteen games and lost a series at home to Washington and dropped two games at Baylor. Irvine started to turn their season around when they won their final two games at Nevada and swept Dartmouth at home and Pacific at home to start Big West play. The Anteaters made their first conference road trip to Cal Poly and were swept by the Mustangs and outscored 17-3 and never really recovered, losing their next two series at home to Fullerton and on the road at Long Beach despite Andrew Thurman only allowing one hit in his win against the Titans and throwing a no-hitter against the Dirtbags. Irvine swept series at home against Riverside and UCSB but dropped their final two conference series at Northridge and at UC Davis to lose all four Big West series they played on the road on the way to finishing 4-8 over the last twelve games and missing the post-season for the first time since 2006.<br />
<br />
Irvine had the best offense in the Big West in 2011 and led the conference in scoring, AVG, SLG and OBP but lost several key cogs from that attack and saw their average drop by 25 points and they scored a run less per game, were in the middle of the Big West in most hitting categories and were held to three runs or less 25 times. The Anteaters didn’t have much power and hit the second fewest HR’s in the conference. Irvine had good plate discipline and was second in the Big West in walks and had the second fewest strikeouts. The Anteaters were once again among the leaders in the conference in SAC’s, using bunts and hit and runs as the way to get runners moving because they didn’t have much speed in their lineup and were in the middle of the pack in the Big West in SB’s and hit into the second most DP’s in the conference.<br />
<br />
Irvine figured they would have a good pitching staff in 2012 after losing only one starting pitcher from 2011 but that loss was a big one, Big West pitcher of the year Matt Summers. The Anteaters ran into injury problems and lost two of their starters in the first month to season ending injuries and former pitching coach and current Fullerton pitching coach Jason Dietrich did a good job of patching things together with the rotation for Irvine to end up third in the conference in ERA and was the toughest staff to hit, allowing teams to only hit .235 against them. Irvine didn’t have many power arms except for Thurman and finished in the middle of the Big West in strikeouts but were effective in pitching to contact with a solid defensive team behind them and had the best opponents’ AVG in the conference. The Anteaters allowed four runs or less 31 times.<br />
<br />
Irvine came into this season with even lower expectations among the national media and was only mentioned in the low 30’s in a couple of the polls. The Anteaters got off to a blazing 11-2 start against a home heavy schedule with only one midweek game played on the road after they swept Baylor and won three out of four games against both Cal and Portland. Irvine had major issues playing on the road in 2012 when they only went 8-15 after their season opening weekend and those troubles resurfaced again this season when they lost the first two games of their series at BYU. The Anteaters returned home and won their series against Nebraska before being swept at Riverside to start Big West play. Irvine returned home for the next two series and swept Hawaii and won their series with Northridge before going on the road and struggling with Pacific, losing the second game 14-13 and winning the series deciding game 1-0. The Anteaters had another tight series at home with last place UC Davis, sweeping the Aggies but needing to come from behind and score in the bottom of the ninth to win two of the games. Irvine’s road issues continued at UCSB when they dropped the series to the Gauchos, who rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the series deciding game. Irvine had a must win series at home last weekend against Cal Poly and delivered by winning the series.<br />
<br />
Irvine lost four seniors from last season’s lineup so they thought they might get off to a slow start offensively but it was the opposite with the Anteaters scalding the ball in the first thirteen games, hitting .337 and averaging 6.5 runs per game. It has been a gradual regression to the mean since then for Irvine, who has hit .270 and averaged five runs per game over the last 35 games. The Anteaters are hitting for more power this season with 19 HR’s after hitting only eight in 2012 and are second in the Big West in SLG %. Irvine isn’t as patient at the plate without those seniors and is averaging well under three walks per game but they are still doing a good job of making contact with the second fewest strikeouts in the conference. The Anteaters are still bunting quite a bit and are second in the Big West in SAC’s but they are running even less than they did in 2012 and are seventh in the conference in SB’s and they will put runners in motion often to stay out of double plays and have hit into the second fewest in the Big West after hitting into the second most in 2012.<br />
<br />
Irvine brought back another very experienced pitching staff after losing only one starter from 2012 and the results for the most part have been solid but they have had some issues with inconsistency, especially on the road. The Anteaters two returning starters in the weekend rotation have only gone 9-9 but a JC transfer has been lights out and gone 10-0 and is a big reason why they are in the hunt to get into a regional. Irvine’s bullpen figured to be a strength due to having so many pitchers returning but they have been up and down and have been shelled in four recent midweek games and blown some leads late. Overall, the staff has been good and they are second in the big West in ERA and opponents’ AVG. The Anteaters have starters in all three spots in the weekend rotation who are capable of striking hitters out and are second in the conference in strikeouts and all three of their starters also have excellent control and they have allowed the second fewest walks in the Big West.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Offense</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 105 from ’09-’12 (increases offense by 5%) due to playing most weekend games at home. Irvine’s park plays big with lots of room in the gaps for 2B’s and 3B’s but is tough to hit HR’s out of, although the ball will carry out during the day. </li>
<li>Batting Average – .288 (2nd in the Big West, 67th nationally); .289 in conference (3rd). .274 in 2012 (4/153).</li>
<li>Scoring – 251 (4/126), 5.3 runs per game; 117 (3rd), 5.6 runs per game in conference. 260 (4/225), 4.6 runs per game in 2012.</li>
<li>Home Runs – 19 (4/126); 10 in conference (3rd). 8 in 2012 (8/279). </li>
<li>Slugging Percentage – .397 (2/74); .399 in conference (3rd). .363 in 2012 (4/192).</li>
<li>On Base Percentage – .364 (3/103); .356 in conference (4th). .363 in 2012 (4/120)</li>
<li>Walks – 129 (6/273), 2.7 per game; 48 (5th), 2.3 per game in conference. 199 in 2012 (2/148), 3.6 per game.</li>
<li>HBP’s – 69 (1/34); 30 in conference (2nd). 70 in 2012 (3/77).</li>
<li>Strikeouts – 245 (9/xx; 2nd fewest), 5.2 per game; 107 (8th), 5.1 per game in conference. 269 in 2012 (9/xx, 2nd fewest), 4.8 per game.</li>
<li>Stolen Bases – 33-50 (7/239); 14-19 in conference (8th). 45-67 in 2011 (4/182). </li>
<li>Sac Bunts – 56 (2/25); 23 in conference (2nd). 62 in 2012 (2/43).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Infield</b><br />
<br />
Irvine went into 2012 with a very experienced infield with SR starters returning at every position except for 3B. Injuries caused some things to be shuffled around with two FR taking over behind the plate. This season, their SR catcher is back from a medical redshirt and they broke in three new starters after losing honorable mention all-conference 1B Jordan Fox, honorable mention all-conference 2B Tommy Reyes and 2nd team all-conference SS D.J. Crumlich, who was also the Big West defensive player of the year.<br />
<br />
C/DH – SR #5 Ronnie Shaeffer (RH – .311/.343/.411, 3-34-1. ’12 – Medical redshirt – .147/.268/.147, 0-3-0. ’11 – .260/.313/.303, 1-31-2. ’10 – .318/.370/.439, 3-31-1) was 1st team All-Big West, the MVP of the UCLA regional and the national Gold Glove winner in 2011 but broke a finger on his right hand early last season and was a medical redshirt. He didn’t hit well in 2011 or early in 2012 with the BBCOR bats but has hit better this season. Shaeffer got off to a hot start as most of the Irvine players did in the first 12 games when he hit .423 with two HR’s and 13 RBI and has hit .268 since then with one HR. He has heated up again recently and hit .370 the last two weeks with five RBI. Shaeffer doesn’t walk much but does a very good job of making contact with a 9/12 BB/K ratio and usually hits fifth. He is 7-31 in his career against Fullerton. <br />
<br />
C/DH – Soph #11 Jerry McClanahan (RH – .252/.425/.315, 1-15-0. ’12 – .276/.415/.388, 2-18-0) got off to a cold start as a FR with only two hits in his first 18 AB’s but started hitting better as he got regular playing time after Shaeffer got hurt and hit .313 for the rest of the season. He hit .400 in the first nine games this season but missed ten games with a hairline fracture in his arm and has hit .198 since returning to the lineup. McClanahan is the most patient hitter on the team and leads Irvine in walks and is also second in the Big West in HBP’s and is sixth in the conference in OBP despite his hitting struggles. He has only hit .194 in conference games and has gone 2-15 over the last two weeks with five walks. McClanahan splits time with Shaeffer at C and DH and starts once a weekend behind the plate and usually hits sixth. He went 0-6 against Fullerton in 2012.<br />
<br />
1B – Soph #33 Connor Spencer (LH – .385/.464/.503, 0-31-2. ’12 – .306/.388/.382, 0-30-1. Going into Fullerton – .405/.489/.557, 0-14-0) was the DH as a FR and has taken over for Jordan Fox at 1B. He was among several players who was auditioning for time in the lineup as a FR and hit his way into an everyday role by getting off to a hot start and was hitting over .400 going into the Fullerton series but cooled off significantly during conference play and only hit in the .250’s the rest of the season. Spencer got off to another hot start this season and he has stayed hot, leading the Big West in AVG and OBP and he is also among the conference leaders in R, H, 2B, TB and SLG. He hits third and is a line drive hitting machine who sprays the ball gap to gap and has an excellent 20/17 BB/K ratio. Spencer went 1-11 against Fullerton in 2012.<br />
<br />
2B – FR #1 Mikey Duarte (RH – .222/.321/.278, 0-10-1) and FR #27 Grant Palmer (RH – .215/.292/.308, 0-7-0) have been splitting time while taking over for Tommy Reyes. Duarte will usually start twice and Palmer once in weekend series. Duarte is only hitting .111 and Palmer is hitting .222 in conference games and whoever is in the lineup will usually hit ninth. Duarte is an excellent bunter and is second in the Big West with ten SAC bunts despite starting in just over half of Irvine’s games.<br />
<br />
SS – Soph #22 Chris Rabago (RH – .268/.330/.355, 1-21-1. ’12 – .286/.365/.405, 1-12-0. Going into Fullerton – .258/.378/.323, 0-2-0 in 31 AB’s) is a versatile player who split time behind the plate with McClanahan as a FR after Shaeffer was injured but has settled into the lineup as the replacement for three year starter D.J. Crumlich at SS. He did an excellent job of making contact in 2012 and only struck out six times but has expanded his strike zone as an everyday player and has an 11/24 BB/K ratio. Rabago was one of the few hitters who got off to a slow start and only hit .216 in the first 21 games but has been hitting better since moving into the leadoff role as conference play got started and has hit .303 since then. He went 1-4 in his only start against Fullerton in 2012.<br />
<br />
3B – Soph #25 Taylor Sparks (RH – .363/.387/.601, 9-43-5. ’12 – .202/.277/.363, 3-12-2) was expected to make an immediate impact in 2012 after being drafted in the 24th round in HS and split time between 3B and RF as a FR but struggled most of the season before hitting a little better in the last six weeks. He had a great summer and was one of the best hitters in the West Coast League and his success there has carried over into this season. Sparks got off to a decent start and was hitting .279 with one HR through the first sixteen games but has been the best hitter in the conference during Big West play and leads the conference in HR’s and hits and is second in AVG and RBI for the season and was the conference player of the week after going 7-13 against Cal Poly. He has been hitting out of his mind during Big West games with a .430 AVG, .744 SLG %, 6 HR’s and 27 RBI as the cleanup hitter and he is the player that Fullerton cannot let beat them. Sparks isn’t perfect and has issues with plate discipline and was fourth in the conference with 44 K’s in 2012 and has a poor 5/33 BB/K ratio this season. He struck out in all three AB’s in his only start against Fullerton in 2012.<br />
<br />
<b>Outfield</b><br />
<br />
Irvine only returned one starter in the outfield in CF in 2012 with a rotation of players splitting up time in LF and RF. CF Christian Ramirez was honorable mention all-conference but moved on and has been replaced by a JC transfer and there has been a rotation in LF due to injuries with things more stable in RF.<br />
<br />
LF – SR #2 Jeff Stephens (RH – .268/.343/.309, 0-12-5. ’12 – .288/.345/.340, 0-20-2. Going into Fullerton – .323/.380/.385, 0-10-1) split time early in 2012 before becoming the regular starter as one of the hotter hitters in the lineup early in the season but cooled off during the conference schedule. He started the first sixteen games this season before breaking a hamate bone in his hand and missing the next 21 games before returning to the lineup three weeks ago and has hit .258 over the last nine games while hitting in the lower part of the batting order. Stephens does lots of little things well, is a good bunter (8 SAC’s in 2012), has pretty good speed and was a catalyst in the Cal Poly series with his straight steal of home last Friday night. He is an aggressive hitter with only seventeen walks over the last two seasons. Stephens went 0-8 with two RBI against Fullerton in 2012.<br />
<br />
LF/2B – Soph #6 Kris Paulino (LH – .185/.349/.200, 0-6-2. ’12 – .225/.333/.288, 0-7-1) split time in RF in as a FR and got some playing time between LF and 2B when injuries hit those positions but hasn’t started since Stephens returned to the lineup. He does a good job of getting on base by walks and HBP’s with eighteen free bases in only 65 AB’s but has very little power with only one extra base hit. Paulino had a good series against Fullerton in 2012 and went 3-7 with two RBI.<br />
<br />
Soph #7 Ryan Cooper (LH – .227 in 44 AB’s. ’12 - .250 in 28 AB’s) is the main pinch-hitting option against RHP’s because he usually makes contact with only four strikeouts. He is a good bunter and had the game winning RBI in the Friday game against UC Davis on a suicide squeeze.<br />
<br />
FR #36 Jonathan Herkins (RH – .174 in 23 AB’s) looked like he was headed for a redshirt after not playing during the first month of the season but he started eight games while Stephens was out of the lineup and is sixth in the Big West with eight SAC’s despite his limited playing time.<br />
<br />
CF – JC transfer #21 Dominique Taylor (RH – .301/.362/.434, 3-30-9) took over for Christian Ramirez and has made an instant impact as one of the better hitters in the lineup. He was hitting leadoff earlier in the season before settling into the second spot in the lineup during conference play. Taylor hit .360 with sixteen RBI in the first twelve games and has hit .281 with fourteen RBI since then. He has been a sparkplug as the best athlete on the team and is in the top ten in the conference in hits and doubles and leads the team in SB’s. Taylor was in a 1-18 slump before hitting .391 over the last two weeks. Taylor is an aggressive hitter and has a 13-31 BB/K ratio.<br />
<br />
RF – SR #12 Scott Gottschling (RH – .250/.342/.383, 2-18-3. ’12 – .176/.270/.250, 0-15-2. ’11 – .282 in 39 AB’s) split time between LF and RF last season while starting 27 times but wasn’t able to hit enough to carve out more regular playing time and a major reason why was his inability to make contact and he struck out over 25% of the time. He has been starting almost every game but he is still having issues with plate discipline with a 12/35 BB/K ratio and is sixth in the Big West in strikeouts. Gottschling has been a very productive hitter lately and hit the only two HR’s of his career two weeks ago at UCSB and has nine RBI over the last two weeks while usually hitting sixth or seventh.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Defense</b><br />
<br />
Fielding % – .980 (1/6) with 35 errors; .973 (4th) with 21 errors in conference. 2012 – .973 (3/41) with 58 errors. Irvine only made eight errors in their first 21 games, which was surprising considering their losses around the infield, but has started to have some issues on defense and has made 27 errors over the 26 games. Spencer does a solid job at 1B and Duarte and Palmer have only made three errors at 2B. Rabago has a good arm with average range at SS but does a good job with getting in position to make plays and hadn’t made an error going into conference play but has made seven errors since then. Sparks was below average at 3B as a FR but has become much better. Stephens, Taylor and Gottschling are solid in the OF and Taylor has good range. Taylor and Gottschling have good arms.<br />
<br />
Stolen Base Attempts – 20-47 (2/xx); 7-18 in conference (2nd). 2012 – 26-54 (1/xx). Irvine traditionally is one of the toughest teams to run on in the Big West and that didn’t change in 2012 despite the injury to Shaeffer with Irvine starting two FR behind the plate and it hasn’t changed this season with Shaeffer returning to the lineup. Runners are 14-30 against Shaeffer and 6-13 against McClanahan.<br />
<br />
WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 57 (9/xx); 17 in conference (7th). 2012 – 32 (1/xx). Shaeffer has had issues with blocking pitches during his career and that has been a problem during this season with Irvine allowing the second most WP’s and PB’s in the conference.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Pitching</b><br />
<ul>
<li>ERA – 3.29 (2/42); 3.25 in conference (2nd). 3.25 in 2012 (3/36).</li>
<li>AVG – .247 (2/36); .253 in conference (3rd). .235 in 2012 (1/6).</li>
<li>HR – 10 (1/xx); 6 in conference (4th). 10 in 2012 (2/xx).</li>
<li>SLG – .343 (2/xx); .350 in conference (4th). .306 in 2012 (1/xx). </li>
<li>Walks – 112 (2/8), 2.4 BB’s/9 IP; 41 in conference (2nd), 2.0 BB’s/9 IP. 159 (5/40) in 2012, 2.9 per game. </li>
<li>HBP – 34 (8/xx); 10 in conference (10th). 48 in 2012 (5/xx).</li>
<li>OBP – .309 (2/xx). .305 in conference (2nd). .312 in 2012 (2/xx).</li>
<li>Strikeouts – 367 (2/29), 7.9 K/9 IP; 170 in conference (1st), 8.2 K/9 IP. 369 (3/121), 6.7 K/9 IP in 2012.</li>
</ul>
<b>Starters</b><br />
<br />
Irvine returned an experienced rotation in 2012 after losing only one starter but injuries hit their rotation hard with two of their starters lost early in the season. They held things together to have one of the better pitching staffs in the conference and the only starter who didn’t return was Crosby Slaught.<br />
<br />
JR #30 Andrew Thurman (RHP – 5-3, 2.98 ERA, 12 GS, 2 CG, 85 IP, 75 H, 14 BB, 72 K, .244 AVG, 1 HR, 2 HBP, 2 WP, 2-8 SB. ’12 – 8-3, 2.66 ERA, 15 GS, 4 CG, 98 IP, 68 H, 23 BB, 69 K, .268 AVG, 2 HR, 0 HBP, 1 WP, 2-5 SB. ’11 – 4-3, 3.82 ERA, 23 apps, 9 GS, 75 IP, 82 H, 21 BB, 64 K, .284 AVG, 3 HR, 5 HBP, 4 WP, 6-15 SB) was a swingman as a FR and ended up in the rotation later in the season, had a good start against UCLA in their regional and picked up Irvine’s only win in the super regional at Virginia with four effective innings out of the bullpen. He was expected to be starting on Sat’s or Sun’s in 2012 but was moved up to the front of the rotation due to injuries to a couple of starters and was 2-2 with a 4.39 ERA in his first eight starts. Thurman’s season changed with his start against Fullerton when he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning and followed that up the next weekend by throwing a no-hitter at Long Beach and was lights out over his last seven starts, going 6-1 with a 1.42 ERA. He has been solid this season but hasn’t been as dominant as expected, mixing in good starts with some average ones. Thurman had a 2.24 ERA in his first eight starts but only had a 3-3 record due to some inconsistency by Irvine’s offense. He allowed fourteen runs (13 ER) on 27 hits in 19 1/3 over his next three starts at Pacific, vs. UC Davis and at UCSB before rebounding to have his best start of the season last week against Cal Poly when he threw a complete game and held the Mustangs to a run on four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. Thurman has been much better at home, where he is 4-1 with a 1.79 ERA and opponents have hit .204 off of him, than he has been on the road, where he is 1-2 with a 5.92 ERA where opponents have hit .333 against him. He has outstanding control and has allowed two walks or less in ten of his starts with three walks in each of the other two starts. Thurman’s fastball was sitting around 90 last season and he has seen a spike in how hard he is throwing and it now sits in the 92-94 range with occasional bumps up to 95-96 and he has an excellent straight change to go along with a curveball and a slider that he uses with two strikes as swing and miss pitches and he is expected to be drafted in the first two rounds in June.<br />
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JC transfer #13 Andrew Morales (RHP – 10-0, 1.79 ERA, 15 apps, 11 GS, 80 IP, 68 H, 17 BB, 71 K, .233 AVG, 1 HR, 5 HBP, 11 WP, 3-6 SB) was the JC state pitcher of the year in 2012 after going 12-1 for Rio Hondo, who had one of the best teams in the area last season. He has made an immediate impact since being moved into the rotation after making a few appearances out of the bullpen. Morales has allowed two runs or less in nine of his starts and has allowed no runs in five of them. He is second in the Big West in wins and ERA, third in AVG and fifth in strikeouts. Morales had a streak of 26 1/3 scoreless innings before allowing seven runs in starts against UC Davis and UCSB before bouncing back with his best start of the season in the series deciding win against Cal Poly when he had ten strikeouts in the first four innings on his way to throwing seven scoreless innings to win the Big West pitcher of the week award for the third time this season. He is a strike thrower who has allowed two walks or less in ten of his eleven starts and relies on a sinking fastball to get hitters to pound the ball into the ground and a slider as his swing and miss pitch with two strikes. Because Morales is usually trying to get hitters to pound the ball into the ground and chase pitches in the dirt, he leads the conference with eleven wild pitches. He has had the most success on the road of Irvine’s three starters, where he is 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA and opponents are hitting .277 against him, and has been lights out at home, where he is 8-0 with a 1.35 ERA and opponents have hit .209 off of him.<br />
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JR #44 Matt Whitehouse (LHP – 4-6, 3.30 ERA, 14 apps, 12 GS, 2 CG, 79 IP, 68 H, 15 BB, 74 K, .234 AVG, 1 HR, 11 HBP, 9 WP, 3-6 SB. ’12 – Medical redshirt – 0-2, 4.15 ERA, 3 GS, 13 IP, 16 H, 3 BB, 17 K, .302 BA, 0 HR, 3 HBP, 2 WP, 1-3 SB. ’11 – 4-0, 2.12 ERA, 23 apps, 12 GS, 72 IP, 54 H, 15 BB, 63 K, .208 BA, 1 HR, 3 HBP, 7 WP, 3-6 SB; ’10 – 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 10 apps, 6 IP) was pitching out of the bullpen and making midweek starts for the first half of 2011 before moving into the weekend rotation and threw very well during the conference season and ended up finishing second in the Big West in ERA and third in AVG. He was expected to contend for conference pitcher of the year honors in 2012 but came out of his third start at Baylor with a sore shoulder and ended up taking a medical redshirt. Whitehouse has pitched in some bad luck this season and Irvine is 2-7 over his last nine starts and when he has pitched well, they usually haven’t hit. He is fifth in the conference in AVG and second in the Big West in strikeouts despite not being a hard thrower with a mid-upper 80’s fastball due to an outstanding slider he uses as his swing and miss pitch with two strikes and also has a good changeup. Whitehouse has good control and has only allowed more than two walks in one of his starts but will pitch inside and is fourth in the conference with 11 HBP’s. He has allowed four runs or more in three of his last four starts and will swap spots in the rotation with Morales this weekend and start on Sunday. Whitehouse has been excellent at home, where he is 4-3 with a 2.17 ERA and teams have hit .200 against him, but has had his issues on the road, where he is 0-3 with a 6.55 ERA and opponents have hit .308 off of him.<br />
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<b>Relievers</b><br />
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Irvine expected to have a good bullpen due to returning their closer and so many pitchers from 2012 and only losing a couple of their set-up men. Their relievers and midweek guys have been inconsistent with blown saves at home against UCLA and at UCSB on home runs and meltdowns at Pacific, at San Diego State, at UCLA and at home against San Diego on Wednesday night and they are a big reason why Irvine is 9-9 over the last eighteen games.<br />
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SR #55 Race Parmenter (RHP – 2-3, 3.54 ERA, 7 saves, 18 apps, 20 IP, 13 H, 8 BB, 20 K, .188 BA, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 3 WP, 1-2 SB. ’12 – 1-2, 2.28 ERA, 8 saves, 22 apps, 28 IP, 23 H, 11 BB, 28 K, .232 BA, 1 HR, 3 HBP, 0 WP, 2-2 SB) emerged from the group of relievers to end up being the closer in 2012, has continued in that role and is fifth in the Big West in saves. He was throwing well earlier in the season but has started to have trouble and allowed the game tying run against Northridge, two runs in extra innings in the first loss to UCLA and three runs in the Sunday game at UCSB, with the Gauchos winning the game and the series on a walk-off two run HR. Parmenter has a fastball that will touch 90 and a splitter that is tough on RH hitters. He made two appearances against Fullerton in 2012, throwing two scoreless innings and had the save in Thurman’s start when he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning.<br />
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JR #16 Jimmy Litchfield (LHP – 1-0, 1.73 ERA, 23 apps, 26 IP, 19 H, 8 BB, 15 K, .200 BA, 2 HR, 0 HBP, 1 WP, 1-2 SB. ’12 – 3-2, 3.60 ERA, 1 save, 29 apps, 2 GS, 45 IP, 43 H, 13 BB, 30 K, .251 BA, 0 HR, 2 HBP, 2 WP, 3-6 SB. ’11 – 2-1, 2.89 ERA, 3 saves, 34 apps, 44 IP, 43 H, 7 BB, 34 K, .253 BA, 5 HR, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 1-1 SB) has been a solid reliever and among the Big West leaders in appearances in each of the last three seasons due to his ability to make multiple appearances on the weekends. He isn’t a hard thrower with a low 80’s fastball and will rely on throwing changeups and curves to get batters to hit the ball into the ground. Litchfield has allowed five runs over eleven innings in his last seven appearances. In 2011 he allowed three runs in 2/3 IP against Fullerton and in 2012 he walked the only batter he faced in Thurman’s start and came back the next day to start the game and allowed two runs on four hits in 2 2/3 IP.<br />
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JR #28 Kyle Hooper (RHP – 1-3, 4.76 ERA, 17 apps, 3 GS, 40 IP, 39 H, 12 BB, 34 K, .264 BA, 2 HR, 1 HBP, 7 WP, 3-6 SB. ’12 – Medical redshirt – 3-1, 1.30 ERA, 5 apps, 3 GS, 1 CG, 28 IP, 17 H, 3 BB, 28 K, .173 BA, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 0 WP, 1-3 SB. ’11 – 3-0, 4.06 ERA, 17 apps, 6 GS, 44 IP, 49 H, 17 BB, 31 K, .290 BA, 2 HR, 5 HBP, 9 WP, 2-10 SB; ’10 – 0-0, 7.61 ERA, 18 apps, 24 IP, 45 H, 4 BB, 14 K) was mostly a long reliever during his first two seasons despite having one of the better arms on the staff because of his inability to command his pitches. Hooper started to refine his pitches after his Soph season and after making a couple of strong appearance out of the bullpen was moved into the weekend rotation and had two excellent starts before leaving his third start with an elbow injury and missed the rest of the season. He has been inconsistent and was throwing better lately, throwing three scoreless innings against Cal Poly last Saturday, before having a bad start against San Diego on Wednesday night when he allowed five runs on eight hits in 1 2/3 IP.<br />
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JR #4 Mitch Merten (RHP – 4-1, 4.10 ERA, 2 saves, 16 apps, 3 GS, 26 IP, 30 H, 11 BB, 28 K, .309 BA, 3 HR, 2 HBP, 2 WP, 2-6 SB. ’12 – 1-2, 4.13 ERA, 1 save, 22 apps, 33 IP, 29 H, 18 BB, 27 K, .252 BA, 1 HR, 6 HBP, 2 WP, 0-2 SB) only made one appearance in 2011 but became one of the more reliable options in middle relief last season despite having control issues. He missed the non-conference part of the season with a shoulder injury and has pitched quite a bit since returning and hasn’t been as effective after throwing pretty well after returning. He is primarily a fastball-changeup pitcher with an occasional slider. Merten allowed a hit and a walk in 2/3 IP against Fullerton last season.<br />
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JR #34 Evan Brock (RHP – 2-1, 3.18 ERA, 15 apps, 5 GS, 34 IP, 35 H, 9 BB, 27 K, .260 BA, 0 HR, 3 HBP, 5 WP, 2-5 SB. ’12 – 2-1, 2.12 ERA, 18 apps, 2 GS, 34 IP, 22 H, 11 BB, 25 K, .186 BA, 1 HR, 3 HBP, 1 WP, 3-3 SB. ’11 – Medical redshirt. ’10 – 6-4, 3.14 ERA, 1 save, 20 apps, 6 GS, 63 IP, 34 H, 30 BB, 62 K, .162 BA, 4 HR, 5 HBP, 4 WP, 4-9 SB) became one of Irvine’s best SP’s down the stretch in 2010 but injured his shoulder that fall and was a medical redshirt in 2011. He was slow bouncing back from that injury last season and his pitches didn’t have the same life they had prior to his surgery but he started to throw better in conference play with his appearance against Fullerton, when he threw three scoreless innings with five strikeouts against the Titans. Brock has been inconsistent while making several midweek starts earlier in the season and has only made three appearances in Big West games.<br />
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JR #50 Phillip Ferragamo (RHP – 1-0, 8.36 ERA, 9 apps, 14 IP, 18 H, 7 BB, 17 K, .340 BA, 0 HR, 5 HBP, 5 WP, 2-4 SB. ’12 – 3-5, 3.72 ERA, 1 save, 19 apps, 8 GS, 65 IP, 64 H, 16 BB, 40 K, .259 BA, 2 HR, 7 HBP, 3 WP, 2-3 SB. ’11 – 2-0, 2.03 ERA, 19 apps, 27 IP, 23 H, 7 BB, 24 K, .237 BA, 0 HR, 7 HBP, 0 WP, 0-1 SB) is one of the biggest players you will see on a baseball diamond at 6’8”, 260 and was effective out of the bullpen in middle relief as a FR and was in a similar role in 2012 before being moved into the weekend rotation due to injuries to Hooper and Whitehouse. He started off the season in the doghouse and was suspended and hasn’t thrown well, allowing eight runs in his last two appearances. Ferragamo pitched in relief against Fullerton last season and allowed three runs (2 ER) on six hits in 4 2/3 IP and took the loss in the series deciding game on J.D. Davis’ two run HR.<br />
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Soph #40 Sam Moore (RHP – 0-0, 5.06 ERA, 11 apps, 11 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 7 K, .238 BA, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 2 WP, 1-2 SB. ’12 – 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 4 apps, 4 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 K) has only made three appearances in Big West games but threw three scoreless innings against Northridge in one of them.<br />
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<b>Outlook</b> <br />
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There are some strong trends that factor pretty heavily into this series. Fullerton has won 25 of their last 26 weekend series going back to the second series of 2012. Irvine has lost seven of their last eight weekend series that they have played on the road. As mentioned earlier, the Titans have won eleven of the thirteen series these teams have played since 2002 and the only two series that Irvine won were in seasons when they were the better team. Irvine is 36-3 in series opening games in conference series over the last five seasons, including winning the first game of each series against Fullerton in the last three seasons before seeing the Titans respond by winning the final two games of each of those series. Finally, the losing team in this series has scored four runs or less in each of the last fourteen games.<br />
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Fullerton has sometimes had trouble with hitting weekend pitching but has had a patient approach that has allowed them to put extra runners on base in order to put together rallies and be productive enough to scratch out some runs. That philosophy will be put to the test this weekend against an Irvine starting staff that doesn’t give out too many free bases. The Anteaters try to string together hits to put together rallies and there don’t figure to be too many walks handed out when they are hitting because they are an aggressive team and Fullerton walks the fewest batters per game in the country.<br />
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Fullerton has had the best pitching staff in the conference all season long, both in the rotation and the bullpen, and their pitchers have been especially effective at home most of the time. Irvine’s rotation has been close to the equal of the Titans but hasn’t been nearly as good on the road and their bullpen has been very inconsistent.<br />
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Both teams are very good defensively and rarely give away outs. Fullerton has had occasional mental lapses during midweek games earlier in the season but when it has been crunch time during conference games, the Titans have had the best defense in the Big West conference. Irvine’s defense was outstanding during the non-conference schedule and has been solid during conference play but they have had some issues recently.<br />
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Irvine is desperate to pull off an upset this weekend to try to stay in contention to get into a regional. Fullerton is motivated to keep plugging away and moving towards a conference championship and a national seed. The Anteaters have been inconsistent, playing .500 ball over the last eighteen games, and have not been a good road team the last couple of seasons. Fullerton has been very consistent in finding ways to win series every weekend this season. The Titans will definitely be tested this weekend but with the way things have gone for these teams this season and the way that they have gone in this series over the years, this looks like it should be a tight series that Fullerton will find a way to win.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-10193958422926598082013-05-14T11:40:00.000-07:002013-05-15T12:40:34.153-07:00Titans' Near-Miss in Area (Code) 951<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Titans at UCR: Won 14-7 (Friday), Won 12-0 (Saturday), Lost 7-6 (Sunday)</b></div>
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<b><i>By Don Hudson</i></b><br />
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The Cal State Fullerton Titans went on the road and won another Big West Conference series, extending their winning streak to seven games by beating the UC Riverside Highlanders handily on Friday and Saturday evenings before dropping the finale on Sunday. Despite the loss on Mothers Day, the Titans gained a game in the standing over the weekend over the second-place Cal State Northridge Matadors, who lost two-of-three at home against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.<br />
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The Titans continue in contention for a national seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament selection process, on the strength of: no lost series; 11-4 record against RPI Top 50 teams; 23-4 road record; #9 in RPI, but leading country in “adjusted wins” in system that applies 0.7 factor for home wins and 1.3 for road wins; and probable conference champion. As we’ve seen before, it can all go up in smoke without a strong finish, but the Titans are in about as strong a position as could possibly be for a team outside the elite “BCS” conferences.<br />
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<b><u>Game 1: Titans 14, UC Riverside Highlanders 7</u></b><br />
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In a pitching match between the Titans’ righty Thomas Eshelman and the Highlanders’ lefty Dylan Stuart, the Titans jumped ahead with four runs in the second inning. J.D. Davis led off with a single, with Michael Lorenzen then hit by a pitch. Chad Wallach sacrificed both runners along and reached base when Stuart’s throw to first was wide of the bag. Greg Velazquez gave the Titans a 2-0 lead with a two-run single. Two outs later, Pedroza singled to drive in Wallach and Lopez singled to drive in Velazquez and make it 4-0. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eshelman's short and sweet outing</td></tr>
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The Titans scored a solo tally in the third to make it 5-0. With two outs, Wallach doubled and scored when Velaquez hit a hard bouncer over the third-baseman for an RBI single. The Titans added another run in the fourth when Pedroza reached on an infield single and advanced to second when the ball deflected off third-baseman Joe Chavez before scoring on an RBI single by Lopez. (It was a curious scoring call on Pedroza: Chavez tried to short-hop the ball and it hit him in the shins and bounced into foul territory – not unusual on that alabaster-plaster infield. It should have either been called error-all-the-way or double.)<br />
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Meanwhile, Eshelman was coasting along, allowing an occasional base-runner, but twice escaping with the aid of double-plays, including a nifty 4-6-3 twin-killing with the runner going on the pitch in the fourth inning.<br />
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The decision to give Eshelman a short day of work became a no-brainer when the Titans put up four more runs in the top of the sixth, with Stuart left on the mound as the ‘sacrificial Friday lamb’ to preserve the bullpen for the remaining two games. Pedroza drew a one-out walk, followed by a single by Lopez. Matt Chapman then hit the ball over the centerfielder’s head for a two-run double before scoring on a two-out double by Lorenzen. Wallach’s double drove in Lorenzen to make it 10-0, essentially ending the night for both Stuart and Eshelman.<br />
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With a 10-0 lead, the Titans removed Eshelman after five shutout innings and gave their bullpen some much-needed work. Michael Lopez was touched up for two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a single, double and a pair of groundouts.<br />
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The Titans made it 14-2 with four runs in the top of the seventh. Matt Orloff led off with a single, advanced on a walk to Pedroza and scored on an RBI single by Lopez. Chapman followed with a two-run triple past diving rightfielder David Andriese and scored on a double by Davis.<br />
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With the game easily in hand, the Titans played sloppy baseball for the final innings. The bullpen gave up seven runs (including three unearned) and eight hits in four innings of work. Lopez was followed by Willie Kuhl, David Birosak and Jose Cardona, who struck out two batters sandwiched around a two-run single to end the game.<br />
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Eshelman improved his record to 9-2. Lopez led the 17-hit attack with four singles and three RBI. It was great to see Lopez jump on the first pitch for each of his hits and burn ‘the book’ on him that he always takes the first pitch. Wallach was 3-for-3 before making an early exit. Pedroza, Chapman, Davis and Velazquez each had two hits, with Velazquez equaling his career high with three RBI.<br />
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<b><u>Game 2: Titans 12, UC Riverside Highlanders 0</u></b><br />
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The Titans jumped all over UCR starter Ben Doucette for eleven runs in the first two innings and rode the strong pitching of Justin Garza and a quartet of relievers in shutting out the Highlanders, 12-0. Ten of the eleven runs in the first two innings were scored with two outs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garza improves to 11-0</td></tr>
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Pedroza worked a full-count leading off before drawing a walk, and advanced to third on a hit-and-run single by Chapman. Davis followed with an RBI single to make it 1-0. After Lorenzen struck out and both runners advanced on a wild pitch, the Titans put up five more runs in the first inning to make it an early blowout. With first base open, Riverside coach Doug Smith opted to pitch to the scorching-hot Wallach rather than walk him to set up a potential double-play – he may have been second-guessing himself when Chad crushed a three-run bomb to leftfield to make it 4-0.<br />
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Velazquez walked and Jake Jefferies singled before Austin Diemer laced a bases-clearing double – it should have been a triple, but Diemer was called out at third on an absurd call – twice in two nights Diemer was obviously safe but called out when he had already popped up and was dusting himself off. <br />
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The Highlanders posed a mild threat in the bottom of the first when they got a one-out walk and single against freshman righty Garza, but he struck out the clean-up hitter and got the final out on a foul-out to catcher Wallach.<br />
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Doucette appeared to have settled down in the second when he retired the first two Titans before Chapman launched a towering home run over the screen in leftfield – Happy birthday, Mom!<br />
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Davis followed with a single and Lorenzen hit a double on a chopper over the third-baseman’s head. Okay, I’m certain Coach Smith learned his lesson and won’t pitch to Wallach, who has a single, two doubles and home run so far in four at-bats in the series, with an open base. You know that definition of insanity? They pitched to Wallach and he scalded a base hit to drive in both runners. <br />
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Have you ever thought you were saying something to yourself only to realize it was spoken aloud? I was standing next to the UCR dugout behind third-base when my thought somehow slipped out: “Why the (bleep) are you pitching to that guy with an open base?” Just as I said it, a couple of Riverside players jogged by headed towards the bullpen. As they heard it, one nodded and the other muttered “No shit.”<br />
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It may have been a moot point as Velazquez followed Wallach with a home run to make it 11-0.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 5-RBI day for Wallach</td></tr>
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From there, it was simply a question of how long Garza would throw and whether there would be a recurrence of the late inning sloppiness from the night before. While the Titans’ bats were stymied for six innings of shutout relief by UCR righthander Angelo Lingos, Garza threw zeros for five innings before Cardona, Tyler Peitzmeier, Kuhl and Koby Gauna each threw a scoreless inning. By the fifth inning, every Titans’ starting position player had been replaced except Pedroza.<br />
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The Titans scored their final run in the top of the ninth on a double by A.J. Kennedy, a walk to Orloff and an RBI single by Pedroza.<br />
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Twelve different players got at least one of the Titans’ 17 hits, with two each by Wallach, Pedroza and Chapman. The sixth spot in the order was very productive: two hits, a home run and five RBI by Wallach; a pinch-single by Nico Darras; and the double by Kennedy.<br />
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Garza improved his record to 11-0 with five innings of shutout work, allowing just three hits.<br />
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<b><u>Game 3: UC Riverside Highlanders 7, Titans 6</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b><b><i>(Photo Galleries: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.658793294136469.1073741849.100000174128617&type=1">Game</a> / <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.658285314187267.1073741846.100000174128617&type=1">Mother's Day</a>)</i></b><br />
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In a recent article, we quoted the famous words of Senkichi Awaya (mayor of Hiroshima in 1945): “What the f*@& was that?!!!” The same could be said about the first inning on Sunday, in a game played on a miserably hot day with no clouds to give even a brief respite of shade.<br />
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After feasting on lefthanded pitching for two nights, scoring 26 runs (combined) and banging out 17 hits each game, you knew it would be different Sunday against a righthander, Zach Varela, who came in with a record of 3-0 and 0.92 ERA. Reduced hitting by the Titans was expected – but the Highlanders coming out of the gate with six straight hits and a walk against the Titans’ Grahamm Wiest was completely unexpected.<br />
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It looked like “same old, same old” when Pedroza led off the game with a single, but Varela worked out of it scorelessly.<br />
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Devyn Bolasky led off with a chopper over the head of third-baseman Chapman for a single – have I mentioned how awful the infield is at the Plex? Joe Chavez followed with a groundball single into rightfield that advanced Bolasky to third. Clayton Prestridge followed with a groundball double between Chapman and the third-base bag to make it 1-0.<br />
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With two runners in scoring position, the cleanup hitter, David Andriese, lifted a routine pop-up into shallow leftfield. The runner on third retreated and was not going to attempt to score, assuming the ball would be caught for just the first out. But the ball was not caught, as shortstop Pedroza was blinded by the blazing sun and the high sky in the 951: it fell harmfully for an RBI single to make it 2-0.<br />
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Francisco Tellez then found a hole between Lopez and the first-base bag with a groundball single to load the bases. Kyle Boudreau then grounded a single through the 5-6 hole to make it 3-0. The fourth run scored on a walk to Nick Vilter and the fifth on a 4-6-3 double-play.<br />
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The Highlanders took it to the Titans for another run in the second on a hit-batsman, throwing error by catcher Jared Deacon, stolen base and RBI groundout. I liked the confidence displayed by the Titans coaching staff, playing the infield back in the second inning, already trailing 5-0. Although the late-inning comeback fell short, it showed a calm demeanor and they didn’t hit the panic button.<br />
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Trailing 6-0, the Titans finally got on the board in the top of the fourth with an unearned run against Varela. Lorenzen reached on a bad-hop (go figure) infield single, went to third on a single by Anthony Hutting and scored on a groundball (reached on error) by Jefferies. Varela escaped greater harm by inducing an inning-ending double-play ball.<br />
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But the Highlanders stayed tough, responding with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning off reliever Koby Gauna on a triple by Chavez and an infield groundout to make it 7-1. Even in the fourth inning, the Titans demonstrated confidence in their offense by playing the infield back.<br />
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Peitzmeier entered the game in the bottom of the fifth and was sensational, throwing 3-2/3 innings of scoreless relief, giving his teammates an opportunity to chisel away at the UCR lead.<br />
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The Titans cut the deficit to 7-3 in the top of the sixth on a walk to Davis and two-out RBI hits by Hutting (double) and Jefferies (single). After Wallach (who had entered the game after Deacon was injured running to first-base) walked, Coach Smith replaced Varela with southpaw Mark Garcia. The Titans countered with pinch-hitter Velazquez, who grounded out to end the threat.<br />
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Pedroza led off the seventh with a single and advanced on a wild pitch and a groundout. With the dangerous right-handed heart of the batting order coming up (Chapman, Davis, Lorenzen, Jefferies, Wallach), the Highlanders went to their righthanded closer, Trevor Frank, and decided to keep the game in his hands. Chapman grounded out, with Pedroza scoring to make it 7-4.<br />
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The Titans drew to within one run with a pair in the top of the eighth. Hutting singled, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single by Jefferies. Wallach then crushed another shot into the gap in left-centerfield to make it 7-6. Wallach remained in the game as the potential tying run with one out, but after Clay Williamson flied out, Diemer was sent in to pinch-run. Pedroza struck out swinging to end the rally, after a 3-1 pitch that looked about ten inches outside was called strike two.<br />
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Even though Frank had entered in the seventh and the Titans had scored in three consecutive innings, there was never a thought of bringing in any other pitcher – nobody picked up a ball in the UCR bullpen.<br />
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Lopez led off the ninth and blooped a single into “no man’s land” in leftfield. Chapman squared to bunt the potential tying run into scoring position – then drew back and perfectly executed the “slash” play, driving a hard groundball base-hit past the charging infielders.<br />
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This is when baseball strategy is at its best. You’ve got your clean-up hitter at the plate in Davis, who swings a great bat but is not often called on to bunt (two sacrifices in 46 games played). The “baseball book” says to play for the tie on the road and the win at home in this situation. You have two very skilled bunters (Keegan Dale and Matt Orloff) available, but if you bring them to the plate, all uncertainty is removed. It is further complicated by Davis also being the pitcher, so the designated-hitter was eliminated when he relieved Peitzmeier in the bottom of the eighth. More complication? Your options with closer Lorenzen (in the event you tie the score or take the lead) are also impacted by having already having removed outfielders Austin Kingsolver and Velazquez for pinch-hitters. It’s what makes baseball so incredible.<br />
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Davis fouled off a bunt attempt, squared to bunt and took a ball, showed bunt when the pitcher stepped off the rubber to check the runners and finally popped out on a bunt attempt. In a game that is remarkably easier to play, coach and umpire from up in the bleachers, I would have let him swing away.<br />
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Lorenzen and Frank then battled, with Michael finally reaching on an infield single smothered by the shortstop – the third hit of the inning for the Titans. I felt great about our chances, with two clutch hitters due up, Hutting and Jefferies.<br />
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But Frank battled with the bases loaded and one out. He threw six straight strikes to Hutting, including four that were fouled off, before slipping the seventh pitch past him for a called third strike. Jefferies then flew out to centerfield to end the game.<br />
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Hutting had three of the dozen Titans’ hits, with Pedroza, Lorenzen and Jefferies having two each. Jefferies had three RBI. Wiest (8-3) took the loss, going just two innings and allowing six earned runs on seven hits and a walk. It was his shortest outing as a starting pitcher in his Titans career.<br />
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++++++++++++++++++++++++++<br />
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<b>So what did we learn out in the 951 this weekend?</b><br />
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Somebody at UC Riverside has a sense of humor. In the Saturday boxscore under “Weather,” where they usually post the game-time temperature and whether it is sunny, cloudy or precipitous, they listed “really, really hot.”<br />
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When you score 32 runs on 46 hits in a three-game series, some batting averages are going to go up. Including freshmen Darras and Kennedy each going 1-for-1, there were twelve players hit .333 or better for the series. Wallach led the way with a monster weekend: 6-for-7 (.857) with a slugging percentage of 1.714, including two singles, three doubles and a home run. The only out he made was a warning-track flyball.<br />
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Pedroza (6-for-12) and Velazquez (3-for-6) each batted .500, with Velazquez contributing five RBI and a home run. Jefferies batted .429 (3-for-7 with 3 RBI) while Lopez hit .385 (5-for-13 with 3 RBI). Five players hit .333: Chapman (5-for-15 with double, triple, home run and five RBI); Davis and Lorenzen (both 4-for-12); Hutting (3-for-9) and Orloff (2-for-6).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peitzmeier stellar</td></tr>
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The big early leads on Friday and Saturday afforded the Titans the luxury of resting their super-frosh, Eshelman (65 pitches) and Garza (63 pitches), after five innings of shutout pitching each. The bullpen hasn’t had much work recently because of the strength of the starting rotation and dearth of midweek games late in the season, so the rust was apparent on Friday night. But the bullpen was fantastic on Saturday and Sunday, which will become very important if the team has any hopes of making a deep run in the playoffs.<br />
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I’m not sure what was more brutal: Mothers Day at the home of Pamela and “Jellybean” Joe Bryant or getting fried like an egg in the metal bleachers watching the first inning of the game on Sunday. Let’s call it a toss-up. It was just one of those games. For a groundball pitcher like Wiest, most days you have a lot of balls hit within range of an infielder and there are some that find a hole. Other days, you have balls hit hard but right at the fielders. This was that odd day when every groundball found a hole – give credit to the Highlanders for hitting the ball down and hard on that booby-trapped infield of theirs. <br />
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As bad as the start of the game was and how exasperating it was to leave the bases loaded in the ninth, there were some very encouraging things that happened that day. Even after digging themselves a deep hole, the Titans fought hard and nearly climbed all the way out. The relief pitching was stellar, particularly Peitzmeier – maybe growing up pitching in the sweltering Midwest summers made him the perfect man for the assignment. Hutting had a big day at the plate – he seems to be “Mr. Sunday” recently.<br />
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More than the loss, I was concerned about how the Titans lit up left-handed pitching all weekend but struggled against right-handers.<br />
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Baking in the sun on a 101 degree day, my mind tends to wander. I contemplated the correlation between “good control” and “pitching effectiveness.” While ERA is the legacy metric used to assess pitching effectiveness, sabermetricians have added a slew of new categories. Some of my favorites are: CERA (Component ERA, which is an estimate of his ERA based on his K, H, 2B, 3B, HR, BB, HBP pitching line); FPOM (counts when outs are made on the first pitch); RRA (a function of how many inherited runners a relief pitcher allows to score); and my favorite, pNERD (expected aesthetic pleasure of watching an individual pitcher.) I have no idea how pNERD is calculated, but I can intrinsically appreciate the difference in ‘aesthetic pleasure’ between watching a pitcher who works quickly and throws strikes versus the human rain delays and guys that habitually run deep in the count.<br />
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It got me thinking about a measurement of control that we will call WTF: Wild Thing Factor. WTF is the total number of walks, hit-batsmen and wild pitches allowed per nine innings. The fifteen pitchers used this season by the Titans are listed in table in order of WTF; the ERA is not part of the calculation but is included for reader convenience:<br />
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A few observations:<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The calculation treats wild pitches as mathematically equivalent to walks and hit-batsmen, which is a debatable premise: wild pitches advance runners but don’t put men on base, unlike walks and HBP. But one can argue a wild pitch may be more damaging than a walk or HBP. A walk or HBP may be strategic and can set up a double-play, while there is nothing positive about a wild pitch, which can allow up to three runners to advance and can take away double-play situations without ever setting up a DP. (Since I was the one out there baking in the sun on Sunday, I get to make the rules.)<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Even the term “wild” can be a misnomer. To me, “wildness” equates to pitches that arrive at unintended locations. While no pitch is released with intent to arrive at the backstop, many pitches that arrive in the dirt out in front of the plate were intended for that exact location in order to get the batter to chase an unhittable pitch, with greater susceptibility to wild pitches an intrinsic byproduct of that pitch selection. Similarly, hit-batsmen are often strategic and not always indicative of wildness.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There was not data available to subtract intentional walks, but the Titans rarely deploy that maneuver, so it should not skew the metrics in any substantive manner.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is not an exact correspondence between WTF and ERA in measuring pitching effectiveness….but there certainly is some degree of correlation. I love quirky statistical anomalies like Lopez’s and Birosak’s WTF being identical to their ERA. It’s also just one more tangible metric of how great Eshelman has been – his WTF of 0.71 is sick! It also shows the control displayed by Gauna and Peitzmeier, who sometimes tend to fly under the radar. I also like the reflection on Garza’s control: he lights up radar guns and strikes out a lot of hitters, but he should also be recognized for excellent control.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You can’t draw much meaning from small data sizes – especially with small samples sizes of innings pitched. For pitchers with fewer than 10 innings, it is essentially statistically insignificant. But I think it is very noteworthy that WTF paints a stark contrast between the overall Titans’ pitching and their opponents’: Titan pitchers allow just 2.73 walks, HBP and wild pitches per nine innings, while their opponents allow 7.20. The WTF gap (2.73 vs. 7.20) may be more revealing than ERA (2.54 vs. opponents’ 5.45.)<br />
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UC Irvine has a team ERA of 3.29 and WTF of 4.19 (as of Monday), so both are appreciably better than the average Titans opposing pitching staff. Expect intense, well-pitched battles this weekend at Goodwin Field.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baking and whittling in the 951</td></tr>
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If it wasn’t for Cal State Northridge (and arguably UC Davis), the Riverside Sports Complex would be the worst facility in the BWC, and generally one of the worst in the West. The infield is a landmine and the outfield is sloped more than the Oakmont Country Club. The lights in the intramural field behind the stadium are far superior to those at the baseball field (which raises the philosophic question – are no stadium lights better than bad lights?) There is no PA speaker working on the visitors’ side – we could hear the noise from a distant freight train louder than the National Anthem. The tin can seating structure gives you a backache during night games and a backache plus third-degree burns during day games with that intense 951 sunshine blazing its way through the photochemically-enhanced ozone layer.<br />
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If it wasn’t for the terrific $2.50 hot dogs, free refills on soft drinks and that cool old guy that sits in the stands and whittles every game, I wouldn’t have anything nice to say about that place. The dude playing the bagpipes was pretty cool too.<br />
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Hypothetically speaking…if you were an umpire, how would your calls be impacted by a blowout score? I’ve watched a few games over the years and even umpired a couple when I wore a younger man’s clothes. I think it is perfectly fine – even expected – that you will open up your strike zone in a blowout. But I never found it right to intentionally blow safe/out or foul/fair calls just to get the game over faster. Sure, you supersede the “tie goes to the runner” premise to get outs on close plays when the score is lopsided – but I never wanted to embarrass myself with absurd, blatantly wrong calls just to get the game over. There were a couple of calls Friday and Saturday nights that would have been embarrassing to make even if the score was 50-0 at the time. What are your thoughts?<br />
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Haven’t these playoffs been amazing this year? Growing up in the era of George “Punch” Imlach, Hector “Toe” Blake, Lorne “Gump” Worsley, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Eddie Giacomin, Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Jean Beliveau, Yvan Cournoyer, etc., there is nothing better than a playoff series between “Original Six” teams. The Bruins’ shocking comeback from a 4-1 third period deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime was amazing – the first time a team ever overcame a three-goal third-period deficit in a seventh game of a Stanley Cup playoff series. Now it’s on to a series against the New York Rangers, another of the Original Six. The Rangers have a hot goaltender, which can be the great equalizer in a seven-game series. And the match-up between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings (both Original Six teams) renews one of the greatest sports rivalries – that should be a riveting series.<br />
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I’m really looking forward to Senior Day at home on Tuesday in the game against UCLA. It will be very interesting how the deployment of seniors affects the line-up and pitching selections in this game, which has significant RPI impact potential for both teams as they near the finish line and look to strengthen their resumes for post-season seeding and host site selection. I found it fascinating how the coaches prioritized winning the conference game on Sunday and didn’t “hold back” their bullpen stalwarts (Gauna, Peitzmeier and Davis) against Riverside to set up the pitching for the UCLA game. I understand and agree with the strategy – they needed to push the pedal-to-the-metal to give them breathing space in the BWC and put them in position to clinch before playing Northridge the final weekend series. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3243779294032967497.post-11199688144527308862013-05-09T15:35:00.000-07:002013-05-09T15:35:36.216-07:00UC Riverside Series Preview<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Titans at UC Riverside</b></div>
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<b>Friday 6 p.m.; Saturday 6 p.m.; Sunday 1 p.m.</b></div>
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<b><i>By FullertonBaseballFan</i></b><br />
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Cal State Fullerton started out the season winning 31 of their first 35 games and swept six of their first eight series before things toughened up a bit and the Titans lost a game in each of the next three series but still won all three of them. Fullerton was 3-3 over a six game stretch after losing the first game in Hawaii but they responded by shutting out the Rainbows in each of the next two games. The Titans returned home to Goodwin Field last weekend to face their long-time rivals from Long Beach State and swept the Dirtbags by scores of 3-2, 2-1 and 9-4 to run their winning streak to five games, win all six games against Long Beach this season and improve their record against the Dirtbags to 22-3 over the last five seasons.<br />
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As has often been the case this season, Fullerton got out to a lead in the first inning with the help of some poor defense from Long Beach. After Thomas Eshelman struck out the side in the top of the first, Richy Pedroza walked to get things started in the bottom of the inning against Shane Carle, stole second and advanced to third when the throw went into CF, J.D. Davis walked and Pedroza scored when Michael Lorenzen’s ground ball to third was thrown away to put runners on second and third. The Dirtbags escaped further damage when Davis was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a fly out to RF. Long Beach manufactured a run in the top of the third on a single by Colton Vaughn, a SAC bunt and a two out single and as the Titans have done many times, they responded by scoring in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead when Carlos Lopez doubled and Davis doubled him in. Vaughn tripled to lead off the top of the fifth and Eshelman had some uncharacteristic wildness when he hit his second batter and walked his second batter of the season but escaped without allowing a run when he struck out the dangerous 3-4 duo of Juan Avila and Ino Patron to end the inning and Austin Kingsolver led off the bottom of the inning by launching a HR into the Arboretum for the first homer of his career at home to extend the lead to 3-1 and the Titans missed an opportunity to pad the lead when Pedroza followed with a double and was bunted to third by Carlos Lopez but was left stranded there. The Dirtbags cut into the lead in the seventh when Vaughn doubled for his third hit of the game, was bunted to third and scored on a SF. Fullerton had another chance to score in the bottom of the inning when Pedroza walked, Lopez doubled him to third and Lorenzen walked to end Carle’s night but Matt Chapman curiously attempted to bunt for a hit and popped the bunt to the catcher to end the inning. Koby Gauna pitched a 1-2-3 inning in relief of Eshelman in the eighth and Lorenzen finished off the game with a 1-2-3 ninth for his Big West leading fourteenth save. Eshelman improved his record to 8-2 by allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts in seven innings. Lopez had two doubles and a run, Davis had a double, two walks and an RBI, Pedroza had a double, two walks and a run to lead the offense along with Kingsolver’s HR.<br />
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The second game of the series was on national TV and the starting pitchers shined under the bright lights of the broadcast with Justin Garza and Jake Stassi trading zeroes for the first six innings. Garza had his worst outing of the season the first time he faced Long Beach but he was a different pitcher this time and only allowed two batters to reach base in the first six innings on a single and a walk. Stassi allowed three hits and two walks over the first six innings but managed to keep Fullerton off of the scoreboard. The Dirtbags got on the scoreboard in the seventh when Vaughn singled, was bunted to second and scored on a long double by Zack Rivera. The Titans once again responded in the bottom of the inning when Greg Velazquez walked, Chapman bunted him to second and Austin Diember came through with a clutch two out single to drive in Velazquez. Long Beach didn’t score in the top of the eighth and Lopez led off the bottom of the inning with a double to end Stassi’s night. J.D. Davis attempted to bunt Lopez to third and the bunt was misplayed by reliever Jon Maciel to put runners at first and third. Lopez scored when Lorenzen hit into a double play after Long Beach decided to leave the infield back even though that was the go ahead run. Lorenzen came into the game to finish things off and wasn’t sharp, allowing a walk and two singles to load the bases before getting a ground ball to third for a force out at home and a strike out to end the game and leave the bases loaded for his fifteenth save. Stassi was the hard luck loser, allowing two runs (1 ER) in 7+ innings and Garza stayed undefeated at 10-0 after allowing a run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts in eight innings. Diemer had the only RBI for Fullerton and the runs were scored by Lopez and Velazquez.<br />
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As is often the case with Sunday baseball, runs were much more plentiful under the daylight and each team scored in the first. Jeff McNeil singled for Long Beach to lead off the game, stole second and scored on a SF by Avila but Fullerton responded once again when Pedroza led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a fly out and scored on a single up the middle by Anthony Hutting. Long Beach took the lead against Graham Wiest in the top of the fourth when Avila was hit by a pitch, Patron singled him to third and Rivera drove in Avila with a SF. Nick Sabo relieved David Hill in the fourth and gave up a couple of hits but held the Titans off of the scoreboard before Fullerton got to him in the fifth with the help of some poor defense when Kingsolver reached on an error at first by Patron, Pedroza bunted him to second, Lopez’s long flyball to the wall in RF popped out of Avila’s glove for a two base error, Davis walked to load the bases, a walk to Lorenzen forced in a run to tie the game and end Sabo’s day, a passed ball gave the Titans the lead and move the runners up and Hutting’s third single of the game drove in two runs to make it a 5-2 game. Jared Deacon and Chapman walked to lead off the sixth and Lopez came through with two outs with a laser shot into the net in RF for a three run HR to break the game open and bump Fullerton’s lead up to 8-2. Wiest improved his record to 8-2 after throwing seven solid innings, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts. Lopez and Hutting led the offense with three RBI apiece and Lopez, Deacon and Kingsolver each scored twice.<br />
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Fullerton had trouble putting things together on offense against Long Beach in the first two games against a couple of good starting pitchers before breaking out in the third game to finish off the sweep. The Titans only hit .205 in the series but as they have often done this season, they were very patient and got on base often with walks and HBP’s and took advantage of eighteen free bases and five errors by the Dirtbags to score fourteen runs. Lopez was a catalyst in all three games, going 4-11 with three doubles and a HR, three RBI and four runs, Davis and Pedroza were both 2-7 with four walks and Hutting went 3-4 with three RBI in the only game he started. The pitching was once again outstanding as it has been almost every weekend and Fullerton had a 2.33 ERA, held Long Beach to a .208 AVG, had a 5/20 BB/K ratio and the starters improved their record to 26-4.<br />
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Fullerton will be trying to extend their winning streak this weekend against a team that has traditionally been a nemesis since joining the Big West in 2002, the UC Riverside Highlanders. Fullerton has had more trouble with Riverside than they have any other conference opponent over the last eleven years and has only gone 18-15 against the Highlanders with Riverside winning four of the series, including last year’s series at Goodwin Field for their first series win at Fullerton, and are 9-6 against the Titans at home. As much as Fullerton has been very consistent on a week to week basis, the Highlanders have been the exact opposite and after sweeping Irvine to start out conference play and 14-10 overall, Riverside has only won four of their last twenty games with three of those wins coming at home against last place Pacific. The Highlanders have played very well at home and won their first eleven games there before losing four of their last five games at home.<br />
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<b><u>UC Riverside Highlanders</u></b><br />
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<ul>
<li>(*18-26, 7-11 – 7th). Riverside will be vacating eight wins for using an ineligible player, which would make them 10-26.</li>
<li>2012 Overall Record – 22-32</li>
<li>2012 Conference Record – 9-15 (8th)</li>
<li>2012 Post-Season – None.</li>
<li>2013 RPI/ISR – 143/126. This will be adjusted once the eight wins are vacated. 2012 RPI/ISR – 145/110</li>
<li>Current ranking/Pre-season ranking – None</li>
<li>Predicted conference finish – 5th by Easton College Baseball, 7th by Big West coaches and Perfect Game and 8th by Baseball America</li>
</ul>
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<b>2012 Summary and 2013 Preview</b><br />
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UC Riverside won the Big West in 2007 and finished third, fourth and third in the conference in 2008-2010 before finishing fifth in 2011 at 11-13 and were next to last in the conference at 9-15 in 2012 and finished under .500 overall at 22-32 for the first time in four years. The Highlanders had heavy personnel losses from 2011 and got off to a slow start and never really got going, losing their first three series vs. BYU, at ASU and at Sam Houston State before picking up a series win vs. Sacramento State. After splitting a series at Fresno State, Riverside lost their next three series at UCSB and at home to Long Beach and Bakersfield. The Highlanders picked up their second series win of the season at home against UC Davis before being swept at Irvine and losing a series at home to Northridge. Riverside won only their third series against last place Pacific before springing the biggest upset of the Big West season when they won their first series ever at Fullerton and finished off the year by getting swept at home by Cal Poly.<br />
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Riverside’s offensive approach before BBCOR bats were introduced in 2011 was to play for the big inning by not playing much little ball so it wasn’t much of a surprise that they had issues adjusting to the new bats. The Highlanders were among the worst offensive teams in the conference the last two seasons and were next to last in the Big West in scoring in 2012 and scored four runs or less 31 times. Riverside only hit .260, was next to last in slugging and struck out more than anybody else in the conference. The one thing that the Highlanders did well was draw walks and they led the Big West in walks, which helped boost their on base percentage to third in the conference. Riverside still didn’t play much little ball despite swinging BBCOR bats and were only seventh in the conference in SB’s and bunted less than anybody else in the Big West.<br />
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Riverside had a poor 5.85 ERA in 2010 and with the switch to BBCOR bats their ERA tumbled down by over two runs to 3.40 in 2011, which was third in the conference. The Highlanders weren’t nearly as consistent in 2012 and saw their ERA shoot up by about 3/4 of a run per game and were sixth in the conference in ERA, allowing five runs or more 25 times. Riverside had a solid 2.4 K/BB ratio and was in the top three in the conference both in strikeouts and walks with their pitchers having good control but they had trouble keeping batters off base when they hit the ball and allowed their opponents to hit .283 overall and Big West teams hit .297 against their pitching staff.<br />
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Riverside expected to be better this season after returning almost their entire lineup and most of their pitching staff from 2012 but things didn’t turn out that way. The Highlanders lost three out of four games in a tournament at Palm Springs and split four games at Sacramento State, a series that was marred by a bench clearing brawl that was instigated by SS Eddie Young. Riverside returned home and swept St. Mary’s before splitting four games at New Mexico and losing their series at Portland. The program ran into more turmoil as the conference season started when Young was declared ineligible by the NCAA but the Highlanders responded to adversity with their best series of the season when they swept UC Irvine at home but they have skidded off of the road since then, losing sixteen of their last twenty games with three of the four wins coming at home against last place Pacific. Riverside has lost their other four series at Northridge, at UC Davis, at home to UCSB and at Cal Poly, getting swept in each of the road series. The Highlanders pitched better last weekend in San Luis Obispo, allowing eleven runs but seeing their offense get shut down and score only five runs.<br />
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Riverside has hit much better this season, batting almost twenty points higher and scoring a run more per game and they are ranked in the top half of the conference in scoring, AVG, SLG and OBP. The Highlanders offensive improvement has been even more pronounced at home, where they have hit .331 and averaged seven runs per game while going 12-4 but their inability to hit on the road has sunk their season because they are 6-22 away from home and hitting .240 and averaging 3.4 runs per game on the road other than their four game stat padding series at New Mexico’s launching pad. Riverside has only hit eleven HR’s but they are among the conference leaders in doubles and triples and have seen their SLG % go up by about fifty points. The Highlanders have been walking a lot and striking a lot like they did in 2012 and are second in the Big West in BB’s and K’s. Riverside still doesn’t bunt much but they are running much more this season and already have eighteen more steals than they had in 2012 with three weeks to go. The Highlanders offense has started to slow down as their struggles have increased and they have been held to three runs or less in six of their last nine games and they have been held to four runs or less 24 times for the season.<br />
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Riverside’s pitching staff has been very inconsistent and they have seen their ERA go up again this season by almost a run and they have allowed five runs or more 26 times and their pitchers have allowed an average of at least five runs a game in seven of their eleven weekend series. The Highlanders haven’t been missing enough bats and a porous defense has contributed to teams hitting over .300 against them. Riverside has a 1.5 BB/K ratio and went from ranking in the top three in the conference in walks and strikeouts to seeing their pitchers rank in the bottom three in the Big West in those categories, although they have done a better job of not walking hitters in conference games. The Highlanders have had one weekend starter s who has been pretty consistent, another one who has been up and down and there has been no reliable answer in the third starting spot but their bullpen has been pretty solid and kept them in games most of the time.<br />
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<br />
<b>Offense</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>Park Factor according to Boyd’s World – 117 (increases offense by 17%). Standard dimensions, unique features are a 20 ft wall/batters eye in CF and drainage slopes behind the infield dirt down the 1B and 3B lines. No marine layer due to being inland helps the ball carry better.</li>
<li>Batting Average – .278 (5/115); .280 (6th) in conference. .260 (7th in the Big West, 239th nationally) in 2012; .252 in conference.</li>
<li>Scoring – 235 (4/112), 5.5 per game; 79 (7th), 4.4 per game in conference. 235 (8/246), 4.4 per game in 2012; 93, 3.9 per game in conference.</li>
<li>Home Runs – 11 (7/209); 4 (8th) in conference. 13 (6/250) in 2012; 7 in conference.</li>
<li>Slugging Percentage – .376 (4/114); .371 (6th) in conference. .333 (8/268) in 2012; .326 in conference. </li>
<li>On Base Percentage – .377 (2/52); .368 (3rd) in conference. .361 (3/137) in 2012; .341 in conference. </li>
<li>Walks – 188 (2/73), 4.3 per game; 65 (3rd), 3.6 per game in conference. 229 (1/71), 4.2 per game in 2012; 83, 3.5 per game in conference. </li>
<li>HBP’s – 55 (6/91); 22 (4th) in conference. 61 (5/113) in 2012; 27 in conference.</li>
<li>Strikeouts – 298 (1/xx), 6.9 per game; 109 (2nd), 6.1 per game in conference. 386 (1/xx), 7.1 per game in 2012; 171, 7.1 per game in conference. </li>
<li>Stolen Bases – 54-77 (3/114); 18-30 (5th) in conference. 36-57 (7/239) in 2012; 14-21 in conference.</li>
<li>Sac Bunts – 30 (8/173); 14 (7th) in conference. 34 (9/203) in 2012; 15 in conference.</li>
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<b>Infield</b><br />
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UC Riverside expected to have an experienced infield coming into the season after only losing one player from 2012, 1B/3B Vince Gonzalez, who was 2nd team All-Big West. Eddie Young started at SS in 2012 and was starting there earlier this season until being ruled ineligible by the NCAA right before conference play started.<br />
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C – SR #36 Bart Steponovich (RH – .262/.333/.292, 0-5-0. ’12 – .183/.241/.198, 0-11-0. ’11 – .290/.377/.323, 0-7-0 in 93 AB’s) split time in 2011 but hit his way into more playing time during the second half of the season. He hit .270 in his first 33 AB’s last season but only hit in the .150’s after that. Steponovich kept his job in the lineup because his defensive skills are very good and he has been hitting better this season and hasn’t been as much of a liability at the plate. He has trouble making contact and struck out nearly 1/3 of the time in 2011 and had even more issues in 2012 and was second in the Big West with 46 strikeouts and has struck out about 1/4 of time. Steponovich is a good bunter and had five SAC’s in 2012 and has three this season and will usually be batting 9th and splits time behind the plate. He went 0-8 at Fullerton in 2012 and is 0-12 in his career against the Titans.<br />
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C/1B – SR #7 Clayton Prestridge (RH – .344/.450/.416, 1-23-13. ’12 – .292/.435/.357, 0-24-9) played mostly LF in 2012 and was hitting in the .250’s most of the season but got hot over the last fifteen games and has continued to stay hot and is among the Big West leaders in AVG and OBP and will hit third while splitting time between C and 1B. He will stand in and take a HBP and has been hit 20 times over the last two seasons and is second in the conference with 12 HBP’s. Prestridge is a patient hitter who will see lots of pitches and was third in the Big West in 2012 in walks but is also prone to striking out and had a solid 36/34 BB/K ratio in 2012 and has a 20/29 ratio this season. He has good speed and led the team in SB’s in 2012 and is third in the conference this season. Prestridge is a gap to gap hitter and has only hit one HR in two seasons despite usually hitting in the middle of the lineup. He had a seventeen game hitting streak snapped against UCSB two weeks ago and was hitless in two games last weekend at Cal Poly. Like most of the team, he has hit better at home with a .377 AVG while hitting .327 on the road. Prestridge was 3-8 with five walks at Fullerton in 2012.<br />
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1B – FR #42 Francisco Tellez (LH – .317/.405/.571, 2-12-1) is a part-time starter who has been getting more playing time recently against RHP’s and figures to be in the lineup at least twice this weekend because he has been hitting for lots of power with ten extra base hits in only 63 AB’s. He has solid plate discipline with a 9/13 BB/K ratio.<br />
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1B/DH – JR #27 Kyle Boudreau (LH – .237/.350/.361, 2-21-3. ’12 – .267/.380/.389, 2-18-1. ’11 – .250/.363/.294, 0-8-1 in 68 AB’s) started 16 games in 2011 as a reserve and after a 2-24 start in 2012 hit around .300 after that. He has been a hot hitter at home with a .343 AVG but has only hit .177 on the road. Boudreau got off to a hot start this season but has only hit .151 over his last 53 AB’s and has seen his playing time dwindle with Tellez playing more. Boudreau went 2-7 at Fullerton in 2012.<br />
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DH – Soph #48 Kyle Davidson (RH – .256 in 39 AB’s. ’12 – .321/.410/.396, 1-9-0 in 53 AB’s) hit well in limited playing time as a FR and has only started eight times, usually against LHP’s.<br />
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2B – Soph #22 Nick Vilter (RH – .245/.361/.328, 1-13-1. ’12 –.229/.369/.337, 1-9-2) split time at 2B as a FR but has been the starter for almost every game this season and will usually hit seventh. He is big for a middle infielder and has some pop in his bat with ten extra base hits, although he hasn’t been too consistent and after going thru a 6-49 slump he has started hitting better lately and is 13-35 over the last twelve games. Vilter is patient at the plate and leads the team in walks but also has a big swing and is second in the conference in strikeouts and has a 21/46 BB/K ratio. He went 2-5 with two walks at Fullerton in 2012.<br />
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SS – Soph #20 Alex Rubanowitz (LH – .248/.336/.316, 1-15-3. ’12 – .244/.324/.300, 0-9-1) split time at 2B with Vilter as a FR and was playing at 3B earlier in the season but became the everyday SS after Young was ruled ineligible. He was on a hot streak when he hit .405 over a thirteen game stretch but has been ice cold and has only hit .181 over the last sixteen games. Like most of his teammates, Rubanowitz has hit much better at home with a .383 AVG and has only hit .157 on the road. He has switched positions with Vilter the last couple of games with Vilter playing SS so that is something to keep an eye on to see if they continue playing doing that. Rubanowitz went 1-9 at Fullerton in 2012 but the hit was a big one because it drove in the only run in the series deciding 1-0 win for Riverside.<br />
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3B/CF – Soph #8 Joe Chavez (RH – .325/.437/.497, 2-24-15. ’12 – 3-12) rarely got off the bench as a FR but has been one of the constants in the lineup and is having a strong season, leading the Big West in doubles and ranking in the top ten in the conference in runs, OBP and SLG. He is a patient hitter who is second on the team with 20 walks and will crowd the plate and has 11 HBP’s but he also has a big swing and leads the Big West with 50 strikeouts. Chavez was in a slump where he hit .178 over a twelve game stretch but he has gotten hot again and hit .408 over the last thirteen games. He will usually hit second, has good speed and leads the conference in SB’s. Chavez played in CF quite a bit earlier in the season but has started at 3B in seven of the last eight games.<br />
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3B – JR #16 Cody Hough (RH – .226/.333/.369, 2-9-1. ’12 –.196/.302/.232, 0-8-2) started during most of the non-conference season in 2012 but lost his spot in the lineup due to his issues at the plate. He hasn’t hit much better this season and usually starts at 3B when Chavez moves to the OF.<br />
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<b>Outfield</b><br />
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Riverside returned all of their outfielders from 2012 so they are very experienced but that has also created a crowded situation with some players shifting back and forth and Prestridge, one of last season’s outfielders, being moved to catcher.<br />
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LF – SR #4 Phil Holinsworth (RH – .256/.367/.344, 0-30-6. ’12 – .237/.314/.366, 4-17-3. ’11 – .279/.333/.380, 0-16-4) was the fourth OF in 2011 and got playing time in all three OF spots last season when other OF’s were out of the lineup with injuries. He is a good bunter and has seventeen SAC’s over the last three seasons, including five this year. Hollinsworth is one of several players who have gone into a slump recently and has only hit .200 over the last thirteen games. He is another player who has hit much better at home with a .298 AVG and has only hit .231 on the road. Hollinsworth is a good run producer and is second on the team in RBI and usually hits fifth. He had a game to remember at Fullerton in 2012 when he single-handedly outproduced the Titans offense with two 2-run HR’s in Riverside’s 6-3 win in the second game of the series.<br />
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CF/LF – Soph #6 Devyn Bolasky (LH – .321/.341/.344, 0-9-4. ’12 – .284/.376/.303, 0-8-6) was having a solid season as a FR before he injured a hamstring against Long Beach and missed a month before returning. He has very little power with only five extra base hits (all doubles) over the last two seasons and is a slap hitter who puts the ball in play and runs to beat out hits as the leadoff hitter. Bolasky isn’t patient at the plate and has only walked five times but he usually puts the ball in play and is one of the toughest players to strike out in the country with only seven strikeouts. He was in a 4-31 slump before being one of the few players to hit well at Cal Poly and went 7-12 last weekend. Bolasky has hit .410 at home and was only hitting .235 on the road before his hot streak in SLO. He will play in LF whenever Chavez moves from 3B to CF. Bolasky went 0-3 in his only start at Fullerton in 2012.<br />
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RF – JR #30 David Andriese (LH – .321/.367/.411, 0-33-3. ’12 – .233/.326/.380, 4-25-3. ’11 – .307/.392/.453, 4-30-1) was one of the better FR in the Big West in 2011 while playing in LF and led the team and was tenth in the Big West in SLG and was honorable mention all-conference. He injured his wrist four games into 2012 and missed the next thirteen games and never really got going as he went through a sophomore slump due to the injury. Andriese is a good run producer as the cleanup hitter and leads the team and is eighth in the conference in RBI. He struck out about 25-30% of the time in his first two seasons but has been doing a better job of making contact for a big hitter in the middle of the lineup and has a 12/25 BB/K ratio. Andriese was hitting .375 through the non-conference season but has been hitting in the .270’s since then. He has hit .362 at home and .300 on the road. Andriese went 1-11 at Fullerton in 2012 and is 4-22 in his career against the Titans.<br />
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<b>Defense</b><br />
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Fielding % – .950 (10/278) with 84 errors; .954 (10th) with 32 errors in conference. .966 (7/140) with 70 errors in 2012; .959 with 39 errors in conference. Riverside had one of the better defenses in the Big West in 2010-2011 but the defense was below average in 2012 and has come off of the rails this season. The Highlanders are the worst fielding team in the conference and have allowed 73 unearned runs. Prestridge and Tellez are adequate at 1B, Vilter has good range at 2B but makes too many errors, Rubanowitz has been below average at SS and Chavez has been below average at 3B. Hollinsworth and Andriese have average range in the corner OF spots and Bolasky has good range in CF.<br />
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Stolen Base Attempts – 35-51 (6/xx); 13-19 (4th) in conference. 42-70 (5/xx) in 2012; 16-30 in conference. Steponovich was better at throwing out runners in 2012 (35-56) than he has been this season (17-22). Runners are 7-7 against Prestridge.<br />
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WP’s/PB’s Allowed – 38 (4/xx); 8 (1st) in conference games. 33 (2nd) in 2012; 17 in conference. Steponovich and Prestridge have been doing a solid job of blocking pitches and giving the pitching staff confidence in throwing off-speed pitches in the dirt.<br />
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<b>Pitching</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>ERA – 5.14 (8/227); 4.69 (8th) in conference. 4.13 (6/112) in 2012; 4.13 in conference.</li>
<li>AVG – .313 (9/281); .312 (9th) in conference. .283 (7/179) in 2012; .297 in conference.</li>
<li>HR – 20 (8/xx); 8 (7th) in conference. 23 (5/xx) in 2012; 10 in conference.</li>
<li>SLG – .376 (9/xx); .371 (9th) in conference. .392 (7/xx) in 2012; 410 in conference.</li>
<li>Walks – 156 (8/174), 3.8 BB/9 IP; 42 (5th) 2.5 BB/9 IP in conference. 155 (3/44), 2.9 BB/9 IP in 2012; 65, 2.7 BB/9 IP in conference.</li>
<li>HBP – 38 (7/xx); 23 (3rd) in conference. 36 (1/xx) in 2012; 23 in conference.</li>
<li>OBP – .388 (9/xx); .372 (8th) in conference. .345 (4/xx) in 2012; .358 in conference.</li>
<li>Strikeouts – 221 (8/258), 5.4 K/9 IP; 78 (9th), 4.6 K/9 IP in conference. 370 (2/92), 7.0 K/9 IP in 2012; 149, 6.3 K/9 IP in conference.</li>
</ul>
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<b>Starters</b><br />
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Riverside had an experienced weekend rotation in 2012 with two starters back from 2011 and they usually kept the Highlanders in games but wore down a little bit as the season went on and all three allowed conference opponents to hit in the low .300’s. Honorable mention all-conference starter Eddie Orozco moved on and one of the other starters was moved into the closer’s role, leaving returning and relievers to take over the other two spots in the weekend rotation.<br />
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JR #5 Dylan Stuart (LHP – 3-6, 4.69 ERA, 12 GS, 2 CG, 71 IP, 104 H, 15 BB, 24 K, .351 AVG, 4 HR, 3 HBP, 1 WP, 7-9 SB, 5 pickoffs. ’12 – 7-7, 4.00 ERA, 15 GS, 3 CG, 99 IP, 108 H, 21 BB, 56 K, .281 AVG, 3 HR, 3 HBP, 6 WP, 7-11 SB, 5 pickoffs. ’11 – 1-1, 1.72 ERA, 18 apps, 31 IP, 34 H, 11 BB, 29 K, .301 AVG, 0 HR, 3 HBP, 1 WP, 4-9 SB) was a middle reliever in 2011 and ended up pitching well enough to earn Big West FR Pitcher of the Year honors. Stuart got off to a great start in 2012 when he was Big West pitcher of the week for a shutout against BYU in his first start but was up and down after that, mixing bad outings with good ones and had a great start at Fullerton when he shut out the Titans in a 1-0 complete game win when he induced Fullerton into hitting sixteen groundouts. He has very good control and is usually around the plate and pitches to contact, which has been a problem this season with Riverside having such a poor defense that turns balls that should be outs into hits and errors and has allowed at least eight hits in each of his last eight starts. Stuart hasn’t made it out of the sixth inning five times but if he gets through the early innings without too much damage he is usually able to pitch deep into games because he keeps his pitch count down and doesn’t strike out many hitters with three or fewer strikeouts in his last nine games. He has allowed 18 R (14 ER) on 31 H in 19 1/3 IP in his last three starts. Stuart a very good move to first and has picked off ten runners over the last two seasons but when runners are able to run they usually have a pretty good chance to succeed.<br />
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JR #26 Ben Doucette (LHP – 2-5, 4.01 ERA, 11 GS, 61 IP, 68 H, 27 BB, 36 K, .282 AVG, 1 HR, 11 HBP, 4 WP, 2-5 SB. ’12 – 1-1, 1.69 ERA, 5 saves, 24 apps, 27 IP, 22 H, 10 BB, 26 K, .220 AVG, 0 HR, 5 HBP, 1 WP, 1-3 SB. ’11 – 1 IP) was moved into the closer’s role for the last six weeks of 2012 after pitching in middle relief earlier in the season and converted all five save chances that he had, including one at Fullerton. He does a good job of getting sink on his fastball and will sometimes run into control issues if hitters are laying off of it and he has walked at least three hitters in five of his starts, including six walks last week at Cal Poly when he was wildly effective in holding the Mustangs to two runs in seven innings. Doucette will pitch inside and leads the Big West with 10 HBP’s in conference games. He has been Riverside’s best starter lately despite a 1-4 record in Big West games and is seventh in the conference with a 2.65 ERA in Big West play. Doucette has allowed three runs or less in his last seven starts with a 2.33 ERA.<br />
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JR #25 Zach Varela (RHP – 3-0, 0.92 ERA, 14 apps, 3 GS, 29 IP, 24 H, 5 BB, 11 K, .220 AVG, 0 HR, 5 HBP, 2 WP, 4-4 SB. ’12 – 0-1, 3.86 ERA, 8 apps, 9 IP, 14 H, 1 BB, 12 K, .350 AVG, 0 HR, 2 HBP, 1 WP, 0-0 SB) didn’t pitch much in 2012 and was a middle reliever for most of this season, pitching very effectively in that role with a 0.53 ERA in eleven appearances out of the bullpen. He has started the last two weekends, allowing one run on six hits in four innings vs. UCSB and allowing two runs (1 ER) on five hits in five innings at Cal Poly. Varela isn’t a hard thrower but has very good control and does a good job of getting sink on his fastball.<br />
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JR #33 Jacob Smigelski (RHP – 1-1, 6.03 ERA, 6 GS, 31 IP, 45 H, 6 BB, 23 K, .346 AVG, 3 HR, 5 HBP, 3 WP, 5-7 SB) was the Sunday starter for the non-conference schedule but injured his arm against Irvine in his first conference start and hasn’t pitched since.<br />
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SR #17 Mitch Patito (RHP – 1-0, 3.86 ERA, 4 GS, 19 IP, 18 H, 12 BB, 11 K, .257 AVG, 0 HR, 1 HBP, 3 WP, 4-4 SB. ’12 – 3-4, 3.96 ERA, 16 apps, 10 GS, 50 IP, 41 H, 40 BB, 61 K, .227 AVG, 3 HR, 4 HBP, 1 WP, 7-11 SB. ’11 – 1-3, 5.75 ERA, 6 saves, 19 apps, 20 IP, 22 H, 18 BB, 24 K, .286 AVG, 1 HR, 4 HBP, 1 WP, 4-5 SB. ’10 – 3-0, 1.33 ERA, 3 saves, 21 apps, 27 IP, 13 H, 13 BB, 27 K, .138 AVG, 1 HR, 8 HBP, 1 WP, 3-3 SB) was the closer in 2010 and moved out of that role due to ineffectiveness during 2011 and was the midweek starter the last two seasons but was injured four starts into the season and hasn’t pitched since.<br />
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<b>Relievers</b><br />
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Riverside brought back a decent amount of experience in their bullpen from 2012 and one of the keys to the success that they have had has been due to converting one of last season’s weekend starters into the closer’s role.<br />
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SR #14 Trevor Frank (RHP – 4-1, 1.91 ERA, 9 saves, 21 apps, 33 IP, 23 H, 8 BB, 37 K, .187 AVG, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 2 WP, 1-1 SB. ’12 – 2-8, 4.63 ERA, 16 apps, 14 GS, 1 CG, 80 IP, 97 H, 19 BB, 40 K, .307 AVG, 3 HR, 5 HBP, 3 WP, 6-14 SB. ’11 – 2-3, 3.35 ERA, 1 save, 13 apps, 12 GS, 83 IP, 84 H, 14 BB, 55 K, .268 AVG, 3 HR, 7 HBP, 4 WP, 2-7 SB. ’10 – 3-3, 8.46 ERA, 17 apps, 8 GS, 50 IP, 79 H, 18 BB, 31 K, .374 AVG, 5 HR, 8 HBP, 4 WP, 7-11 SB) moved from a midweek starter/middle reliever to a weekend starter early in 2011 and was in the rotation through the end of last season before being converted into the closer’s role in the fall. He was more of a strike thrower and a pitch to contact guy as a starter but has been able to air it out more as a reliever and has his fastball getting into the mid 90’s as the closer and he is third in the Big West in saves. Because Frank used to be a starter, he is able to go more than an inning when called upon and threw 3 1/3 innings to pick up a save against UCSB two weeks ago. He didn’t allow a run over fifteen straight appearances but has allowed six runs on eleven hits in his last six outings and picked up the loss last Sunday when he allowed two runs after an outfielder misplayed the potential final out, turning a fly ball into a triple. Frank allowed five runs on sixteen hits and five walks in 13 2/3 IP in his starts against Fullerton over the last two seasons.<br />
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SR #29 Mark Garcia (LHP – 3-4, 5.79 ERA, 17 apps, 3 GS, 42 IP, 48 H, 19 BB, 23 K, .296 AVG, 3 HR, 5 HBP, 1 WP, 3-7 SB. ’12 – 2-1, 2.45 ERA, 1 save, 18 apps, 40 IP, 42 H, 16 BB, 27 K, .271 AVG, 0 HR, 4 HBP, 3 WP, 0-2 SB. ’11 – 1-2, 4.68 ERA, 17 apps, 25 IP, 30 H, 11 BB, 18 K, .306 AVG, 1 HR, 3 HBP, 3 WP, 2-2 SB. ’10 – 0-0, 10.80 ERA, 8 apps, 8 IP, 13 H, 5 BB, 7 K) has been solid in a middle relief role over the last two seasons as the main guy to get the ball from the starters to the closer. He has been a workhorse and has often gone 2-3 innings in his appearances and is 3-2 with a 3.68 ERA in relief but has a 12.27 ERA in his three starts.<br />
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Soph #35 Kevin Sprague (LHP – 1-0, 3.65 ERA, 17 apps, 25 IP, 36 H, 7 BB, 14 K, .346 AVG, 1 HR, 2 HBP, 1 WP, 2-5 SB) has also been effective in relief despite allowing a high average due to very good control. He started on Tuesday against San Diego State and allowed three runs in four innings. <br />
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SR #28 Donovan Gonzales (RHP – 0-5, 9.45 ERA, 12 apps, 2 GS, 20 IP, 34 H, 20 BB, 12 K, .374 AVG, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 3 WP, 2-3 SB. ’12 – 0-0, 5.50 ERA, 12 apps, 18 IP, 15 H, 5 BB, 6 K, .212 AVG, 1 HR, 2 HBP, 2 WP, 0-0 SB)<br />
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<br />
<b>Outlook</b><br />
<br />
Unlike with how Fullerton has beaten Long Beach like a drum over the last five seasons, it has been the exact opposite in their series with Riverside because they circle this series on their schedule more than they do any other series that they play. It looked like the Titans had gotten over their issues when they play the Highlanders after winning the previous four series the teams had played, including an eight game winning streak from 2009-2011, before Riverside pulled off the upset in the series at Goodwin Field last season. That is the only series that Fullerton has lost since the opening weekend of 2012.<br />
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Riverside has hit the ball very well at home but they have started to cool off a bit at the plate lately so it will be interesting to see if they can start to heat up against a strong Fullerton pitching staff that held them in check last season except for Hollinsworth’s two home-run game. The Titans did not hit well against the Highlanders in any of the three games last season but their offense is much better this season and Riverside’s pitching staff hasn’t been as good as they were in 2012.<br />
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Fullerton has a big advantage in the pitching match-up, although Riverside did pitch well in each of the three games at Cal Poly last weekend in holding the Mustangs to three runs. If the Highlanders can continue to pitch like they did last weekend that will decrease the edge that the Titans have in pitching in this series.<br />
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One area that is a mismatch is how these teams have played in the field. Fullerton has had an occasional lapse but for the most part has fielded well and has one of the better defenses in the conference, especially during Big West play. Riverside has been brutal in the field for the entire season and has only played error free ball in twelve of 44 games and the Titans have been making teams pay for making mistakes against them all season.<br />
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This could be looked at as a trap series for Fullerton, playing on the road in a place where they have traditionally not played well in between series against Long Beach and Irvine. The Titans have been a focused team this season and will remember that this is the only team that has won a series against them in the last twenty-four series. It doesn’t figure to be easy this weekend but look for Fullerton to come out of Riverside with a series win.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0