Titans Conquer Triskaidekaphobia

By Don Hudson

STILLWATER, Okla. - Neither Friday the 13th, frigid weather nor playing two games against opponents who entered play today with combined records of 18-4 could derail the red-hot play of the Cal State Fullerton Titans in the opening day of play of the Oklahoma State Tournament at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater, OK. The Titans won the opener against the University of Rhode Island Rams by a 17-3 score, behind the solid pitching of Tyler Pill and another offensive onslaught that included sixteen hits and five hit batsmen. In the nightcap, the Titans won an 8-4 verdict against the host team and perennial powerhouse Oklahoma State Cowboys, beating nationally recognized lefthander Andy Oliver on the strength of a fourteen hit attacked led by Jared Clark (5-5), Josh Fellhauer (3-5 with an RBI) and Tony Harkey (2-2 with 4 huge RBI).

Game 1 Recap: Cal State Fullerton 17, Rhode Island 3

URI came out swinging in the first inning looking like the little train that could: hitting the ball sharply despite blustery cold playing conditions made tougher by steady winds that made it feel even worse. Pill surrendered a run in the first on sharp double by Oliver Palmer following a single by Zoey Angulo. The Rams' 1-0 lead was shortlived, however, as Fullerton responded with two in the bottom of the inning on a two-out double by Nick Ramirez, driving in Gary Brown and Christian Colon, who had each singled.

After a LeBel triple and Adams double tied the score for Rhody in the top of the second, the Titans continued to work deep into the counts against starting pitcher Tim Boyce. The Titans scored three runs (and lost another when Billy Marcoe, substituting to allow Dustin Garneau to rest for the nightcap, led off with a single but was promptly picked off) on a Joe Scott HBP, another Brown single, a Colon HBP, a sacrifice fly by Josh Fellhauer and a two-ribby hit by Jared Clark.

The Titans broke the game wide open in the third inning with four runs after Pill had pitched a 1-2-3 frame. The rally was started by the bottom third of the order: Newman led off with a single and stole second; Marcoe walked and Scott was hit by a pitch. Gary Brown hit a two-run double and subsequently came around to score on Felly's two-run single.

From that point on, the game was a matter of avoiding frostbite - both in the stands and dugout and on the field. Jared Clark spiked another monster home run through a stiff breeze blowing in. You know the game has gotten out of hand when the focus of our fans was discussing the respective merits of the diners at small Southern California airports. Flo's Country Kitchen at the Chino Airport was the concensus winner, but strong support was given for the diners at Brackett Field (La Verne), Cable Airport (Upland) and Corona Municipal Airport.

Pill ended up going seven innings, surrendering three runs on eleven hits, walking none. With the win, Pill upped his record to 3-0 on the season. Derrick Dingeman pitched the last two innings, finishing strong after allowing a four-pitch walk and a single when he entered the game in the eighth inning.

Game 2 Recap: Cal State Fullerton 8, Oklahoma State 4

In a battle of top-flight pitchers, Cal State Fullerton was able to prevail largely because Daniel Renken played Houdini during his 5+ innings - working out of some very tight jams with minimal damage - while his teammates were able to come up with clutch hits against the very formidable left-hander Andy Oliver. (That guy threw some gas on a very cold night and was consistently around the corners - I thought he was the best starting pitcher we've yet to face this year.) The Cowboys stranded thirteen runners, to just six for the Titans.

After a scoreless first inning in which both pitchers looked sharp, the Titans scored a run in the top of the second on a Jared Clark double and a clutch two-out RBI single by Tony Harkey, making his first start of the season in left-field in order to get another potent right-handed batter in the line-up against a tough southpaw.

Daniel Renken pitched into and out of his first big jam in the bottom of the second. Oklahoma State loaded the bases with nobody out on a Doug Kroll walk and singles by Neil Medchill and Dean Green. This is when Renken got tough: he struck out Tyrone Hambly and Michael Dabbs and retired Dusty Harvard on a grounder to Scott.

After Oliver pitched a dominant 1-2-3 third inning, the Cowboys got Renken back on the ropes in their half of the inning. Davis Duren led off with a walk and went to third on a single by Kevin David (their catcher can stroke the ball): runners at the corners with nobody out. Cleanup hitter Tom Belza lifted a short fly ball to left field - brought back even closer to infield by the wind, which made it too short to tag up. Renken got Kroll to pop up to Colon and Medchill grounded to Scott to end the inning harmlessly - but with a mounting pitch count.

The Titans scored thrice in the fourth inning, including two situations where attempted bunts were unsuccessful and were followed by two-strike hits. After singles by Felly and Clark, Nick Ramirez bunted foul and then sliced an opposite field double to drive in the game's second run. After Tony Harkey fouled off a bunt on an attempted squeeze play, he delivered a solid two-run single to give Fullerton a 4-0 advantage.

Oklahoma State has an excellent team and they weren't going down without a fight. Renken started the fourth inning with two strikeouts; unfortunately, the second K was a wild pitch that allowed Hambly to reach base and trot around when the ninth batter in the lineup, Dabbs, hit a home run to right field to make it a 4-2 game. Renken seemed temporarily flustered and worked into another jam following the homer: he allowed two walks and two wild pitches, putting the tying run at second base with just one out - go ahead run at the plate. One of the game's most critical plays followed: David smashed a ball down the third base line, which Brown fielded cleanly with a nice backhand stop. Rather than take the out at first and allow the third run to score, he threw home, where Garneau tagged out Harvard.

After both Oliver and Renken pitched unblemished fifth innings, the Titans scored two more runs to extend their lead to 6-2. The Titans loaded the bases with one out on a Felly double, a Clark single and a walk by Khris Davis (after spoiling a bunch of tough pitches). Harkey's squeeze bunt drove in Fellhauer; when Harkey got tangled up with the second-baseman covering first, Clark alertly came around to score the inning's second tally.

Renken's night came to a close in the sixth inning following a home run by Hambly and a beautiful drag bunt single by Dabbs. Nick Ramirez came in from the bullpen and continued his recent success on the mound for the Titans. Ramirez got out of the inning with the 6-3 lead intact on the strength of a strikeout and a nice diving stab by Joe Scott.

Ramirez escaped another bases-load-one-out situation in the seventh inning with a strikeout and pop-out to catcher Dustin Garneau.

The Titans added a couple insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Garneau was hit by a pitch, advanced on a passed ball and a Scott sacrifice and scored on Gary Brown's single through a drawn-in infield. Brown stole second and scored on an RBI single by Felly, who also stole third. With the score 8-3 (hardly a blowout), the Cowboys coaching staff was not thrilled with the stolen base attempts and were totally pissed when Felly attempted to steal the plate. (The catcher had the ball in time and stuck his mitt out in front of the plate and hoped Felly slid into it. The call was "out", but they still haven't tagged him yet.)

With a five-run lead, Nick took the hill again in the bottom of the ninth and was touched for a solo homer by Medchill. Michael Morrison entered the game and induced a popout to Garneau and a strikeout to end the game: his sixth consecutive scoreless outing.

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So what did we learn today?

First, we learned just how cold it can be but still have the game played well. It was too cold for me to push the button on my camera, so how do these guys snap off sharp breaking balls or hit line drives - in some cases without even wearing batting gloves? I love the psychological advantage gained by the Titans when their opponents are all bundled up, but our base coaches aren't even wearing jackets: Bergy wasn't even wearing sleeves!

This has been a remarkable road trip: these guys have written a new chapter in Titans history which will be long remembered. The question has to be asked: when is their success described by "they are on a red hot streak" become "this is a great team"? Winning on the road against quality opponents is a great indicator just how good this team can be - but this is still March.

Several guys had great days at the plate on Friday. Jared Clark was 7-9 with 5 runs and 4 RBI: he even stole two bases! Felly was 5-8 with 2 runs and 4 RBI, while Brown was 4-9 with 4 runs and 4 RBI.

Perhaps the day's unsung hero was Tony Harkey, who went 3-3 with 6 RBI. With Oklahoma State starting two outstanding lefties, it made sense to try to find a big right-handed bat, particularly to provide protection in the seventh spot batting behind Davis. Teams have recently seemed willing to pitch around Davis and take their chances with Jeff Newman: Harkey takes away the appeal of that option. Siddons has yet to hit much, so it appears that Harkey will be the right-handed half of the left-field platoon.

Speaking of Newman, he made a couple more highlight reel catches today. Not only does he get a great jump on fly balls, but he also "closes" on balls hit away from him as well as any outfielder in recent memory. The defense made zero errors in the double-header: I think the fielders welcomed the ball being hit to them just so they could stay warm.

Renken was uncharacteristically wild pitching in the frigid weather: in 5+ innings, he gave up four walks and had three wild pitches, in addition to seven hits. It wasn't one of his better outings, but give him credit for coming up with some huge pitches to an excellent team in their home environment. With the win, his record goes to 3-0. It seemed the weather affected the pitchers more than the hitters, especially on breaking balls.

Nick Ramirez gave the pitching staff a shot in the arm with his 3 1/3 innings of stellar relief pitching. Not only did he nullify Oklahoma State's lefthanded oriented line-up, he triggered switches to righthanded pitchers that were easily retired: you try sitting around a windy 38 degree stadium all day and then come off the bench and try to get a hit.

Between the weather and Oklahoma State playing a Big 12 Conference basketball game on Friday night, the crowd tonight at the big showdown game was just 823. It wasn't much, but it was a far cry better than the crowd at the afternoon game against URI: 111.

I'm interested in how URI coach Jim Foster will allign his pitching the rest of the tournament. Today he started Tim Boyce - his #3 weekend starter - against Fullerton's #3 guy . Eric Smith and Nick Greenwood are their two best starters. As the underdog, Rhody has a big advantage in that they will not face a #1 or a #2 starter from either Oklahoma State or Fullerton. Foster is a sharp coach: don't be surprised if he can get one or two close games against these powerhouse opponents in the games pitched by Smith and Greenwood.

Tomorrow night's rematch with Oklahoma State could have some sparks. They weren't happy with the coaching staff have Felly attempting steals of third and home with the score 8-3. (I think they are full of crap - are you telling me a team with 19 CWS trips has never overcome a five run deficit at home? Cut me a break!) The weather is going to be a little warmer and the hoops team got eliminated, so I'd expect a bigger crowd and a little attitude. It is a great opportunity for Kyle Witten to match up with another nationally prominent pitching opponent - I can't wait!

Titans Bat Around in Ninth for Ninth Straight

GAME 12: TITANS 15, TEXAS A&M 5

From The Eagle (College Station, Texas)

By Richard Croome
richard.croome@theeagle.com

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Seventh-ranked Cal State Fullerton pounded out 21 hits for the game and scored eight runs in the ninth inning to win a rare midweek battle of Top 10 teams, beating No. 8 Texas A&M 15-5 on Tuesday at Olsen Field.

The Titans came in batting .306 as a team and did nothing to hurt that number, going 21 for 43. In their last six games the Titans are batting .383 with 19 home runs and have scored 68 runs.

"That's the best offense I've seen in a long time, 1 through 9, in their commitment to their game plan and their two-strike approach," A&M coach Rob Childress said.

In the ninth, Fullerton (10-2) sent 12 batters to the plate, had seven hits -- two for homers and two for doubles -- to break open a close game that had two ties and two lead changes.

"You only have so many opportunities, and we made some pitches to get out of some jams and get to that point but we didn't cash in early and couldn't keep it close in the ninth," Childress said. "To be down two [runs] in the ninth, I like our chances at home to at least make it close or make [Fullerton] a little bit nervous and have a shot."

A&M (11-4) sent four pitchers to the mound in the ninth but was unable to get the final out when the game was still within reach. Six of the final eight runs were scored with two outs.

Joe Scott's bases-loaded double that Brooks Raley just missed catching and back-to-back homers by Gary Brown and Christian Colon were the key hits that broke it open in the ninth for the Titans.

"It was a great game for eight innings, we were just unable to finish the game," Childress said. "[We] hit 1 for 11 with runners in scoring positions, and not cashing in in the first and third inning changes the whole middle to late innings of that game."

The Aggies continued their long-ball assault after hitting six homers on Sunday against Utah. Brodie Green made starter Noe Ramirez pay for hitting Kyle Colligan with a pitch, knotting the score at 2-2 with his third home run of the season over the left-field fence.

Colligan put A&M ahead in the bottom of the fourth with his second homer of the season, a liner over the Big 12 logo on the left-field fence.

"I thought [Colligan] had a great night, I really did. He went for every ball and tried to make every play," Childress said. "I was really glad to see his approach at the plate and him swing the bat well, which is one of the positives of the night."

Colligan raised his average from .161 to .200 with three hits.

A&M chased Ramirez in the fifth when Brooks doubled down the left-field line and Dylan Petrich hit the second base bag for a single and an RBI.

The Titans, who scored double-digit runs in all three games last weekend against Southern Mississippi, took their hacks at A&M starter Clayton Ehlert.

Ehlert gave up a season-high 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings. The last four batters he faced reached base, with a two-run homer by Josh Fellhauer being the big blow.

Ehlert had two outs at the time. He struck out the leadoff hitter, and catcher Kevin Gonzalez caught Gary Brown stealing for the second out.

Fellhauer hit his homer on the first pitch, and Jared Clark lined the first pitch he saw to right to end Ehlert's night.

The other two runs off Ehlert were created by doubles from Khris Davis and Brown. A Dustin Garneau single scored Davis in the second, and Fellhauer plated Brown with a single up the middle in the third.

Kyle Witten (2-0), the Titans' regular Saturday starter, got the win. He went 1 2/3 innings, giving up one hit and one unearned run.

A&M's Adam Smith scored the one run off Witten after leading off the sixth with a single, going to third on Witten's errant pickoff attempt and then running home on a wild pitch.

Aggie freshman Ross Hales (3-1) took the loss, giving up two runs in 1 2/3 innings after coming on in the fifth.

Davis hit Hales' first pitch in the sixth for a home run to right. It was his team-leading sixth homer.

One out later Garneau missed a homer by a couple of feet on a triple, and then he came home on a Scott ground out.

NOTES -- Dylan Petrich made a diving catch on Nick Ramirez's looping fly ball to left-center to save a run in the seventh when the Titans were leading 6-5. ... A&M's home game vs. Northwestern State on Wednesday was moved to March 25 because of the threat of rain.

Titans Complete Sweep in Convincing Fashion

GAME 11: TITANS 11, SOUTHERN MISS 3

By Don Hudson

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Early in Sunday's series finale between visiting Cal State Fullerton (blue jerseys) and home team Southern Mississippi (white home unis), a man sitting behind me had brought his Little League-aged son Johnny to the game to teach him some of the game's finer nuances. As the Titans mounted their third consecutive display of awesome hitting and defense, Dad's cell phone rang: it was Grampa, who advised, "Make sure to tell Johnny to learn from the blue team."

Behind six strong innings by Tyler Pill and a potent offensive display, led by Gary Brown's three hits and home runs by five different players, the Cal State Fullerton Titans completed a series sweep of the University of Southern Mississippi by a score of 11-3 on Sunday afternoon at "The Pete" in Hattiesburg.

Gary Brown once again gave the Titans a jump start when he led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a grounder by Christian Colon and scored on an RBI single by Josh Fellhauer. Further damage was averted when the Eagles induced a double-play ball from Clark.

After Tyler Pill pitched a scoreless first inning, Nick Ramirez led off with a single that brought a sudden cloudburst downpour. As the fans scampered for cover, Khris Davis squared to bunt before the pitcher even reached his set position: as poorly as USM had defensed the bunt all series, you've got to figure the Titans are going to apply even more pressure making them field a bunt on a slick infield, right? Wrong! It was the butcher boy play: Davis got upright from out of the bunt position and lined a shot off the light stanchion in left field for a two-run homer. By the time the ball landed, there was bright sunshine.

The Golden Eagles bounced back in the bottom of the second frame, with all the damage coming after two quick outs. Joey Archer doubled, Michael Ewing walked and Tyler Koelling drove them both around on a gap-job double.

The game was tight early on mainly because the Titans grounded into double-plays in each of the first three innings.

The wheels began to fall off the Southern Miss wagon in the middle innings. Nick Ramirez led off the fourth inning with a no-doubt-about-it home run, his third straight game with a bomb. The lead was stretched to 5-2 when Davis reached on an error, advanced to third on a wild pitch and a groundout and scored on a Dustin Garneau grounder.

Clark made it 7-2 with a two-run blast in the fifth inning: it was a nice shot, but looked quite mortal compared with Friday's moon launch.

Pill continued to pitch well as his teammates pounded away at Southern Miss pitching on a windy day in Hattiesburg. The Titans ran away and hid with four more runs in the seventh inning. After hitting a long "foul ball home run" with one out, Dustin Garneau knocked the next pitch over the left field wall for a "fair ball home run." Joe Scott and Gary Brown followed Garneau with base hits before Christian Colon belted a three-run homer, his first of the season. It was the fifth Fullerton home run of the game and the tenth of the series.

Pill surrendered a solo homer in the last of the sixth inning to James Ewing. He left after six innings with an 11-3 lead and his second collegiate win well in hand.

Nick Ramirez made his first pitching appearance since his Hindenburg-esque outing against TCU and was very impressive: six up and six down. The pitching has relied almost exclusively on righties so far, but it is imperative that we have some portside strength, even if it is for just one hitter or one part of the batting order. Between Nick Ramirez, Jason Dovel and Kevin Rath, it is important that at least one (and preferably more) of them can be counted on in big game situations.

Other than more Titan hit batters (seven total in game) and more USM double plays (four total), the last few innings were just a barrier between the Titans and an evening in The Big Easy. Michael Morrison went out for the last inning just to shake off the rust of no save situations in a week: he walked a couple guys but presumably benefited just by getting in some work.

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So what did we learn there yesterday?

First, we learned to always listen to the advice of Grampa. The Titans conducted an absolute baseball clinic all weekend. It remains hard to gauge just how good Southern Miss is, because I don't remember the Titans playing that well in a long time. Surely USM lacks top-tier pitching, but the way the Titans swung the bats this weekend was incredible and the defense (despite several defensive stalwarts making their first errors of the season) made some spectacular web-gem plays. Jeff Newman made a couple of eye-popping catches in left-field on Sunday. Tony Harkey also made two excellent diving stops playing first-base in the ninth inning.

Several lifelong USM fans opined that they had never seen a team play better at The Pete in 30+ years and Jared Clark's tape measure home run Friday remained the talk of the town. It was the first time the Golden Eagles had been swept at home by a non-conference opponent since William Carey College did it to them thirteen years ago. (Bring on Bill Carey College!)

There were lots of comments to the effect that "this is baseball the way it was meant to be played." I think sometimes the bar has been set so high at Fullerton by the success of the past few decades that we might take for granted (even if it's just slightly) just how good a quality of baseball this team treats us to year in and year out.

The series run totals of 37-11 hardly tells the gap in play. The Titans hit into four double-plays on Sunday and held down the scoring two of the games by making mid-game substitutions and playing station-to-station baseball once the leads became comfortable.

Gary Brown had his second consecutive three hit game. He played a great all-around series. After hitting just six home runs as a team in its eight previous games, the Titans flexed their muscles with ten home runs in a three-game series. There wasn't one of them that was cheap. The field is short in the power alleys, the wind blew out and the opposing pitching wasn't very good, but nevertheless it was a sight to behold. I just hope the payback isn't two weeks of warning track flyouts.

We learned that business should be brisk this week at the local jewelry store that gives away gift certificates whenever the Eagles pull off a double-play.

We learned that Christian Colon is human defensively: he made his first two errors of the season on Sunday. He has been making every play - the routine ones and the spectacular ones - so I'll settle for his first couple errors coming in an 11-3 win.

As great as the baseball was, perhaps the most enduring memory of this trip will be the people. The Titans were treated like baseball royalty in every respect and everybody we met was remarkably friendly. It was a privilege for both me (left) and Titans ardent supporter Tim Munroe (right) to spend some time with Butch Davis (center); a.k.a "Easy Eagle Rider." If you recall, Butch is a retired businessman who rode his Honda motorcycle across country last season to watch the CSUF/USM series played in Fullerton. (The thread is still available in the archives at www.titancentral.com. You will also be able to read his blogs from that trip in the Hattiesburg American website archives.)



He has ridden his motorcycle in every state - except Alaska. Guess where he is headed this summer on his motorcycle? Yep - Alaska - possibly routed through Omaha.



So it was off to LSU today to practice while en route to Texas A&M for a Tuesday showdown. I'll be curious how the pitching is arranged for that game and the four game tournment at Oklahoma City, especially with Noe Ramirez making an unplanned appearance Saturday following Witten's early injury-related departure. Hopefully the weather will cooperate: things were looking gloomy when I connected through Houston today. I'm sorry to miss the A&M game at one of college baseball's most enthusiastic environments, but I'll be back out there again for the Stillwater event.

Return of Small Ball ... and Hidden Ball Trick

GAME 10: TITANS 11, SOUTHERN MISS 6

By Don Hudson

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Cal State Fullerton Titans were up to their old tricks today (hit batsmen, bunting, applying pressure on the defense and forcing mistakes - and even the ol' hidden ball trick) as they clinched their weekend series in Hattiesburg against the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles by a score of 11-6 this afternoon at "The Pete." Seven of the game's runs were unearned: it wasn't very pretty, but it was a win nevertheless.

Once again, the Titans got on the board early and often. Gary Brown led off the game with the first of his three hits, followed by a Christian Colon HBP and Josh Fellhauer reaching on a misplaced sacrifice bunt. Jared Clark plated the first run on sacrifice fly. The red-hot Khris Davis knocked in two more runs with a clutch two-out single. Sign that things are going well: Davis took a big lead and broke for second while the pitcher still had the ball. Fortunately for the Titans, pitcher Cody Schlagel's pickoff throw was way over the first baseman's head and rolled into "no man's land" as Davis circled the bases to give Fullerton a 4-0 advantage before the Golden Eagles came to bat.

Kyle Witten looked very sharp in the home half of the first, setting Southern Miss down in order.

Pitcher Schlagel was on a short leash: he was yanked after surrending a leadoff walk to Dustin Garneau in the second inning. Garneau scored the Titans' fifth run on a Joe Scott sacrifice and an RBI single by Gary Brown.

Trouble struck for the Titans in the bottom of the third inning. Witten was breezing along, aided by a spectacular bare-handed do-or-die play by Brown on a ball chopped deep to third base: we were all so stunned by the beauty and athleticism of Brown's play that we didn't immediately notice Witten hobbling around the mound. Dave Serrano and trainer Chris Mumaw came out check him out: Witten is tougher than the breakfast steak at the Hattiesburg Diner and he remained in the game. The next batter walked and was followed by a base hit to right field that Khris Davis misplayed and the Golden Eagles had an unearned run. Kyle Mertins was then summoned to replace Witten.

The score remained 5-1 in favor of CSUF until the Golden Eagles struck in the bottom of the fifth inning off Mertins, who gave up singles to Tyler Koelling and Taylor Walker leading off the inning. Kameron Brunty hit a hard ground ball to Clark that had 3-6-3 double play written all over it - unfortunately, the ball went under his glove for an error and the score was suddenly 5-2 with runners at second and third and nobody out. Brian Dozier's infield single made it 5-3 with runners on the corners and nobody out. After a sacrifice fly made it 5-4, the Eagles made a baserunning gaffe when Dozier broke early to attempt a steal and was easily picked off. Mertins escaped further damage by striking out DH Kyle Maxie to end the inning with the Titans clinging to a narrow one run lead.

Fullerton's small ball offense caused pain for USM in the top of the sixth inning. After Davis led off with another hit, Newman's sacrifice bunt was misplayed by pitcher Kyle Lindsey when he threw wide of first base. When Garneau followed with another bunt, Lindsey attempted to gun down davis at third base; unfortunately, the third baseman was charging to play the bunt and the throw went down the left field line and allowed Davis to score and Newman and Garneau to reach scoring position. Now trailing by two runs and the game getting late, the USM infield was drawn in and the new RBI machine, Joe Scott, bounced one up the middle to score both runners and give Fullerton an 8-4 edge.

Southern Miss responded in their half of the inning with a one-out Graves single and a Koelling walk that drove Mertins from the game and brought in Noe Ramirez, on just three days rest following his seven inning outing against SDSU. Things looked grave for the Titans when Noe was immediately greeted by a Walker double, scoring Graves and sending Koeller to third base.

This is when a very pivotal play occurred. Before heading back up on the hill, Noe Ramirez kneeled down to tie his shoes - looking every bit the part of the nervous freshman pitcher - but it was all a decoy: Brown had held onto the ball and he tagged out Koelling for a huge out. Head coach Corky Palmer made a half-hearted attempt to convince the umpires that Ramirez was on the mound (which would have constituted a balk), but the third base coach was too embarrassed to have any part of that fuss. Noe induced a fly ball to end the inning and take the wind out of the Eagles' sails.

The other Ramirez - Nick - helped put the game out of reach with a line drive home run deep over the fence in right-center field in the top of the seventh inning. After Noe pitched a 1-2-3 bottom half of the seventh, the Titans posted their eleventh and final tally in the eight inning. Gary Brown legged out a one-out triple and made it safely back to the bag on a fielder's choice grounder that allowed Colon to reach first base. Out came another old Titans trick: Colon broke for second base and stopped halfway while Brown scampered across the plate.

After Noe pitched a scoreless eighth inning, Ackland gave up a harmless ninth inning run on a walk and two singles.

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So what did we learn today?

Freshman pitcher Noe Ramirez won his second game of the week by virtue of a rule that gives discretion to the official scorer to determine which reliever pitched the most effectively when a starting pitcher leaves the game before five complete innings with a lead that is never relinquished (except on designated staff days). Mertins and Noe Ramirez both pitched the same number of innings (2 2/3), but Noe gave up no runs on just one hit and one walk, while Mertins gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks.

I'm not a doctor (but I am staying at a Howard Johnson's), so I won't begin to speculate on the nature or extent of Kyle Witten's injury. Suffice to say, though, that the reliance on freshmen pitchers Pill and Noe Ramirez will be even greater if he misses any starts.

We also learned that it is very tough to win games against topflight opponents the caliber of Cal State Fullerton when your two best starting pitchers give you just 2 1/3 combined innings in the Friday and Saturday games. After Pat McInnis was knocked out of the box after 1 1/3 innings last night, Schlagle lasted just 1+ today.

Brown and Davis led the ten hit Titan attack with three hits each. Davis is making excellent contact consistently - my worst fear was that his three home run game was going to get him swinging for the fences every at-bat, but he is going with the pitches and hitting the ball hard with consistency. Brown has played two stellar games this series and he looks like he is ready to explode.

We learned that even in the midst of a winning streak, the defense can break down occassionally. Davis and Clark made errors that led to unearned runs, while Felly's ninth inning error caused only runner advancement. On the flip side, Gary Brown and Jeff Newman each made a great defensive play, and Colon, Scott and Garneau were as steady as usual.

We learned once again that you just can't beat good ol' fashioned southern hospitality. The people of Mississippi that follow this program love baseball and make each game an event. Beyond the fence arching from center to right field, there is an area where space is reserved (by virtue of season ticket purchases and booster club contributions) to the hardcore tailgating crowd. Walking by wearing the "F" hat, compliments for our baseball program and offers of adult beverages were ubiquitous. The Diamond Club was hosted today by the Golden Eagles' booster club: it was a great display of hospitality and camraderie: thank you!

We also learned that former Raiders punting great Ray Guy (pictured above) is a regular member of the USM baseball tailgating society. He is a graduate of Southern Mississippi and was a great athlete - not just a great punter. The only punter ever drafted by an NFL team in the first round of the draft, Guy once held the NCAA record for longest field goal and his eight interceptions as a standout defensive back is still (I believe) a single season school record. It is a complete travesty that he has never been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame - the old guard just won't bring down the wall that prevents any pure punters from enshrinement. Pro football is a game of field position and Ray Guy totally revolutionized both the game and the punting position.

Lastly, we learned that WCWarEagles knows his barbeque. In a recent thread, he suggested restaurants for various types of food and Leatha's was his nomination for barbeque. Acting on his advice, I left my luxury pad at HoJo's and went there - the food was awesome, 87-year-old matriarch Leatha was there and the place was packed with players, coaches, family, friends and fans of both programs. It put a great finish on a very nice day.

What Happened to Small Ball?

GAME 9: TITANS 15, SOUTHERN MISS 2

By Don Hudson

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - What ever happened to "get'em on, get'em over, get'em in"? Did aliens kidnap Coach Bergy and replace him with Earl Weaver calling the offensive plays?

The Cal State Fullerton Titans used another excellent outing by a starting pitcher (Daniel Renken) and an awesome display of hitting (22 hits, including four home runs) to beat the University of Southern Mississippi by a score of 15-2 at Pete Taylor Park on their campus in Hattiesburg.

The game was highly anticipated, as it pitted the resurgent Titans against a hot (8-1) Southern Miss team that had its ace pitcher going: Todd McInnis entered the game with a 2-0 record and a microscopic 0.66 ERA. Of course, the great concern for the Golden Eagles was the level of their competition - low - and not playing any road games to develop game toughness against elite teams.

When McInnis struck out Gary Brown to start the game, the large partisan crowd roared its approval and hopes were high. Reality struck when Christian Colon lined a sharp single. Josh Fellhauer followed with another hard single to left-center field, which was adroitly cut off by CF Kameron Brunty, who made an amazing throw to third base to nail Colon by a mile. Jared Clark put the Titans up 1-0 on a solid base hit. After an opposite field single by Nick Ramirez and a Khris Davis walk, Jeff Newman was retired to end the inning with the bases loaded. Titans fans squirmed slightly about what could have been a much bigger inning (had it not been for Brunty's great throw) against an ace pitcher, but the high pitch count and solid contact was encouraging.

After the lengthy top of the first inning, Renken pitched an easy 1-2-3 inning, including two K's.

The top of the Titans second inning left the Golden Eagles and their fans shaking their heads. The Titans added a second run on a Dustin Garneau double, a Joe Scott bunt single and a Brown fielder's choice. Brown stole second and went to third on a base hit by Colon. Felly followed with a three run bomb deep to right center field to make it 5-0, ending McInnis' night on 48 pitches in just 1 1/3 innings. Reliever Moses Munoz came in and threw gas on the fire: he walked Clark, who came around to score on a Nick Ramirez double. A Khris Davis walk and an infield single by Garneau brought up Scott with two outs and the bases loaded: he promptly unloaded them with a triple into the right field corner - his second hit of the inning. (Take that, naysayers!)

Staked to a 9-0 lead, Renken continued to mow down the Golden Eagles, who entered the game with a .366 team batting average. His second inning was much like the first: 1-2-3 with two K's.

Shock and awe struck for the Titans off Munoz in the third inning. After a one out single by Felly (his third hit in as many innings), Clark hit a 2-2 pitch high over the light towers in left field - the ball landed somewhere in Tennessee. Nick Ramirez wasted no time going back-to-back: he hit the first offering to left field for a home run. They're still reviewing the tapes to determine whether Clark's or Ramirez's ball orbited and re-entered the stratosphere first. For good measure, Dustin Garneau followed a Jeff Newman single with a two-run shot to left field, making the score 14-0.

Meanwhile, Renken was throwing perfect hitless ball through three innings before surrendering a harmless leadoff single in the fourth inning. He completed five innings and left with a "W", allowing just one hit and no walks.

With the score 14-0, the projected crowd of 5,000 (which turned out to be 4,011) must have collectively remembered that they needed to get home to watch the "Siegfried and Roy" tribute special on TV. By the sixth inning, the stands resembled a Tuesday afternoon game at Cal State Northridge.

The rest of the game was just a matter of playing out the string. Southern Miss got some effective relief pitching from Seth Hester, who allowed just one unearned run in 4 innings pitched. Travis Kelly threw a couple decent innings (allowed one run). Ryan Ackland threw the final two frames of the 15-2 drubbing.

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So what did we learn tonight?

First, we learned that Southern Miss has a very rabid fan base. Their following draws from both the student body and the hardcore lifelong fans that proudly sport their team's colors. From the time I arrived at the ballpark (and the parking attendant tipped me off that they had free parking across the street from the lot where she was charging ten bucks) until well after the game was over (when a concessions official offered a bunch of us leftover smoothies), the people there were just amazingly friendly and hospitable. Even the hecklers gave props to the Titans for their hitting, pitching and fielding gems tonight.

Speaking of smoothies, we learned that everybody in the ballpark wins a smoothie whenever a Golden Eagle hits a home run over the sponsor's sign on the outfield wall. I was standing in line when I heard two local fans talking: "I wish they'd give us free smoothies whenever Fullerton hits a home run."

The hits were spread out well (every starter had at least one hit), while the starting 2-3-4-5 hitters for the Titans put on a show: they went 12 for 19 with eight runs scored, eight RBI's and three home runs. Fellhauer led the way with four hits, while Colon, Nick Ramirez and Garneau each chipped in with three. Clark, Fellhauer and Scott led with three RBI each.

The defense was also very good. Gary Brown made a great diving grab of a line drive headed toward left field and both he and Colon impressed the crowd at "The Pete" with their cannon arms.

After sitting in the dugout for the Titans turn at bat in the first inning, Renken returned to the bullpen to loosen up when the Titans went deep into the counts and sent seven men to the plate. He also went down to the bullpen during the eight run second inning outburst, as well as during the five run third inning. We learned it is a very good thing when your starting pitcher has to return to the bullpen to warm up in three straight innings.

The assistant coaches in the stands were scratching their heads when Ryan Ackland was used for two innings in a lopsided win. I would particularly like to see some left-handed relief pitching emerge. Jason Dovel and Nick Ramirez were both available, but neither got the call. I'm sure they will when the time is right.

This was a nice win tonight, but the score is 0-0 at 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. One win doesn't make a season; it doesn't even make a series. I've heard that the field plays very differently in day games versus night games. I'd love to see Kyle Witten follow up last week's outstanding performance and help keep this team in its current groove.

Finally, it was nice to meet some die-hard Titans fans from around the Gulf Coast and Southeast areas who rarely get to see their favorite team play in person. There were also many of the usual suspects of hardcore crazies who trekked out here from Southern California, but this horrific economy has put a damper on discretionary activities such as this. I know many people are here in spirit and will be back in person when things are a little better.

If anybody is going to be at the games in either Hattiesburg or Stillwater and would like to give a shot out to friends, let me know and I'd love to get your name and picture into a post. Either see me at the games (I'll be the guy wearing the blue cap with the orange "F" on it) or send me a note at: DonSectionK@gmail.com.

Titans Win First Game of Road Trip

GAME 8: TITANS 7, SAN DIEGO STATE 2

By Don Hudson

SAN DIEGO - For the fourth consecutive game, the Cal State Fullerton Titans received an excellent outing by a starting pitcher and won the first of nine consecutive road games, beating the San Diego State Aztecs tonight at Tony Gwynn Stadium by a score of 7-2. Freshman Noe Ramirez made his first collegiate start and pitched seven sharp innings, allowing just two runs on three hits and "noe" walks.

How often do midweek games go just 2:32 and reach the sixth inning with the score 2-1 and both starting pitchers still in the game? "Johnny Allstaff" was nowhere to be found tonight, as Ramirez and SDSU's Ryan O'Sullivan pitched very well for the first five innings. After Ramirez opened the game with consecutive 1-2-3 innings, the Aztecs struck first with two runs in the bottom of the third. Brandon Meredith led off and was plunked by a pitch and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and then to third on a fly ball. The speedy Brandon Decker hit a slow spinning bouncer up the middle which hit the second base bag and was fielded by Christian Colon, who made a great throw and just missed ending the inning when Decker was safe on a bang-bang play at first base. (Translation: the kid was out by half a step but they called him safe.) Decker stole second and scored on an RBI single by Mitch Blackburn, giving the Aztecs a 2-0 lead.

The Titans cut the deficit in half in the fourth inning when Colon led off with a single, stole second and scored on a single by Jared Clark. O'Sullivan was on the ropes for further damage after Nick Ramirez singled (his second on the night), but CF Pat Colwell made a great diving catch of an opposite-field screaming line drive by Jeff Newman.

The Titans took the lead in the sixth inning with three runs and never looked back. Khris Davis drove in the tieing run with a base hit after a Josh Fellhauer walk and a Jared Clark single. After Clark and Davis executed a double steal, Jeff Newman gave the Titans a lead with a sacrifice fly. Dustin Garneau's two-out RBI single made the score 4-2 in favor of Fullerton.

Meanwhile, Noe Ramirez got stronger as the game went on. After surrendering the two runs in the third inning, he went on to retire twelve consecutive batters.

The Titans scored two insurance runs in the seventh inning on a two-out rally: Fellhauer singled, Clark was hit by a pitch and Nick Ramirez drove them both in with a long opposite-field double (his third hit on the night). The Titans tacked on the seventh and final run of the game in the ninth inning when Colon hit a dribbler towards the pitcher, who threw the ball to Tijuana and Colon ended up on third base, where he scored on a Josh Fellhauer double to left field.

Ryan Ackland finished the game on the mound with two strong innings, permitting just one meaningless ninth inning single.

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So what did we learn tonight?

First, before the game even started we learned from from Aztecs skipper Tony Gwynn as he pointed us towards the Cold Stone ice cream kiosk. They offer the Tony Gwynn Special: a quart of ice cream (your choice of flavor) in a pint-sized cup.

We learned that, like fellow freshman hurler Tyler Pill, Noe Ramirez can be a vital contributor to this pitching staff. During the remainder of this road trip, the fourth starter is going to be a critical factor: the Titans have a big showdown next Tuesday night at Texas A&M and then play four games in three days at the tournament in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Those games could be an excellent developmental opportunity for this young pitcher with an outstanding arm.

The offense hit the ball sharply tonight. The first eight guys in the line-up got hits, with multiple hit nights from Nick Ramirez (3), Fellhauer (2), Clark (2) and Davis (2). Besides the thirteen hits, many of the outs were hit very hard: besides the shot Newman was robbed on, Gary Brown belted two well-hit balls deep to right field that died on the warning track in the cold, damp marine layer. Billy Marcoe also ripped one back through the box that was snagged by the pitcher in his first at-bat of the season.

It was also great to see Fellhauer and Nick Ramirez go with the pitches and hit opposite field doubles.

Finally, we learned that this Titans team can play solid (and oftimes superb) defense just about any night of the week. Jared Clark made a great diving stop of a ball headed into right field and led Ryan Ackland perfectly with a throw to the bag. Christian Colon is playing lights out at shortstop. The next eight games are going to be a remarkable challenge. If the resurgent pitching continues the way it has during this five game winning streak, good things can happen.....can't wait to get to Hattiesburg!

Titans Sweep the Trees

GAME 7: TITANS 9, STANFORD 3

By Don Hudson

Behind an awesome hitting display by Khris Davis and another solid outing by a starting pitcher (Tyler Pill), the Cal State Fullerton Titans completed an impressive sweep of the Stanford Cardinal with a resounding 9-3 victory this afternoon at Goodwin Field. Davis went 4-4 with three home runs, six RBI and thirteen total bases.

Pill allowed a walk to the first batter he faced and then found his groove, aided and abetted by the liberally wide (albeit consistent) strike zone of plate umpire Ruben Chavira. Pill painted the corners and did a great job avoiding any 'mistake' pitches against an imposing Stanford line-up.

The Titans plated the first runs of the day in the bottom of the second inning when Khris Davis delivered a blast far over the high background wall above the center field fence following a single by Nick Ramirez.

Stanford cut the deficit in half in the top of the third when Zach Jones lofted a shot off the scoreboard in left field. Unfazed by the Stanford tally, the Titans responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-1 lead. Christian Colon led off with a double and advanced to third base on a ground ball. Clark walked and was forced out at second when the Stanford left-fielder dropped Ramirez's short fly ball, with Colon scoring. Khris Davis then blasted his second home run of the day off starting pitcher Max Fearnow.

Pill continued his effective pitching in the fourth and fifth innings, allowing a base hit in each inning but avoiding damage by not permitting his opponent to string hits together. He was pulled with one out in the sixth inning and one runner aboard (HBP) after 88 pitches. Jason Dovel made his season debut and allowed the inherited runner to score on the strength of a walk and a single (sandwiched around a strikeout), making the score 5-2. Noe Ramirez replaced Dovel and worked out of the tieing-run-at-the-plate jam by whiffing Brent Milleville.

Davis got the run back in a hurry, blasting the first pitch of the sixth inning for a home run to right field off reliever Jordan Pries - his third in three at-bats.

After Ryan Ackland pitched a scoreless seventh inning, the Titans put the contest out of reach with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Gary Brown led off with a HBP and stolen base, followed by a Colon walk. Jared Clark singled in one run and a wild pitch by reliever Drew Storen made it 8-2, with Khris Davis at the plate and the crowd hoping for another bomb. He fought off several excellent two-strike pitches by the very tough Storen and finally capped off his day with a line drive RBI single to right field.

The Cardinal scored one more late run in the eighth inning off Kyle Mertins, who was aided by an inning-ending double play ball to third-baseman Brown, who ran to touch third base and threw a perfect bounce pass across the diamond to Clark to stymie Stanford. Michael Morrison pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out the game and the series.

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So what did we learn today?

We learned that rumors of Khris Davis' upside potential have not been exaggerated. He has a long, powerful swing: if he continues to improve his contact ratio, he is going to be a terrifying hitter to pitch to. While the home runs were exciting, I think I was more impressed by the last at-bat when he fought off several filthy pitches by a good pitcher like Storen and then hit an opposite field line-drive RBI single.

We learned that Ruben Chivaro likes to keep the games from taking too long, with his "couldn't hit that pitch with a rake" wide strike zone and his barking about cutting off the walk-up music as soon as the batter reaches the home plate area. I like it: he was consistent in his strike calls and there is no need to stretch games out with posing and songs I'm way too old to understand.

Stanford head coach Mark Marquess may have learned to trust his first instincts. With starter Fearnow struggling, Marquess headed to the mound and raised his hand to make a pitching change. Umpire Larry Randall repeated the signal and reliever Pries ran in from the bullpen. When he reached the mound, Marquess gave him the "what are you doing here?" look. Since Marquess had not officially announced the change, Fearnow was permitted to remain in the game. He gave up the Nick Ramirez strange 7-4 fielder's choice and the second home run to Khris Davis, at which point Pries came into the game - for real. The score was 2-1 the first time Pries ran in from the bullpen; it was 5-1 the second time.

I also learned that Marquess is not actually the Stanford "coach" or the "head coach": his official title is "The Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball." Hoity-toity! Did you know about this?

Even in a 4-0 week and a sweep of Stanford, things can always be better. I'm hoping Gary Brown is the next player to explode offensively: he is hitting just .143 and has a low .286 on-base percentage. You hate to see a guy that can fly like him hitting weak fly balls. He came on like gangbusters after a slow start last season and I'm certain he'll do it again: I just hope to see his wheels on the bases often during the upcoming road trip. I felt he single-handedly drove the Virginia pitchers batty the way he ran the bases last year in a huge win in the Regionals: the old baseball axiom that "you can't steal first base" is still true.

Finally, we learned that it might not be such a good idea to have Kyle Mertins pitch every game. He looks like a very good set-up man, but he pitched in all four games this week and six of the seven games played this season: Dave uses him more than I do my lucky old grey sweater. Last night, he allowed both inherited runners to score on a sharp base hit, followed by a harrowing 385-foot out; today, he faced six batters and gave up two hits, two walks and a wild pitch. Dave is the best in the business at getting the most out of his pitching staff, so I'm sure he has a plan.