Fullerton Super Regional: UCLA Preview

UCLA at Titans (Fullerton Super Regional)

Friday 4 p.m.; Saturday 7 p.m.; Sunday (if necessary) 7 p.m. (All Games on ESPN2)

By FullertonBaseballFan


UCLA Bruins

• Overall Record – 42-17
• Conference Record – 21-9 (3rd place)
• 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.
• 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.
• RPI/ISR – 14/10 (Fullerton opponent ISR comparison – Oregon 7, Cal Poly 17)
• SOS – 28 (RPI)/6 (ISR). 
• Record vs. Fullerton – 0-2.  Lost 6-9 at home on 4/2, lost 2-5 at Fullerton on 5/14
• Record vs. common opponents – UCLA 18-6, Fullerton 25-6.
• Record vs. tournament field –  9-8. 
• Record vs. top 50/top 100 RPI – 7-8/23-13

Season Summary

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.

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.

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.


Offense

·       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.
·       Batting Average – .252 (NCAA ranking – 251, conference ranking 11th); .251 in conf. games (11th).  2012 – .304.
·       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.
·       Home Runs – 19 (154, 7); 13 in conf. games (5th).  2012 – 23.
·       Slugging Percentage – .337 (234, 10); .336 in conf. games (10th).  2012 – .393.
·       On Base Percentage – .360 (125, 5); .349 in conf. games (6th).  2012 – .391.
·       Walks – 261 (26, 1), 4.4 per game; 125 (1st), 4.2 per game in conf. games.  2012 – 228, 3.6 per game.
·       HBP’s – 76 (42, 2); 29 in conf. games (6th).  2012 – 96.
·       Stolen Bases – 65-106 (106, 4); 29-51 in conf. games (4th). 2012 – 62-98.
·       Sac Bunts – 60 (40, 4); 33 in conf. games (7th).  2012 – 64.
·       Strikeouts – 384 (DNR, 2), 6.5 per game; 192 (5th), 6.4 per game in conf. games.  2012 – 341, 5.3 per game.

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.

Batting Order

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Reserves

1B – Soph #25 Chris Keck (LH – .188/.301/.304, 1-10-0 in 69 AB’s)
2B – FR #8 Trent Chatterton (RH – .260/.361/.298, 0-10-2 in 104 AB’s)
OF – FR #29 Ty Moore (LH – .208/.293/.292, 0-10-0 in 72 AB’s)
OF – FR #3 Christoph Bono (LH – .231/.363/.354, 2-10-2 in 65 AB’s)


Defense

·       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.
·       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.
·       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.


Pitching

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.

• ERA – 2.75 (13/3); 2.93 in conference (2nd). 
• AVG – .224 (11/2); .246 in conference (3rd). 
• HR – 19 (DNR/6); 9 in conference (3rd). 
• SLG – .299 (DNR/3); .326 in conference (3rd).  
• Walks – 150 (11/1), 2.5 BB’s/9 IP; 64 (1st) in conference, 2.1 BB’s/9 IP. 
• HBP – 54 (DNR/6); 31 in conference (6th). 
• OBP – .255 (DNR/2); .308 in conference (2nd). 
• Strikeouts – 420 (87/2), 7.0 K/9 IP; 217 in conference (1st), 7.2 K/9 IP. 

Starters

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.

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.

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

Relievers

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.


Outlook

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.

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.

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.

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.

For Titans, a Seminal Series

By Samuel Chi

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

And in 2010, a key moment for UCLA arrived.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

But none of that would mean squat if the Titans can't vanquish the Bruins on home soil this weekend.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Westwood Ho! Titans Keep On Truckin'

Titans at UCLA: Won 9-6 (Tuesday)

By Don Hudson

Cal State Fullerton Titans 9, UCLA Bruins 6

LOS ANGELES - It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of clutch hitting, it was the age of foolish plays, it was the epoch of great pitching, it was the epoch of throwing woes, it was the season of fist bumps and high-fives, it was the season of F-bombs and glazed stares, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

But despite a roller-coaster ride in which the Titans played great for half the game and did their best Pacific impersonation in the latter innings – they won!

The Cal State Fullerton Titans did what no team had done since the 2011 season: they beat the UCLA Bruins in a midweek game.  The Bruins entered the game having won 14 consecutive midweek games (11-0 in 2012 and 3-0 this year) and had won 12 consecutive games against Big West Conference opponents dating back to last season.  The Bruins are ranked #10 by Baseball America, so a road victory for the Titans is good for their resume and RPI.

Baum, Hutting both know Davis was safe

The Titans continued their first-inning mastery – with two quick runs against the Bruins, the Titans hold a 37-6 advantage this season in first-inning action.  Pedroza led off with a four-pitch walk against UCLA starter Cody Poteet (now 1-3) and scored on an opposite-field double by designated hitter J.D. Davis.  Lorenzen followed with a single to rightfield, with Davis getting home just under the tag to make it 2-0.

Titans’ starter Willie Kuhl gave up a second-inning run on a walk, a sacrifice and an RBI single by Trent Chatterton.  The Bruins turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead when shortstop Pat Valaika drove a two-out 0-2 pitch over the leftfield wall for a two-run homer that drove Kuhl from the game.  Tyler Peitzmeier came in and broke the Bruins’ momentum with a strikeout.

The Titans quickly reclaimed the lead with two runs on some heads-up play and effective two-strike hitting.  Lorenzen led off with a single and induced a balk call with Anthony Hutting at the plate.  But as soon as Hutting heard Blue yell “Balk!”, he swung at the pitch and slammed a single to rightfield, with Lorenzen easily making it to third.  It was a great “nothing to lose play” that the Titans have successfully executed several times this season: the offense has the choice of taking the balk or the outcome of the play, so there is absolutely nothing to lose by swinging at the pitch.

A wild pitch scored Lorenzen to tie the score, 3-3, with Hutting advancing to second.  Jake Jefferies hit a 2-2 pitch for a flyball that allowed Hutting to advance to third, where he scored on an RBI groundout by catcher Jared Deacon.

Another big night for Lorenzen

After an easy 1-2-3 inning by Peitzmeier, the Titans added another run in the top of the fifth to stretch their lead to 5-3.  Lopez lifted a routine flyball to rightfield, but it was quickly apparent that UCLA’s Eric Filia lost the ball when it went above the lights in that difficult “high sky” period at the intersection of dusk and darkness.  It fell harmlessly around five feet away from Filia, with Lopez hugging second with a double.  Davis drove in Lopez with an RBI single.

Peitzmeier retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the sixth, but then gave up a double.  He induced a slow grounder to second-base that should have ended the inning, but it was booted by Jefferies and the inning was extended, bringing the dangerous right-handed-hitting Valaika to the plate representing the go-ahead run.   The Titans opted for righty Koby Gauna, who induced a grounder to Jefferies, who easily made the play to escape with no harm.

The Titans jumped on relievers James Kaprielian and Ryan Deeter for four runs in the top of the sixth to take a commanding 9-3 lead.  Most of the damage came with two outs.  With Deacon aboard via a walk, Keegan Dale reached with two outs on an error when he bunted and pitcher Kaprielian threw wildly to first.  Pedroza walked after a nine-pitch battle to load the bases for Lopez, who also battled hard with Kaprielian.  Lopez won the battle, ripping the eighth pitch through the vacated shortstop hole for a two-run single to make it 7-3.

The hit by Lopez brought Deeter and his herky-jerky motion from the bullpen.  He walked Davis to load the bases for Lorenzen, who slammed a two-run single to make it 9-3.  Deeter got Lorenzen to chase a couple breaking balls but then tried to throw a fast ball by him, which lately has been like trying to throw a pork chop past a hungry wolf.

I wish the story ended here – but we are about to come to the worst of times.

The leadoff batter in the bottom of the sixth hit a grounder to Dale, who threw high to first.  Lopez jumped high to snare the throw and adroitly got his feet on the bag just ahead of the batter – but it was a portent of bad throws to come.  The next batter hit a virtually identical grounder to Dale, who overcompensated for his previous high throw with a low throw in the dirt for an error.

The next batter gave the Titans exactly what they were hoping for – a one-hopper back to the mound for a likely inning-ending double-play.  Gauna fielded it cleanly, saw Pedroza coming across the bag – and then threw the ball over his head.  Jefferies was backing up the play but was probably screened by Pedroza and the runner and he didn’t see the ball until it hit him in the face.  He went down immediately and had to come out of the game.

It gets even stranger.  With one out and runners at the corners, the next batter hits a groundball to first-baseman Lopez, who attempts to start a 3-6-3 double-play to get out of the inning.  But his throw to Pedroza is wide of the bag – Blue rules the runner safe at second, but the return throw to first retired the batter while the runner from third scored to make it 9-4.  When Gauna struck out the next batter to retire the side, I was actually feeling pretty good:  “Four bad throws and we gave up only one run – it could have been a lot worse and we’ll never play that sloppy again.”

At least that’s what we hoped.

In the bottom of the seventh, UCLA’s speedy leadoff hitter, Brian Carroll, hit a high chopper that just eluded Gauna for an infield single.  It was the 23rd consecutive game that Carroll reached base. Even though they were trailing by four runs late, the Bruins called for a run-and-hit play, with Carroll moving on the pitch.  The batter hit an easy grounder to Dale, who had shifted to second-base when Jefferies left with injury.  Perhaps not realizing the runner was going, Dale eschewed the easy out at first and flipped the ball to Pedroza covering second, who had no play on Carroll.

The next batter hit a slow hopper to third-baseman Matt Chapman.  With all the recent calamity, Chapman took the sure out at first, putting runners at second and third with one out.  Valaika came up and lined the ball hard to centerfielder Lorenzen.  The runner at second apparently misread the flight of the ball and took off on contact and was almost to third-base when Lorenzen caught the ball.  He would have been easily retired with a good throw, but Lorenzen made an overthrow and the runner got back to second as the runner on third tagged up and scored to make it 9-5.  The play was ruled an error on Lorenzen and no RBI for Valaika: a justifiable and good scoring determination, but it could just as easily have been ruled a sacrifice fly for Valaika.

By now the Titans fans are looking on in disbelief and Hooky is apoplectic in the dugout.
It didn’t get much better.  The Titans had Lorenzen on third with one out in the top of the eighth on a single, stolen base and wild pitch, but reliever Zack Weiss struck out the next two to strand him.

Davis replaced Gauna in the bottom of the eighth and quickly retired the first two Bruins he faced before giving up an opposite-field double to Chatterton.  Davis got a pinch-hitter to hit a groundball to shortstop for what should have retired the side, but Pedroza’s throw was in the dirt for an error that allowed Chatterton to score to make it 9-6.  Pedroza cleanly fielded the next groundball and threw flawlessly across the diamond to shut the door.

The Titans could not score in the ninth against lefty reliever Grant Watson – who was a midweek nemesis last year against the Titans – despite a walk to Deacon and single by Pedroza.

Lorenzen came in to nail down his ninth save and struck out the first hitter with his Linda Ronstadt fastball (e.g. Blue Bayou).  After a groundout to Dale, Lorenzen struck out Valaika on three pitches to end it.

Peitzmeier (2-0) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief, with the save to Lorenzen, who also led the offense with four hits, three RBI and two stolen bases.  Ten of the Titans’ twelve hits came from the top four in the batting order: Pedroza, Lopez and Davis with two each and Lorenzen with his four.  Deacon also chipped in with three of the eight walks the Titans had.

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

Did we learn anything last night?

We learned that this Titans team is talented enough to win even when playing miserably for portions of a game: it was the second time this year they committed five errors and won.  (It happened earlier against Nebraska.)

It took until the 27th game for a Titan to notch four hits in a game – now it has happened three straight games: Jefferies and Pedroza against Pacific and Lorenzen last night against UCLA.  Lorenzen extended his hitting streak to thirteen games.

Hook enters Savage Nation

The pitching was outstanding for the Titans, with relievers Peitzmeier, Gauna, Davis and Lorenzen combining for 6-1/3 innings, allowing just three hits and zero earned runs.  Kuhl was so-so in his first career start – recognition of his recent outstanding work against Oral Roberts, Nebraska and Long Beach State.  He made a lot of good pitches but made one big mistake, leaving a 0-2 pitch up against the dangerous Valaika, rather than bouncing it in like Dick Weber.

A key difference in how the Titans were able to overcome five errors and still win:  Fullerton pitchers issued just one walk, while UCLA gave away eight free passes.

When Valaika hit his home run, it gave Titan fans a sinking feeling of déjà vu all over again when we lost a lead at JRS on a blast by a middle infielder.  But as they have done throughout this magical season, the Titans quickly and powerfully counter-punched.  They may get behind, but they don’t get down.

Do you know how home stadiums often play dumb song snippets whenever an opposing pitcher gives up a walk or is taken out of the game?  UCLA starter Poteet had to know it wasn’t his night when he walked Pedroza on four pitches and the press box mistakenly played one of those cuts. (I think it was Aerosmith’s “Walk this Way”, but somebody yanked it abruptly.  Too funny – the home pitcher being mocked by his own press box.)

When Jefferies was being escorted from the field by trainer Chris Mumaw, all sorts of thoughts were going through my head about how he would be replaced with the Titans already shorthanded in the infield because of injuries to Matt Orloff and Matt Chapman.  Do you bring in Davis to play third, lose the DH and move Dale to second?  Nah – with Kuhl, Peitzmeier and Gauna already having pitched, you know they will need Davis as a bridge somewhere between the sixth inning (when the injury occurred) and the ninth (with closer Lorenzen available).  How about Greg Velazquez, who has been taking infield the past few games at third-base?

It was a pleasant surprise to see Matt Chapman bolt from the dugout and take over at third-base.  In his haste to enter the game, Chappy didn’t warm up on the sidelines and the plate umpire denied Hooky’s request to allow him to play catch a little bit once he took the field.  He didn’t get a hit, but the first pitch thrown to Chappy landed somewhere in Brentwood – a very long foul ball.

It seems like every arm that came out of the Bruins’ bullpen was more impressive than the next.  They continue to recruit great depth of big arms that throw in the 92 mph range.  The post-game ERA of each reliever the Titans faced last night:  James Kaprielian (2.57), Max Schuh (0.00), Ryan Deeter (1.64), Zack Weiss (2.93) and old nemesis, lefty Grant Watson (2.30).  Nine runs against this team is far more impressive than 25 against the University of the Pacific.

We saw the new video scoreboard installed last winter at Jackie Robinson Stadium for the first time – very impressive!  The 15HD pixel screen measures 17’ by 49’ – I want one for my den.  They are still in their infancy in terms of utilization of the technology, but I expect them to rapidly ascend through a learning curve, just as they did at Goodwin Field, where the scoreboard images and information keeps getting better and better.

The time of game was 3 hours and 46 minutes – the fastest game I ever recall seeing between these two heavyweights.  There is a large, bright digital time display in the UCLA dugout at the renovated stadium, so it erases doubt that “The Sheriff” is unaware of how his team is manipulating the game’s pace.  It bothers many; I just think it’s good baseball when you can annoy your opponents and get under their skin.

If you tried the Teenie-Weenies last night ($1 Tuesday night special), you learned that 3,275 calories (3,272 from fat) and 2,158 mg of sodium never tasted so good.  For a buck, I expected there might be 3-4 little hot dog links in a Styrofoam cup with a dab of barbeque sauce on top, but much to my delight, there were probably twenty of those little suckers bathing in a pool of heavenly nectar.

But JRS has a concession policy that I hope doesn’t spread elsewhere: they have signs advising “In order to maintain our low prices, we do not provide lids or straws for beverages.”  Getting a tray of hot or cold beverages back to your seats is an adventure.  But they also don’t provide a fork or even a toothpick to extract the Teenie-Weenies from the pool of heavenly nectar.  I didn’t mind at all getting my fingers and clothing doused in heavenly nectar, but I just didn’t see it as a ‘Westwood thing’ to be scooping greasy little hot dogs out of a vat of greasy sauce with your exposed pinkies.

Overall, it was a nice win.  I imagine the boys will be working extra hard at practice in preparation for the trip to Davis.  It would be a perfect weekend if we could come home with a sweep and nobody Tasered by UC Davis campus police.  Hope to see you there.

West Coast Late-Season RPI Report (May 14)

By FullertonBaseballFan

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

Big West 

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

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

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

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

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


Pac 11

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

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

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

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


WCC

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

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

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

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


WAC

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

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

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

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


MWC

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

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

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


Independents/Others

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

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

OUT (2) - Bakersfield, Seattle.

College Baseball BCS (April 17)

By Samuel Chi

This week's College Baseball BCS standings. The top 30 teams stayed completely intact, though we've had quite a shuffle at the top of the standings.

Florida returned to the top of the standings after defeating last week's No. 1 Florida State in a midweek game. The team that made the biggest jump is UCLA, moving up from No. 12 to No. 6. Miami took the biggest plunge, dropping from No. 7 to No. 16.

The conference breakdown: SEC (6), Pac-12 (6), ACC (5), Big 12 (3), Conference USA (3), WCC (2), Big Ten (1), Big East (1), Big West (1), Southland (1), WAC (1).

(Click to enlarge)

Power Outage Dooms Titans at JRS

By Don Hudson

Facing their fourth left-handed starting pitcher in the past six games, the Cal State Fullerton Titans struggled offensively and posted just four singles and lost to the UCLA Bruins, 4-2, last night at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The Titans were held hitless until the fifth inning by left-hander Grant Watson (7-1).

The Bruins got on the board in the first inning. Koby Gauna started on the mound for the Titans and was immediately greeted by back-to-back singles, but he avoided a crooked number by inducing a tailor-made double-play ball to escape with just a solo tally on the board.

Meanwhile, Watson faced the minimum twelve batters through the first four innings. He did not allow a hit and picked off Matt Chapman, who had walked in the second inning.

The Bruins scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth, two of them unearned. With one out, Trevor Brown walked and stole second. The next UCLA batter, Eric Filia-Snyder, grounded to third-baseman Chapman, who looked the runner back to second but then threw wildly to first, allowing Brown to score and the batter to reach second. Shortstop Pat Valaika followed with an RBI triple into the leftfield corner (which I would have scored as a double and an error), driving Gauna from the game. Tyler Peitzmeier entered and gave up a sacrifice fly that gave the Bruins a 4-0 lead.

Titans Hold Off Bruins in Opener

As reported by NCAA.com

By Jonathan Raber
Special to NCAA.com

LOS ANGELES - His two most reliable pitchers have gotten him this far, so Cal State Fullerton coach Dave Serrano was either going to sink or swim with sophomores Noe Ramirez and Nick Ramirez.

The Titans stayed afloat.

Noe Ramirez worked out of a crucial jam in the seventh inning and Nick Ramirez did the same in the ninth as Fullerton fended off a late rally to hold on for a 4-3 victory over sixth-seeded UCLA in the opener of the NCAA Division I baseball Super Regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday night.

"My heart was pumping through my jacket, I think," said Serrano of the tense moments.

There won't be much time for the feeling of relief to settle in with Game 2 of the best-of-three series slated for Saturday at 4 p.m. PDT, to be aired on ESPN. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 7 p.m. PDT Sunday (ESPN).

When Noe Ramirez (12-1) ran into some trouble in the seventh, loading the bases with no outs, Serrano didn't even consider pulling him in that spot. ...

(Continued)

Diamond Club Newsletter (June 13, 2010)

CSF Baseball will continue to host and archive the Diamond Club newsletters throughout the 2010 season. Click on each page to enlarge:

Taste of Victory

We have unearthed a good deal of Fullerton baseball highlights from over the years, including rare championship footage from 1979 and 1984 teams, as well as highlights from recent years. They will be featured here throughout the postseason.

To whet your appetite, here's the final outs of the Titans' dramatic regional victory over UCLA from 2008:

Titans Bend but Don't Break

GAME 51: TITANS 6, UCLA 5 (10 innings)

By Don Hudson

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

The Cal State Fullerton Titans were firing on all cylinders last night at Jackie Robinson Stadium, leading the UCLA Bruins by a 5-0 score before a two-out seventh inning rally capped by a Cody Decker grand slam tied the score. However, the confident and resilient Titans took the Bruins' best shot and eked out a ten-inning 6-5 win in a game that featured power, speed, defense and pitching - both good and bad.

It was a battle between freshmen pitching sensations Noe Ramirez and UCLA's Trevor Bauer, who entered college a year ahead of his high school class. Both represented themselves well and had streaks of brilliance: Noe early in the game and Bauer later.

After a scoreless first inning (one hit for each team, with the UCLA inning ending on a "strike'em out, throw'em out" double-play), the Titans got on the board on the strength of a walk to Khris Davis and a home run to left-centerfield by Dustin Garneau. Bauer allowed a single to Joey Siddons and a walk to Christian Colon, but escaped further damage by retiring Gary Brown.

Noe allowed a second-inning single to Gabe Cohen, but escaped danger when Garneau threw the runner out at second attempting a steal. Could the first two innings have been any better for Garneau: two caught-stealings and a two-run homer?

It looked like it would be a short night for Bauer when Josh Fellhauer led off the third inning with a home run to rightfield, giving the Titans a 3-0 lead.

Noe was breezing along until a double and a single put Bruins runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning. But Justin Uribe hit a sharp grounder that 1B Jared Clark backhanded nicely and fired to Colon to start a potential inning-ending double-play. Noe got a late jump covering first, which caused Colon to have to delay his throw slightly, but the shortstop's cannon arm allowed him to get the ball to first in time to complete the 3-6-1 double-play.

It really looked like a short night for Bauer in the fifth inning when he gave up two more runs and fell behind, 5-0. Colon got the inning started with a double, went to third on a sacrifice by Brown and scored on Felly's groundout. Clark then launched one of his classic tape-measure home runs to leftfield.

Noe gave up an infield single and a walk with two out in the bottom of the fifth, but once again came up with the big pitch and got the final out on an easy grounder to Clark.

Bauer seemed to get relaxed: "It's already 5-0, so what have I got to lose?" From the sixth inning on, the tentative pitcher was gone and a confident pitcher with excellent stuff had taken his place. Garneau got a hit and stole third-base in the sixth inning, but Bauer allowed no hits in his final 3 2/3 innings of work.



The bottom of the seventh began innocently enough, as Noe retired the first two hitters with ease, bringing up the #8 hitter: single to centerfield. Up came the #9 hitter - Tyler Rahmatulla - who had earlier doubled and walked. Noe didn't get a close call on a 2-2 pitch and ended up walking him to bring up the top of the order. No problem, right? Wrong.

A hit batsman loaded the bases and a single to left-field made it 5-1: coach Rick Vanderhook took no chances running on LF Brown's arm trailing by four and his team's leading home run coming to the plate. That was all for Noe on this night: Michael Morrison was summoned from the bullpen to face the ever-dangerous Cody Decker. After Mikey Mo took his warm-ups and Decker went through his pre-pitch rituals, the battle began.

It was a very brief battle: Decker launched the second pitch from Morrison deep to centerfield for a game-tying grand slam. The Bruins' dugout and fans went berserk. Morrison did avoid an even worse inning by striking out slugger Casey Haerther to end the inning.

After an easy 1-2-3 eighth inning for Bauer against the Titans, Morrison got ahead of Uribe, but he fought off a 1-2 pitch and punched the ball down the rightfield line for a double: it might have been possible for a triple, but you know that cardinal rule about never making the first or third out at third-base, especially late in the game when it is the possible go-ahead run. Exit Morrion, enter Travis Kelly. Rather than bunting the runner to third, UCLA Coach John "The Sheriff" Savage had Marc Navarro swing away and he did the job perfectly: a groundball to second-base that put the go-ahead (and potential winning) run just ninety feet from home.

Exit Kelley, enter Nick Ramirez.

With the infield in all around, Nick induced Giovanazzo to pop out to Joe Scott. He then gave his team a huge adrenaline surge by striking out Nico Gallego on three pitches.

Bauer continued to get better as his pitch count rose (he ended up with 136) and the game progressed: he threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning before retiring for the night.

Shevis Shima entered the game at second-base in the bottom of the ninth (Matthew Fahey had pinch-hit for Scott) and made the first of two remarkable web-gem defensive plays. Rahmatulla led off the bottom of the ninth and seemed overmatched by Nick Ramirez. He fought off a 1-2 pitch and dinked a little flare headed for disaster along the rightfield line. But Shima got back and made a leaping catch and held onto the ball as his body crashed to the turf. Nick retired the next two hiters to send the game to extra innings.

The Bruins went to the bullpen and brought in southpaw Gavin Brooks. Colon greeted him with a long double to right-centerfield to start the inning. Brown tried to sacrifice the go-ahead run to third base, but his first bunt attempt hit him in the batter's box and was foul. After that, the Titans eschewed the bunt and Brown tried to advance the runner by hitting to the right side, but eventually struck out.

Colon then made on the many big plays in the game: he got a huge lead as Brooks delivered to Fellhauer and stole third-base: the Titans have been aggressive this weekend stealing third-base. Fellhauer then hit a medium-deep flyball to leftfield: LF Dustin Quist got the ball with momentum building as he threw to the plate, but Colon dove headfirst and the ball escaped C Gino Aielli, giving the Titans a 6-5 lead.

Nick Ramirez remained on the bump and he faced the two thumpers in the UCLA line-up - but he got both decker and Haerther to fly out to leftfield as their home run derby attempts fell short. The Bruins' last chance was pinch-hitter Brett Krill - hitting .227 with no home runs. Krill attempted to check his swing on the second pitch, but the ball struck the barrel of the bat and went softly over the pitcher's mound. Colon had no play on the ball, but Shima backhanded it and - with all his momentum carrying him toward third-base - threw across his body to Jared Clark. Krill slid headfirst but just barely after the throw from Shima. A perfect webgem defensive play to end a thriller.

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.

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

So what did we learn last night?

Three weeks ago when the team was in a funk, this game would have turned into a loss. But they stuck to the mantra I heard from the very first practice last fall: when something goes bad, your teammates are there to say, "So what?" This game could have easily gotten away and been a disspiriting loss with the national seed seemingly within their grasp.

Noe Ramirez struck out nine hitters and deserved better than a 'no decision'. He dug himself into the hole when he ran put of gas in the seventh inning and allowed the #8 and #9 hitters to reach base with two outs. Both he and Bauer demonstrated why their numbers this season are so good and it will be nice to see them hook up again sometime in the future.

Kelly retired the one hitter he faced and Nick Ramirez was absolutely dazzling after that: he retired all eight hitters he faced and getting out of the inherited runner-on-third-and-one-out situation was huge. Now that the closer situation has been settled - Nick put an exclamation mark on that one - the only unsettled roles heading into the playoffs are the set-up relievers. Nick proved last night and last Saturday against Cal Poly SLO that he is more than a one-inning closer, but you can't rely on your closer as your seventh- and eighth-inning specialist. Ryan Ackland and Kyle Mertins began the season in those roles and it would not surprise me if they were to reclaim them in the post-season.

Fellhauer led the offense with two hits and three RBI (including the game-winning sacrifice fly). Colon's two doubles were both huge. Garneau had two hits and was brilliant (as usual) behind the plate.

Let's see what we can do this afternoon to finish off the sweep. Hopefully, traffic to Jackie Robinson Stadium won't be as bad on a Sunday morning as it was yesterday afternoon. That may have been the most brutal part of the entire ordeal!

Titans Hook Bruins

GAME 50: TITANS 6, UCLA 3

By Don Hudson

The human equation was on display Friday night at Goodwin Field as the Cal State Fullerton Titans downed the UCLA Bruins by a 6-3 score. It marked the return of Rick Vanderhook in his first game in the opponent's dugout following a long and distinguished career with the Titans as a player and assistant coach. The game also featured a pitching match-up between former Orange Lutheran teammates Daniel Renken and Gerrit Cole, the 2007 and 2008 Trinity League Pitchers-of-the-Year. Cole surprised the baseball world last summer when he declined a bajillion dollar signing bonus as a first-round draft choice of the New York Yankees and opted to matriculate to UCLA.

Through the outstanding performance of Renken, Vanderhook had very little action in the third base coach's box most of the game: Renken was throwing a no-hitter until two outs in the top of the seventh inning when a soft ducksnort by Cody Decker fell in for a base hit. While Renken displayed great control and command of his pitches, Cole was not so fortunate.

Late in the game, however, the Bruins' bats came alive and they ended up outhitting the Titans, 7-6.

After an easy 1-2-3 first inning for Renken, Cole did not appear to have control right away when he walked leadoff man Christian Colon, who was sacrificed to second by Gary Brown and advanced to third on a passed ball. As proved to be his downfall, Cole got ahead of Clark with a 1-2 count, but could not finish him off: Clark lined a base-hit just over the outstretched glove of leaping third-baseman Casey Haerther and the Titans had a 1-0 lead. Cole then got ahead of Khris Davis 1-2 and threw a high cookieball down the middle of the plate: Davis belted it three-quarters of the way up the batter's eye in centerfield for his team-leading eleventh home run, giving the Titans a 3-0 advantage.

After a second three up, three down inning by Renken, the Titans got a break with an error by the Bruins' oftimes porous defense and added two more unearned runs. Dustin Garneau led off the second inning with a walk and advanced to third on a Joe Scott sacrifice and a stolen base. After Colon walked to put runners at the corners with two outs, the Titans put a play on, with Colon breaking towards second on the pitch. Catcher Steve Rodriguez bluffed a throw to second and faked Garneau out of his jockstrap. Garneau got caught in a rundown between third and home - when he made his last ditch attempt to get back to third base, 3B Haerther dropped a throw that would have easily retired Garneau to end the inning. Gary Brown took advantage of the miscue by driving a basehit (on guess what - a 1-2 pitch) through the left side of the infield to score both runners and give the Titans a quick 5-0 lead over UCLA and their wunderkind pitcher.

Similar to his last home start versus UC Santa Barbara, Renken's teammates spotted him to a sizeable early lead and then it was just a question of how dominant the sophomore pitcher would be for the remainder of the game. Answer: extremely dominant. Renken would have been carrying a perfect game into the seventh inning but for a hit-batsman in the fifth inning: with two outs in the inning, CF Blair Dunlap became the first UCLA baserunner when a 2-2 pitch came inside and hit him. (Dunlap leaned back to get out of the way of the pitch, then appeared to lean slightly back in to get plunked.)

Nick Ramirez led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a home run off the net in rightfield to give the Titans a 6-0 lead. Two batters later, Scott beat out a bunt single (and was retired on a great throw by RF Chris Giovanazzo when Cole's throw to first went awry) and Cole was done after 5 2/3 innings.

Renken took his no-hitter into the seventh inning and quickly retired the first two hitters he faced. But Decker, after doing his famous six-step leg stretching ritual before every pitch, dinked a soft flyball into no-man's land in left-centerfield. (Decker has banged 17 bombs this year, so both Newman and Fellhauer had to play deep and give him the respect he has earned.) The season-high crowd of 3,335 gave Renken a standing ovation after he surrendered his first hit of the game.

The Bruins plated their first run in the top of the eighth on a leadoff triple by Dunlap and a one-out infield single by Nico Gallego. (It should have been an RBI groundout, as Brown had to wait on a high chopper and Clark scooped his throw out of the dirt just about a full step before Gallego got to the bag. Coach Serrano went out to argue with umpire Rich Padilla, but just what can you say when he just plain misses an obvious call? Umps make mistakes and this one was too innocuous to beat into the ground.)

Things got tighter than wanted in the ninth inning. After a lengthy (ten pitch) one-out at-bat in which the home crowd got into it by counting along ("1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!") with each of Decker's leg ticks, he finally won the battle and walked. With two outs, Dunlap hit one deep to right-center that just eluded a diving Fellhauer: the triple made it 6-2. A single by Giovanazzo made it 6-3 and brought closer Nick Ramirez into the game. With the southpaw pitcher naturally falling off to the third-base side of the mound, Gallego adroitly bunted the first pitch to the first-base side of the mound for an uncontested base hit that brought the tying run to the plate. UCLA Coach John "The Sheriff" Savage sent Gabe Cohen to the plate as a pinch-hitter to try to tie the game with one swing. But a filthy 1-2 hook buckled Cohen's knees and he took a called third strike to end the game, giving Nick Ramirez his fifth save of the season.

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

So what did we learn Friday night?

Experience and coaching make a huge difference in baseball. At this point in their college careers, the Renken vs. Cole match-up was a pitcher vs. a thrower. Renken may not have the raw physical talent of Cole to throw in the high 90's, but he has tremendous command of his pitches and a repertoire of pitches he can go to with confidence regardless of the count. He threw 118 pitches in the game - 85 for strikes. Cole walked four and struck out just two: his 102 pitches included 65 strikes. But beware, Titans fans: enjoy it now....because this kid looks like the real deal and he is going to be a force when he gets more experience and coaching. The three biggest hits of the game off him (Clark's RBI single, Davis' two-run homer and Brown's two-RBI single) were all on 1-2 counts.

It was a nice night for Nick Ramirez: a home run and a save. Have the Titans ever had a guy before that can get home runs and saves in the same game? Let me know if you can think of anybody.

The Titans were 4-4 in stolen bases last night. During the recent hot sreak, their stolen base percentage has been off the charts. I would expect them to continue running aggressively until their opponent demonstrates they can be stopped, just as happened in the first two games last week at Cal Poly.

Add one more chapter to the Jared Clark Legend in his career at Cal State Fullerton. Some of his best hitting has been against pitchers projected for major league stardom. Who can forget his three-run homer in the 2006 CWS against North Carolina's Andrew Miller, the national Co-Player of the Year (along with Wes Roemer)? Or how about the two-run first-inning homer against Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State, considered the best collegiate pitching prospect in at least one generation? One year to the day after torching Strasburg, Clark got a clutch two-out hit against Gerrit Cole, considered by many scouts as the best pitcher in the 2009 draft. If Clark had not come up with that hit, the game last night could have played much differently.

Tonight should be a great match-up at Jackie Robinson Stadium between two of the country's premier freshman pitchers: Noe Ramirez (6-1, 2.91) for the Titans and Trevor Bauer (8-3, 2.68) for the Bruins. The game starts at 6:00. With two busloads of Titans fans coming to the game and many more driving to the game directly, we should have a good show of support as the Titans continue their quest for a national seed. It should be fun.

UCLA Series Preview

By FullertonBaseballFan

Cal State Fullerton’s season was teetering on the brink a few weeks ago with nothing assured for where things were headed for the post-season. Fullerton swept both UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara and won the first two games of the Cal Poly series and 13 of 14 games overall before dropping the final game in San Luis Obispo. The Titans are playing with a great deal of confidence and are now on course for a national top eight seed that would guarantee hosting a regional and a super regional if they won their regional. Fullerton heads into this weekend with lots of momentum and will be playing a non-conference series against an opponent they have played more games against than any other team over the last two seasons, the UCLA Bruins. The Titans went 9-2 against UCLA the last two years and eliminated the Bruins in a super regional two years ago and a regional last season.

UCLA once again came into this season with high expectations despite losing 3/4 of their infield, their catcher and their Friday SP. The Bruins were picked #12 by Baseball America, who infamously picked UCLA #1 going into last season, and picked by the coaches in the Pac 10 conference to finish second. But much as they did in 2008, UCLA once again has failed to live up to those predictions and is 25-24 and 14-10 in conf in what has been a very down year for the Pac-10 with the conference unlikely to have more than three teams playing in regionals.

The Bruins got off to a terrible 2-10 start and were still only 13-19 in the middle of April before the light bulb started to go on. UCLA went on a 10-3 run, which included a sweep of Washington and a series win over Oregon State, to get back over .500 and start having thoughts of playing in a regional. The Bruins reverted back to their inconsistent ways last weekend when they lost a series at home to Cal and the play that pretty much decided the series was a fly ball that was dropped in LF in the 9th inning that the Bears converted into two runs and a win. UCLA’s RPI is in the mid 70’s and their hopes for qualifying for a regional are slim.

LINEUP

The offense was one of the main reasons UCLA failed to live up to expectations last season, with several players having major regression from previous performance levels, and head coach John Savage decided it was time to shake things up when he hired long time Fullerton assistant coach Rick Vanderhook. The offense at UCLA is still a work in progress with the Bruins ranking in the middle of the pack in most offensive categories in the Pac 10 but when looked at in the big picture that isn’t too impressive.

UCLA is hitting .284 (4th in the conf but only 225th nationally), has scored 293 R’s (4th in the conf but only 213th nationally), has a .438 SLG % (4th in the conf but only 176th nationally) and has hit 47 HR’s (4th in the conf) in a ballpark with short 370 ft power alleys that are similar to ballparks you will find in the south. A big part of UCLA’s problem is making contact because they are next to last in the conf in K’s and are averaging about eight per game. One area that the Bruins have excelled in is being patient at the plate, taking pitches and HBP’s. UCLA is 3rd in the conf with 216 BB’s and 2nd in the conf with 65 HBP’s (including 17 by one player) and is 4th in the conf with a .386 OBP. The Bruins will try play some little ball and try to run some and bunt some, ranking 5th in the conf with 34 SAC’s and 51 SB’s.

All three players that UCLA lost in their infield were very good defensive players so it is not surprising that the Bruins have had some issues defensively. UCLA has committed 58 errors for a .967 fielding % and has committed 32 errors around the infield along with another 8 by their pitchers. The Bruins have only turned 27 DP’s, which is last in the Pac 10. UCLA has a solid CF but their corner OF defense has also been an issue. Despite breaking in new catchers, the Bruins have been the best team in the Pac 10 at stopping the running game (27-53 SB’s) but they have struggled with blocking pitches and have allowed 61 WP’s/PB’s, ranking 8th in the conf.

Infield/DH

C – UCLA has been breaking in new players at C after losing three year starter Ryan Babineau. FR Steve Rodriguez (LH – .179-1-7-1) and SR Gino Aielli (RH – .350-2-11-5) have been splitting time with Rodriguez catching most of the time vs. RHP’s and usually hitting 9th. Rodriguez is a little better defensively but Aielli is much better offensively. Rodriguez leads the team with 8 SAC’s. Aielli has the highest AVG on the team and UCLA also has him play some 3B and DH to get his bat in the lineup and he usually hits 6th or 7th. He is primarily a singles hitter with only one extra base hit in 54 AB’s in conf games. Baserunners are 14-21 on SB’s against Rodriguez and 12-19 on SB’s against Aielli.

1B – SR Cody Decker (RH – .321-17-41-2) is one of the leading HR hitters on the west coast and in the top 25 nationally in HR’s. Decker leads the Pac 10 in HR’s, is 5th in R’s and SLG%, 6th total bases and 9th in RBI’s. He has bounced back to have an outstanding season as the cleanup hitter after a subpar 2008 (.218-7-30-2) when he hit much worse than he did in 2007 (.307-14-57-1). Decker has a big swing and Decker strikes out about 1/3 of the time and is 6th in the Pac 10 with 48 K’s. He is patient at the plate and walks quite a bit (4th in the Pac 10 in BB’s) and has been pitched around some due to his ability to change a game with one swing of the bat. Decker is a big guy without much range and was the DH most of the first half of the season but has been adequate defensively. He has struggled in his career against Fullerton and is 3-19 with 1 HR.

2B – SR Eddie Murray (RH – .272-2-29-5) was a reserve for three seasons before getting an opportunity to play this year due to the graduation of Alden Carrithers. Murray has been hitting at the top of the lineup most of the season and has been the leadoff hitter for the past month. He leads the conf in HBP’s (and is in the top 20 nationally), is 6th in OBP and 7th in walks. Murray has struggled with weekend pitching and is only hitting .217 in conf games and strikes out about 20% of the time (32 K’s), which is a high rate for a singles hitter. He is among the team leaders with 6 SAC’s. He played mostly 3B prior to this season and has struggled with the position change and has made 12 errors.

SS – Soph Niko Gallego (RH – .267-0-22-5) has started every game at SS after backing up Brandon Crawford and Carrithers last season. He usually hits 8th or 9th and does not have much pop in his bat with a .323 SLG % and strikes out about 20% of the time (28 K’s), which is too much for a singles hitter. He is a scrappy player who will bunt (5 SAC’s) and take a HBP (5th in the conf with 11) and has hit .309 in conf games. Gallego is average defensively and has limited range (last in assists in the conf at SS) and has made 8 errors and would probably be better at 2B, where he was projected to play coming into the season.

3B – This has been a platoon situation with several players manning the hot corner after Jermaine Curtis was drafted after last season. The players most likely to play 3B this weekend are Casey Haerther, Aielli and FR Tyler Rahmatulla (.224 in 67 AB’s). Rahmatulla played SS in HS and provides better defense at 3B than Aielli but is struggling offensively with the transition to D1 and has only one extra base hit. FR Chris Amezquita (.263 in 57 AB’s) has more power than Rahmatulla and has also played at 3B but has not started there the last three weeks.

DH – JR Casey Haerther (RH – .320-8-35-4) usually hits 3rd and is the best hitter on the team when he is healthy, which he hasn’t been after breaking a toe against Stanford a month ago and missing seven games except for a couple of pinch-hit appearances. Haerther was playing either 3B or 1B prior to the injury but was limited to being the DH the last three weeks before starting at 3B on Tues against Long Beach. He has been affected by the injury because he is only hitting .238 in conf games. Haerther is a patient hitter who consistently squares up hard line drives to all fields. He was the best all-around hitter on the team last year (2008 – .324-12-52-10) and is 8-27 in his career against Fullerton, including 2 HR’s in the regional last season. If Haerther is able to play 3B then Aielli or Chris Giovinazzo (RH – .299-1-12-1) would be the DH.

Outfield

LF – JR Gabe Cohen (RH – .276-5-28-5) has started almost every game in LF but dropped a fly ball in the 9th inning last Friday that ended up being the difference in the game. Cohen has played better this year than he did last season (2008 – .204-9-28-9) when his game fell off the map after a FR All-American season in 2007 (.345-10-36-4). He usually bats 6th or 7th and has plus power when he makes contact but that has been a big problem because he strikes out about 30% of the time (37 K’s). Cohen has struggled in his career against Fullerton and is 3-20 against the Titans. He wasn’t in the lineup in the last two games against Cal or against Long Beach and the other options in the OF would be Giovinazzo, Brett Krill (RH – .250 in 20 AB’s) or Marc Navarro (LH – .143 in 28 AB’s).

CF – JR Blair Dunlap (RH – .290-6-32-13) has gone from a part-time player last season (2008 – .250-2-16-3) who struggled with injuries to being one of the better players on the team. He is UCLA’s fastest runner (9th in the conf in SB’s) and was batting leadoff earlier in the year. Dunlap has started to hit for power with 5 HR’s and 22 RBI’s in conf games and has been moved into the middle of the lineup to take advantage of his run production. With the increase in power has also come lots of K’s because Dunlap is striking out over 20% of the time (40 K’s). He is a good defensive OF and covers ground well. Dunlap hit very well against Fullerton last year and went 9-23 with one HR, 5 RBI’s and three multi-hit games.

RF – JR Justin Uribe (LH – .323-3-21-3) is the only real LH threat in the lineup and has the 2nd highest AVG on the team. After breaking into the lineup as a FR as an OF/P, big things were expected for Uribe last season but he only had 53 AB’s (.283 BA) and missed most of the season after having surgery when he injured his elbow while pitching. He doesn’t hit for much power but does a good job of spraying the ball around the field. Uribe is a decent OF and had a plus arm before the injury. He wore out Fullerton as a FR with four games with two hits each and is 9-16 in his career against the Titans.

PITCHING

UCLA anticipated having a good pitching staff after bringing back most of their pitching staff from last season except for their Friday SP and bringing in two very high profile recruits. The pitching staff struggled early as the coaching staff was figuring out which pitchers would work best in which roles and some of the pitchers were shuffled from the rotation to the bullpen and vice versa. The Bruins have been pitching much better lately and that is a big reason why UCLA has played better after their very poor start. UCLA is #23 in the country with a 4.21 team ERA, #19 in hits allowed per game and #8 in strikeouts. The Bruins have allowed five runs or less in 19 of the last 22 games and the leaders on the pitching staff are their FR SP’s who are the starters on Fri and Sat. UCLA thought they would have a deeper bullpen with so many experienced pitchers but that hasn’t been the case.

Starters

Fri SP – FR Gerrit Cole (RHP – 4-5, 3.34 ERA, 12 starts, 73 IP, 48 H, 30 BB, 93 K, .189 BA, 7 HR) was drafted in the 1st round last June and surprised everybody by ending up on campus and turning down a signing bonus worth several million dollars. Cole is a pure power pitcher and uses a high 90’s fastball, curveball and changeup to get hitters out. He is averaging 11.5 K’s per 9 IP (9th in the country) and averaging 5.9 H allowed per 9 IP (4th in the country). The only things that have gotten Cole into trouble are the occasional HR and some bouts with wildness because he leads the team in BB’s and WP’s. Cole had a 1 hitter going into the 9th inning last Friday but he allowed 5 BB’s in the game and along with a dropped fly ball, that was enough to saddle him with a 3-2 loss despite 11 K’s. He lost the previous start 3-2 at Oregon when the defense let him down again and contributed to two unearned runs. In his prior start at Oregon State, Cole allowed 5 R in 5 IP due to 6 BB’s in one of his shorter outings of the season and he was removed after 121 pitches, his highest pitch count prior to last Friday against Cal when he threw 122 pitches in 8 1/3 IP. Baserunners are 4-7 in SB attempts against Cole.

Sat SP – FR Trevor Bauer (RHP – 8-3, 2.68 ERA, 18 apps, 8 starts, 87 IP, 71 H, 20 BB, 79 K, .225 BA, 4 HR) was supposed to be a HS SR but decided he wanted to get his college career started a year early and he has shown that he was more than ready to pitch at the college level. Bauer has a four pitch mix with a low 90’s fastball and very good control but doesn’t mind pitching inside to keep hitters off the plate and has 8 HBP’s. He started the season working out of the bullpen and as a midweek SP but was so effective that he pitched his way into a weekend SP role. Bauer has been dominant in his last four starts with a 2.06 ERA and 22 H allowed in 35 IP with three CG wins and he left the other start after 8 IP with a lead only to see the bullpen blow the game. The coaching staff has been allowing him to build up fairly high pitch counts because Bauer has thrown 120+ pitches in each of his last three starts. He is 3rd in the conf in IP and 6th in the conf in ERA and K’s. Baserunners are 4-7 in SB attempts against Bauer.

Sun SP – JR Charles Brewer (RHP – 3-5, 3.96 ERA, 12 starts, 64 IP, 71 H, 17 BB, 61 K, .291 BA, 6 HR) has a low 90’s fastball with a solid curveball and changeup. He was off his game against Cal last week and was knocked out of the game early, allowing 4 R in 3 2/3 IP. In his previous five starts Brewer had a 2.67 ERA with 25 H allowed in 30 IP. Brewer doesn’t usually pitch deep into games and is often taken out after about 6 IP. He has solid control but he will pitch inside and leads the team with 10 HBP’s. Brewer has been able to do a better job of keeping runs off the board than last year (2008 – 9-4, 5.10 ERA, 19 apps, 13 starts, 97 IP, 108 H, 31 BB, 69 K, .281 BA, 12 HR) because he has done avoided giving up HR’s and big innings. He is outstanding at controlling the running game and has allowed only 1-7 SB’s. Fullerton saw quite a bit of Brewer last year when allowed 9 R in 5 2/3 IP in two midweek games before beating Fullerton in a regional game when he allowed 3 R in 5 IP.

Relievers

The closer for UCLA is JR Gavin Brooks (LHP – 0-3, 4.70 ERA, 8 saves, 23 apps, 31 IP, 27 H, 19 BB, 30 K, .243 BA, 1 HR), who has had an interesting season and career. Brooks was a SP in his first two seasons (2008 – 6-3, 5.07 ERA, 14 starts, 71 IP, 68 H, 53 BB, 62 K, .252 BA, 9 HR) before control problems caused by some issues with his mechanics resulted in Brooks moving to the bullpen this season. He allowed 10 R (7 ER) in his first two apps but has been solid most of the time since then with a 2.83 ERA in his last 21 apps. Brooks has a fastball that sits in the upper 80’s but tends to have issues with his command of his secondary pitches (curve, changeup). He leads the Pac 10 in saves, including six in conf games, but has blown two saves and has allowed 8 BB’s in 12 2/3 IP in conf games. Brooks is another pitcher that Fullerton has seen plenty of. He was dominant with 12 K’s in a CG 2-1 loss in the 2007 super regional but allowed 8 R on 6 H and 6 BB in 6 IP in his two other apps against the Titans.

Of the four other relievers that UCLA would be likely to use, three of them are also LHP’s – Soph Matt Grace (3-2, 4.06 ERA, 20 apps, 3 starts, 38 IP, 40 H, 10 BB, 30 K, .268 BA, 3 HR), Soph Rob Rasmussen (3-2, 6.75 ERA, 1 save, 14 apps, 6 starts, 40 IP, 49 H, 21 BB, 45 K, .304 BA, 6 HR) and SR Brendan Lafferty (0-2, 6.00 ERA, 18 apps, 27 IP, 37 H, 17 BB, 29 K, .333 BA, 1 HR). Grace was used early as a midweek SP and was ineffective in that role but has thrived in the bullpen and in eight apps in conf games has a 1.15 ERA in 16 IP, allowing only 7 H and 3 BB with 15 K’s. He allowed 6 R on 7 H and 4 BB in 4 2/3 IP in three apps against Fullerton last season (2008 – 0-0, 3.55 ERA, 17 apps, 33 IP, 31 H, 20 BB, 18 K, .248 BA, 7 HR). Rasmussen was in the weekend rotation earlier in the season but was ineffective in back to back starts against USC and Arizona and has been pitching out of the bullpen since then. He allowed 6 R on 10 H in 5 IP in 2 apps against Fullerton last season (2008 – 0-2, 5.60 ERA in 18 IP). Lafferty was the most effective reliever for UCLA last season (2008 – 4-3, 3.74 ERA, 3 saves, 33 apps, 67 IP, 61 H, 30 BB, 56 K, .254 BA, 6 HR) but has struggled this season and has been passed up by others in the bullpen. Lafferty has allowed 4 R on 6 H and 5 BB in 6 IP in 4 apps in his career against Fullerton.

The only RHP that would be likely to pitch this weekend would be SR Jason Novak (1-1, 7.91 ERA, 16 apps, 19 IP, 24 H, 12 BB, 20 K, .300 BA, 1 HR). Novak was also much more effective last season (2008 – 1-1, 3.60 ERA, 4 saves, 20 apps, 35 IP, 31 H, 17 BB, 28 K, .238 BA, 3 HR) but has pitched decently in limited innings in conf games (5 apps, 6 IP, 2 R). Novak has allowed 6 R on 8 H and 4 BB in 9 2/3 IP in 4 apps in his career against Fullerton, although he did allow only 1 unearned run in 4 IP in an appearance in last year’s regional game that UCLA won. The midweek SP for UCLA is Garrett Claypool (RHP – 2-1, 3.10 ERA, 12 apps, 6 starts, 29 IP, 23 H, 10 BB, 37 K, .217 BA, 5 HR), who usually throws 5-6 innings during the week and doesn’t usually pitch during weekend games. Claypool has allowed 3 R’s on 6 H and 3 BB in 4 1/3 IP in two apps his career against Fullerton.

OUTLOOK

If UCLA has any chance of making it into a regional they are going to have to win this series and their series next weekend at ASU. The Bruins definitely have a pitching staff that is more than capable of pulling off the upset but their offense has been very inconsistent against weekend pitching, scoring four runs or less in 9 of 18 games over the last six weekend series and hitting only .276 in conf games. Also, UCLA usually has played poorly against Fullerton and teams coached by John Savage are 4-21 against the Titans (2-7 at UC Irvine, 2-14 at UCLA) so there is definitely some sort of mental block for the Bruins when they play Fullerton.

The Titans are playing about as well as they were earlier in the season when they went on an 18-2 run against some tough competition and are a more well rounded team than UCLA. There aren’t likely to be many runs scored in this series because of the pitching staffs of both teams and the Bruins could win this series with the way that Cole and Bauer are pitching but Fullerton is on too much of a roll to pick against the Titans this weekend and Fullerton should win two of three games in the series.