With ten regular season games left, the Cal State Fullerton Titans find themselves at 39-7 and ranked number four in the nation. Titan baseball hasn’t seen a ranking this high since they were ranked number four in 2009 - is this the year they win it all?
CSUF already has four NCAA championships under their belt (last in 2004) and always seems to put together top contending teams. With big names like Mark Kotsay and Kurt Suzuki, the Titans have a track record of scaring the opposition - and like their previous championships, the Titans have the intimidation factor.
Fullerton has a team combined batting average of .282 this season and overall ERA of 2.46 (the sixth lowest in the nation). So what makes this team so good?
For one, their young pitching has been lights-out. Of the 15 pitchers on the Titans staff, 13 of them are either sophomores or freshmen. Normally this would cripple a ball club, but the pitching has been outstanding. They allow the fewest walks of every team in the nation - averaging a mere 1.55 walks per nine innings. While with the highest strikeouts-to-walks ratio, the Titan pitching staff is not necessarily the type to strikeout a lot of hitters. Instead, they let their solid defense make the outs for them.
With an overall team fielding percentage at .977, and with the help of solid gloves in CF Michael Lorenzen and SS Richy Pedroza, Cal State Fullerton is a force. This defense flat out knows how to play and Titan pitchers know they can pitch to contact.
A pitching staff knowing the defense behind it is crucial as it allows them to know that even if they don’t have their best stuff that day, they can put their team in a situation to win ball games.
As far as offense goes, Fullerton just gets on base. A team on base percentage of .386, whic ranks in the top 15, allows the team to do the little things and get timely hitting. Not necessarily the most powerful lineup for CSUF head coach Rick Vanderhook, but the Titans find a way to continue to put wins together as they now attempt to get win number 40 as they face UC Riverside this weekend.
The Titans have a legitimate chance to make an appearance in Omaha this year. Watch their solid pitching staff, defense, and offense when they come home next weekend to face UC Irvine in their final regular season home series of 2013: Friday’s game will be televised on ESPNU while Saturday’s game with be televised on Fox Sports West.
For more on the #CSUFTitans, follow @SportSpeakOC on Twitter
Cal State Fullerton Titans
The Titans were the number one seed heading into the Fullerton Regional, facing the number four seed Columbia first, whom they beat 4-1. They eventually went on to beat Arizona State in the next two games, 1-0 and 6-1. What was their key to success? Pitching, pitching, and even more pitching.
The Titans’ pitching staff has been one of the nation’s greatest staffs in terms of allowing earned runs, now ranking at number three in Division One ball with a 2.47 ERA. The young staff is not to be taken lightly, especially their starters. Getting through the Regionals cleanly with Grahamm Wiest (9-3), Justin Garza (12-0), and Thomas Eshelman (12-2), the Fullerton Titans will now face Los Angeles Regionals Champion, UCLA.
This won’t be the first time the Bruins and Titans have met on the diamond this season, as CSUF took on UCLA twice, winning each by scores of 9-6 and 5-2.
Fullerton knocked out UCLA in 2007 in Super Regionals, and in the 2008 in Regionals, while the Bruins got the best of the Titans in 2010, knocking them out of the Super Regional tournament in Los Angeles. There certainly is a bit of a rivalry among these two collegiate teams and it will show, especially since CSUF head coach Rick Vanderhook is a former Bruin coach (part of that 2010 team).
The two Regional Champs will play in a best-of-three series beginning on Friday June 7th in which each of the first two games are already sold out. In those sell-outs, the Titans will call upon Garza and Eshelman to face the Bruins who will oppose with Adam Plutko and Nick Vander Tuig.
For more on the #CSUFTitans, follow @SportSpeakOC on Twitter
Cal State Fullerton’s top player, Michael Lorenzen, has been drafted into the Cincinnati Reds organization as the 38th overall pick in the 2013 MLB First Year Player Draft.
According to the Fullerton Athletics website, this is the 39th consecutive year in which at least one CSUF player has been selected in the MLB Draft.
The Fullerton junior will more than likely sign with the organization after the Titans finish their playoff run. After being drafted, number 55 had this to say on Twitter:
Through 59 games this season (including Regionals), Lorenzen has posted a .335/.415/.523 stat line (AVG/OBP/SLG) while also converting 19 saves in 22 opportunities. Even in the three saves in which he blew, the Titans went on to win each of those, giving him a 3-0 record as a closer.
It was of much concern within the last few months whether Lorenzen would be drafted as a centerfielder or a pitcher, considering his excellence at each position, but the Reds decided to draft him as a right handed pitcher. The final decision is still to be determined after Lorenzen and the Reds find what will both fit each other’s needs.
Lorenzen and the Titans will face the UCLA Bruins in a best of three series beginning tonight in which Lorenzen will well deservedly receive a standing ovation as he steps back on to Goodwin Field for his last games on his college campus.
After a solid Regionals performance, the Titans of Cal State Fullerton will find themselves sitting on the couch watching the UCLA Bruins in Omaha.
UCLA took down CSUF in the Fullerton Super Regional - two games and out - relatively easily. A memorable season indeed for Fullerton now officially comes to a close after 51 wins, the highest win total since 1995 - that team a won the NCAA College World Series.
The 2013 season for the Titans is not one to forget with four players drafted in the MLB Draft: CF Michael Lorenzen to the Cincinnati Reds, C Chad Wallach and 1B Carlos Lopez to the Miami Marlins, and SS Richy Pedroza to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Titans also dealt with the loss of one of their young pitchers, Nick Hurtado, on March 1st after he lost his battle with bone cancer. All season long, CSUF wore “NH” patches on their chests, had it written on their hats, and renamed their left field home bullpen “Nick Hurtado Bullpen”.
In a year in which Fullerton’s highest rank was 3rd in the Nation, they never had a point in which they struggled. Their well-rounded team, lead by solid starting pitching, never faltered and they cruised to a Big West Championship. Given their season-long success, followed by their unsuccessful playoff run, the Titans have not reached the College World Series in four straight years - their longest drought since 1975.
On the Fullerton website, shortstop Richy Pedroza had this to say on his senior season, "Season was an unbelievable season for us. Couldn't ask for anything more as a senior. Obviously wanted to go to Omaha but as a team total, it’s one of the best teams I've ever been a part of . I love all these guys and that's all I got."
The Southern California boys will look ahead to the 2014 season now as they will strive to win another Big West title and get back to Omaha, ultimately searching for their fifth NCAA College Baseball Championship.
