Cal State Fullerton Makes 16th Trip To College World Series

Files associated with this release:
09 BB Release-Week 17.pdf

Links associated with this release:
Fullerton Postseason
College World Series Information
2009 College World Series Bracket

Cal State Fullerton's quest for its fifth national title begins Saturday when it opens play at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. (photo by Matt Brown)

Cal State Fullerton Versus The Elite Eight: After dominating both the regionals and super regionals with a perfect 5-0 record, the Titans are advancing to their 16th College World Series.  Cal State Fullerton is up against two Southeastern Conference teams, Arkansas and LSU, and Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Champion Virginia on its side of the College World Series bracket.  The Titans are 8-3 versus the trio, going undefeated against the Razorbacks (3-0) and Cavaliers (1-0) and holding a slight 4-3 advantage over the Tigers.  Cal State Fullerton rekindles the short-lived series with the Razorbacks, which has been idle since 1993, Saturday, June 13 at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific) in the first game of the 2009 College World Series. The Titans will face either SEC Regular Season and Tournament Champion LSU or Virginia on Monday, June 15.

 The other side of the bracket has more of a familiar feel for Cal State Fullerton, having played a combined 90 games against the foursome consisting of Arizona State, North Carolina, Southern Miss and Texas.  The Titans, who are 45-45 versus the quartet, faced both Southern Miss and Arizona State on the road this year.  Cal State Fullerton improved to 6-0 against the Eagles after a weekend series sweep, but still trails the Sun Devils, 26-22, after splitting a midweek series.   North Carolina and Cal State Fullerton have only met on the baseball diamond twice, both of which were at Rosenblatt Stadium in 2006.  The Tar Heels took both contests by scores of 7-5 (13) and 6-5.   The last time Texas and Cal State Fullerton squared off was in the 2004 College World Series.  The Titans swept the best-of-three championship series from the Longhorns, 6-4 and 3-2, to even the series at 17-17 and capture their fourth national title.

Big West At The World Series: The Big West Conference has had two baseball National Championships, with both of them being won by the Cal State Fullerton Titans (1995, 2004).  The other two titles the Titans earned in 1979 and 1984 were when they were competing in the Southern California Baseball Association (SCBA).  Over the past 32 years of Big West baseball, the conference has had four different teams advance to the College World Series - Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UC Irvine and former member Fresno State (1988, 1991).

Domination On The Mound: For the fourth time in five years a member of the Big West Conference has ranked among the best in the county in earned run average. The Cal State Fullerton pitching staff, comprised of one sophomore and two freshmen in its weekend rotation, currently ranks fourth with a 3.36 earned run average. In 2005 Long Beach State dominated on the mound, leading the nation with a 2.53 earned run average. The following year, a Titan trio of Wes Roemer, Lauren Gagnier and Dustin Miller, spearheaded a pitching staff that produced an NCAA-best ERA of 2.73. After a year out of the spotlight, the Big West made its presence felt once again in 2008 as Long Beach State (3.20) ranked second and UC Irvine (3.27) sat third in team ERA.

Sizing Up The Field: Cal State Fullerton is not the only College World Series team with an impressive collection of hurlers. In fact, the nation's top five earned run averages stem from the eight-team field with Arizona State leading the charge with a 2.78 ERA. Texas ranks second with a 2.84 ERA, followed by Virginia (3.14), Cal State Fullerton (3.36) and North Carolina (3.61). While this year’s field showcases some of the best pitching in the country, only two schools rank in the top 50 in batting average - Cal State Fullerton and Virginia. The Titans own a .330 batting average to rank 26th and Virginia grabbed the 33rd slot with a .327 clip. Even more impressive is during Cal State Fullerton's 5-0 postseason run, the Titans blasted a .447 batting average.