CSF, UCI Advance To Postseason
Two teams represented the Big West Conference in the 2011 NCAA Baseball Tournament with Big West Champion Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine joining the 64-team field.
The Titans made their 20th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, 33rd overall, while the Anteaters received their sixth straight bid, seventh overall. Cal State Fullerton owns the third-longest active streak in the nation behind Miami (39 years) and Florida State (34 years).
Cal State Fullerton, who hosted Stanford, Kansas State and Illinois, was unable to advance to the Super Regional. The Titans won their first contest against Illinois but then posted-back-to-back losses to Stanford and the Illini, eliminating them from the postseason.
The Anteaters were a little more prosperous in the Los Angeles Regional where they swept their competition to advance to Super Regional action. UC Irvine opened with a win over Fresno State and followed that up with victories over San Francisco and UCLA.
UC Irvine's next task was to fly across the county and battle the number one team in the country - Virginia. The Cavaliers shutdown the Anteaters offense with a 6-0 victory but UC Irvine struck back with a 6-4 win of their own to even the series at 1-1. The nail-biting third game went down to the end and Virginia came out as the victor with a 3-2 win that would send them back to Omaha.
Cal State Fullerton Crowned Big West Champs
Cal State Fullerton Titans (19-5) earned their 25th Big West Conference championship overall and ninth in the last 13 years. With the league title comes the conferences automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, their 20th consecutive postseason appearance, and the 33rd time in 37 seasons at the Division I level.
UC Irvine finished second in the conference for the second straight season after posting an 18-6 mark. The Anteaters were closely followed by Cal Poly, who claimed the third spot at 15-9. Long Beach State was the final Big West team to finish .500 or better in league play with a 12-12 record.
By An Inch
There have been a multitude of tightly-contested battles on the diamond this season for the Big West Conference. The nine league schools hold a 42-32 mark in the one-run nonconference decisions. Pacing the conference in one-run decisions is Long Beach, playing 17 tightly-contested battles. The 49ers have won 13 down-to-the-wire contests, three in extra-innings.
Ramirez Duo Rewrite Big West Annals
Nick Ramirez lifted his season total to a league-best 16 saves, which placed him fifth all-time in the Big West. His 34 career saves ties him for fourth in the league with former Titan Chad Cordero (2001-03). The junior from Anaheim, Calif., tallied 11 saves during his sophomore season and seven during his freshman campaign.
For the second straight year Noe Ramirez led the Titans' pitching staff and this year he did so in dominating fashion. Ramirez owns a 1.69 ERA in 90.2 innings pitched, ranking him fourth in single-season ERA (50-99 IP) in the Big West.
Summer's Gem
Back on May 27, 2011, Matt Summers recorded the fourth no-hitter in UC Irvine history to lead the Anteaters to a 2-0 win in the series-opener against Long Beach State. The right-hander faced the minimum through 8.2 innings before hitting a batter. Summers left that runner stranded and went on to accomplish the no-hit feat with five strikeouts.
Success At Forty
Cal State Fullerton ended the 2011 season with a 41-17 record, making it the 26th time in its 37-year history, 18th while competing in the Big West, that the Titans reached the 40-win mark. This is also the fourth straight season they reached the 40-win plateau.
The UC Irvine Anteaters (43-18) joined the Titans with the 40-win milestone after sweeping the Los Angeles Regional. Their first win of the weekend, a 12-6 victory over Fresno State, vaulted them to the magic number. This is the fourth 40-plus win season in five years for the Anteaters. UC Irvine posted three straight 40-win seasons from 2007-2009 before just missing the mark in 2010 with a 39-21 record.
Pitcher's Duel At Its Finest
Blair Field is where you wanted to be on Friday, April 15 to witness one of the best pitching performances of the season. Long Beach State and UC Riverside were near perfect on the mound for 12-innings. LBSU's Matt Duffy brought home Ino Patron in the bottom half of the 12th for the 1-0 walkoff victory. Forty-niners starter Andrew Gagnon recorded 10 strikeouts and allowed just one hit over 8.0 innings. Gagnon, Eddie Magallon and Branden Pinder combined for Long Beach States second shutout of the season.
Not to be outdone, Highlander starter Matt Andriese tossed 10.0 scoreless innings, with a no-hitter going into the seventh inning, and scattered three hits while striking out six. It was the longest appearance by a member of the Highlanders since the team made the transition to Division I and the second longest in the recorded history of the program.
Serrano, Lee Capture 100th Conference Win
Cal State Fullerton skipper Dave Serrano (108-50) collected his 100th Big West Conference victory on Saturday, April 30 with a 6-4 win over Pacific. Serrano, who just concluded his seventh season in the Big West, fourth at Cal State Fullerton, became the 10th Big West coach to reach the milestone.
Finishing his ninth season at the helm of the Mustangs squad, Larry Lee eclipsed the 100-victory milestone with a 4-2 win over UC Davis on May 14. He is the 11th Big West coach to collect 100 or more Big West victories.
Gillespie Earns 900th Win
A 5-3 win over Sacramento State on Saturday, March 12 handed UC Irvine Head Coach Mike Gillespie his 900th NCAA D1 career victory. Coaching in his fourth season at UC Irvine in 2011, Gillespie owns a 932-543-2 record.
CSUN Hires New Head Coach
Matt Curtis, who for the last ten years has been a major contributor in one of the West Coast's most successful college programs,were hired as head baseball coach at Cal State Northridge. Curtis comes to CSUN from Fresno State where he served as assistant coach for a program that has won five consecutive Western Athletic Conference titles, made four NCAA tournament appearances in the last five years, and won the 2008 College World Series.
Buckley Named Long Beach State Head Coach
Following the retirement of Head Coach Mike Weathers at the end of the 2010 season, Troy Buckley was promoted to head coach. Buckley made his return as the team's pitching coach for the 2010 season after spending two years as the Minor League Pitching Coordinator with the Pirates. Since Buckley came to LBSU in 2001, the Dirtbags have earned five Big West Pitcher of the Year awards, and in 2004 Jered Weaver was named the National Player of the Year after posting a 15-1 record with 213 strikeouts and a 1.62 ERA.
Most Multi-Hit Games
Brian Hernandez, UC Irvine - 28
Dustin Torchio, Pacific - 26
Matthew Carvutto, Pacific - 25
Sean Williams, UC Santa Barbara - 24
Trevor Hairgrove, UC Riverside - 23
Longest Hitting Streaks
Brian Hernandez, UC Irvine - 16
Adam Barry, Cal State Northridge - 15
Josh Simms, Pacific - 15
Trevor Hairgrove, UC Riverside - 14
David Popkins, UC Davis - 14
Big West Vs. Top 25
Cal Poly 6-4
Cal State Fullerton 6-8
Cal State Northridge 1-5
Long Beach State 10-18
UC Davis 1-9
UC Irvine 6-5
UC Riverside 2-6
UC Santa Barbara 2-9
Pacific 3-6
Total 36-69
2011 Postseason Accolades
Baseball America All-America
Second Team
Nick Ramirez, UTL, Cal State Fullerton
Third Team
Matt Summers, P, UC Irvine
Louisville Slugger Collegiate Baseball All-America
Second Team
Noe Ramirez, P, Cal State Fullerton
Matt Summers, P, UC Irvine
Third Team
Nick Ramirez, UTL, Cal State Fullerton
Freshman Team
Michael Lorenzen, OF, Cal State Fullerton
Dylan Stuart, P, UC Riverside
NCBWA All-America
Second Team
Tyler Pill, UTL, Cal State Fullerton
Third Team
Nick Ramirez, UTL, Cal State Fullerton
College Baseball Line-up All-Star Team
First Team
Noe Ramirez, P, Cal State Fullerton
John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Semifinalist
Brian Hernandez, P/3B, UC Irvine
Nick Ramirez, P/OF, Cal State Fullerton