The final weekend of regular season play is upon Big West baseball teams. Sixth-ranked Cal State Fullerton has clinched the regular season title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
AROUND THE BIG WEST
Titans Clinch Outright Title
Any suspense surrounding the race for the Big West title got nixed when UC Riverside defeated UC Irvine in 12 innings last Saturday.
The Anteater loss ensured Cal State Fullerton a four-game lead over its Orange County counterparts by weekend’s end, sewing up the regular season championship for the Titans. Both teams have one three-game conference series remaining this weekend prior to NCAA postseason selections.
Cal State Fullerton (37-15, 18-3) captured its eighth Big West title in the last 12 seasons. In that stretch, the Titans earned outright crowns in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2010, while sharing the title in 2000 and 2008. It is CSF’s 24th conference championship in the program’s 36-year Division I history.
Highlighting one more postseason Titan tidbit, the championship ensures the program’s 19th straight NCAA postseason appearance, the third-longest active streak behind Miami (37 years) and Florida State (32 years).
Cal State Fullerton finishes up regular season play this week with four home games. The Titans welcome UCLA for a single game on Tuesday before taking on Cal State Northridge over the weekend. They are aiming to collect 40 wins for the 25th time in program history, needing three more this week to accomplish the feat.
In other league action, UC Irvine travels to Long Beach State with an eye toward wrapping up second place. Pacific and UC Riverside, separated by one game for third place, host UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis, respectively. Cal Poly hosts Cal State Bakersfield in a non-conference series.
Poll Chatter
Cal State Fullerton nearly has completed a full climb back to a preseason ranking as high as No. 3. In this week’s polls, the Titans are rated No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 8 by Baseball America, and No. 11 in both the NCBWA and USA Today/ESPN rankings. It’s a far cry from when the Titans were unranked in all four polls in the latter part of March. CSF was 11-10 on the season after a 10-7 loss to Hawai’i on March 28.
Since that point, the Titans have won 25 of their last 29 games, including winning streaks of nine and seven games. They have not lost back-to-back games since March 16 and 17 to then-No. 1 Arizona State.
Similarly, UC Irvine fell out of all four polls in mid-April, but has steadied the ship recently. The Anteaters have emerged victorious in 14 of their last 19 contests, facilitating their reentry into the rankings. UCI is ranked as high as No. 21 by the NCBWA, followed by No. 23 in Baseball America, and No. 24 in Collegiate Baseball and USA Today/ESPN.
Yoder Attempting A First
Cal Poly senior Luke Yoder, hitting a team-leading .338, looks to become the first Mustang to hit above .300 in four straight seasons at the Division I level. It would complete a trifecta of achievements for Yoder, who already has established school career records for runs scored (180) and doubles (49).
Matadors Approach 30 Wins
Cal State Northridge is quietly having one of its best seasons in recent memory. The Matadors are 28-23 overall and 9-12 in the Big West. CSUN needs to win one of its five games this week to assure a winning record for the first time since 2002 when the Matadors finished 41-17 overall and in first place in the Big West with a 19-5 mark. CSUN is two wins away from reaching the 30-win plateau. The Matadors last accomplished that with 34 wins in 2001 and the 41 in 2002, marking their first two seasons in the Big West.
Colon Scores Top 10 Runs Ranking
Cal State Fullerton junior Christian Colon ranks second in the Big West with 60 runs scored on the season. The consistent run-producing machine at the top of the Titan lineup also added to the Big West record book. Colon is now tied for ninth in Big West career runs scored with 201, alongside former Titan Mark Kotsay (1994-96) and Nevada’s Justin Martin (1996-99). Colon now needs to score just eight more runs to leapfrog all the way to the fourth spot. The shortstop also leads the Big West circuit with 14 home runs this season.
Pacific Trio Having Stellar Year
The Pacific weekend pitching rotation consisting of Marcus Pointer, David Rowse and Jake Hummel has performed admirably in 2010. The trio sports a combined 22-9 record with a 4.98 ERA. Rowse’s eight wins are tied for third in the Big West. The three hurlers have contributed heavily to the team’s 31-win total, marking the program’s first 30-win season since 2005 and 2006.
Bibona On List For National Award
UC Irvine senior left-hander Daniel Bibona is one of 25 semifinalists for the 2010 Dick Howser Trophy, awarded to the top player in collegiate baseball. He is 9-2 with a 2.10 ERA, striking out 100 batters in 90.0 innings pitched. Bibona leads the Big West in ERA, strikeouts and opponent batting average (.208). Bibona also became UCI’s all-time strikeouts leader earlier this season, and has 330 for his career. The winner of the Dick Howser Trophy will be named in a national broadcast from Lubbock, Texas on Friday, July 2.
Brantly Semifinalist For Johnny Bench Award
UC Riverside sophomore Robert Brantly is one of 16 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award, recognizing the nation’s top collegiate catcher. Brantly ranks second on the Highlanders with a .360 average and has a team-leading 68 hits. He also has produced seven home runs and 36 RBI. Three finalists will be determined on June 2 and the winner will be announced on July 1 in Wichita, Kansas.
Ramirez Chasing Doubles Mark
Sophomore Nick Ramirez is on pace to set an almost 25-year old Big West single season record. The Cal State Fullerton first baseman is five doubles away from breaking the record of 29 set by CSF alum John Eccles in 1986. The league-best 25 two-baggers by Ramirez ties him with seven others for No. 8 in single-season league history. In addition to Eccles, Titans monopolize the top of the single-season doubles list. Shane Costa (2003) is No. 2 with 28 doubles, while Aaron Rowand (1998), Jason Moler (1992) and Mark Kotsay (1996) are all No. 3 with 27.
Starter Pettis Still Saving
UC Irvine’s Eric Pettis was converted from one of the nation’s top closers into a starter for his senior season. The right-hander has responded well to his starting role, compiling an 8-3 record with a 3.64 ERA in a league-high 108.2 innings pitched. In fact, Pettis has lasted at least six innings in 13 of his 14 starts.
On top of that, the normally scheduled Sunday starter retained the closer tag on Friday’s. With that opportunity, Pettis has recorded six saves on the season to increase his career total to 40. He is only the third player in Big West history to amass 40 saves, trailing only former Anteater Blair Erickson (2004-07) with 53 and Long Beach State’s Gabe Gonzalez (1992-95) with 46.
Big West Vs. Top 25
Cal Poly 0-4
Cal State Fullerton 3-4
Cal State Northridge 2-2
Long Beach State 6-5
UC Davis 1-1
UC Irvine 1-2
UC Riverside 0-5
UC Santa Barbara 1-4
Pacific 1-2
Most Multi-Hit Games
Gary Brown, Cal State Fullerton 28
Brian Martin, Pacific 27
J.B. Brown, Pacific 26
Jeff Cusick, UC Irvine 24
Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton 24
Carlos Lopez, Cal State Fullerton 24
Mike Walker, Pacific 23
Ryan Pineda, Cal State Northridge 22
Steve Tinoco, Long Beach State 22
Robert Brantly, UC Riverside 22
Most Multi-RBI Games
Nick Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton 17
Ryan Pineda, Cal State Northridge 16
Justin Shults, UC Riverside 15
Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton 14
Jeff Cusick, UC Irvine 14
Dominic D’Anna, Cal State Northridge 14
Mike Walker, Pacific 13
Longest Hitting Streaks
Jeff Cusick, UC Irvine 25
Nick Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton 20
Brennan Metzger, Long Beach State 19
Dominic D’Anna, Cal State Northridge 18
Carlos Lopez, Cal State Fullerton 17
Live On The Net
The Big West Conference and the CBS College Sports Network are partnering to bring exclusive Big West events to your computer. BigWest.TV brings exclusive coverage of sports, press conferences, interviews and features into your home via the Internet! Now in its fourth year, BigWest.TV covers every home and conference contest in women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball. Also covered are select men’s and women’s soccer matches, baseball and softball games, and Big West Conference Championships. A monthly subscription of $9.95 or an annual subscription of $79.95 delivers exclusive coverage to you. If you can’t make it to the gym or the field, you can still catch all the action on BigWest.TV.