CATCH ALL THE ACTION: A live audio feed as well as live stats will be available for this weekend's Big West Conference opening series at CSUN. Links can be found at FullertonTitans.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow @BaseballTitans on Twitter for daily updates during the 2015 season. Fullerton baseball is also now on Instagram, so make sure to follow the 2015 team all season @CSF_TitansBaseball.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS:
FRIDAY
CSF - RHP, Thomas Eshelman (2-2, 1.87 ERA) vs. CSUN - RHP, Calvin Copping (4-1, 2.62 ERA)
SATURDAY
CSF - RHP, Justin Garza (1-1, 2.00 ERA) vs. CSUN- LHP, Jerry Keel (3-1, 2.00 ERA)
SUNDAY
CSF - LHP, John Gavin (2-1, 5.34 ERA) vs. CSUN - RHP, Rayne Raven (4-1, 1.02 ERA)
LIFE ON THE ROAD: The Titans will wrap up their eight game road trip this weekend when they begin Big West Conference action at Matador Field to take on CSUN, which currently has the best non-conference record in the conference at 19-6. The Titans have gone 2-3 in the previous five games of the road trip, dropping their annual non-conference series at Blair Field against Long Beach State and splitting a two-game midweek series at Nebraska. Following the series at CSUN, the Titans will return home for a three-game set against Cal Poly at Goodwin Field before hitting the road yet again for Fullerton's season-long nine-game road trip that consists of San Diego, UC Davis, UCLA, Maryland and CSU Bakersfield. Of the team's 32 remaining games this season, 19 of them will occur away from the friendly confines of Goodwin Field.
CSF vs. CSUN • ALL-TIME SERIES
First Year Played/Last Year Played 1975/2014
Overall Record 56-18
Current Streak Won 6
Overall Conference (Big West) Record 33-9
Home Record 32-8
Road Record 24-10
Neutral Record 0-0
Longest Winning Streak 16 games (4/12/03 to 4/11/08)
Longest Losing Streak 3 games, 2 times (last from 4/26/02 to 4/28/02)
Extra Innings 0-3
Most Runs Scored in a Game 23 runs (3/20/80)
Most Runs Scored in a Game by Opponent 10 runs (2/22/77)
Largest Margin of Victory 19 runs (3/20/80)
Largest Margin of Defeat 4 runs (3/4/75)
CSUN NOTES: The Matadors enter conference play on a hot streak, having won seven consecutive games, all of them at Matador Field. The Matadors have won 12 of 15 games at home so far this season but are 10-24 against the Titans all-time at home.
RAYNE MAN
• Junior Rayne Raven has a 1.08 ERA over his five starts this season while compiling a 4-1 record.
• He leads the ream with 42 strikeouts this season
• Pitched six shutout innings in a 5-0 win against CSU Bakersfield on March 10
• Struck out 10 batters in a CSUN 1-0 win at Seattle University on February 21
• Fanned 16 Utah Valley batters on February 14, the most strikeouts by a Matador pitcher since 2003.
• Named Big West Player of Week and National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on February 19
VERY BAD MAN, JERRY. VERY BAD MAN.
• Senior Matador ace Jerry Keel (3-1) leads the team in innings pitched with 36.
• Keel has a 2.00 ERA in five starts and has struck out 32 batters this season.
• Pitched all seven innings in a 8-1 win over Dartmouth on March 20.
• Pitched 8.1 dominant innings against Saint Mary's on February 28 in a 6-0 win, allowing no runs.
• Earned his first victory of the season by going six innings and allowing two earned runs in an 8-3 win over Seattle University.
• Frustrated Gonzaga batters over 7.2 innings, striking out seven for a no-decision on February 14.
SKY IS THE LIMIT
• Senior second baseman Ryan Raslowsky leads the team with a .317 average at the plate.
• Raslowsky has a team-leading six stolen bases and he has also driven in five RBI
• Third on the team in hits with 26 and is second on the team with a .410 on-base percentage.
• Has five multi-hit games including two three-hit games.
• Hit safely in the first 11 games of the season and has hit safely in 19 of the team's 24 games.
• Stole two bases in the same inning against Seattle University on February 22 including stealing home plate.
PAK ATTACK
• Senior leadoff right fielder Chester Pak leads the team in hitting with .329 average and home runs with four.
• Drawn a team-leading 16 walks on the season and is tops in hits with 28.
• Tied for the team-lead in RBI with 17 and leads the team with 21 runs scored.
• Hit home runs in back-to-back games against Pepperdine (March 17) and Dartmouth (March 19)
• Has four three-hit performances on the season including coming a double shy of the cycle against George
Washington on March 13.
COPPING RIGHTS
• Junior Calvin Copping has pitched four Friday starts and has compiled a 4-1 season record.
• Owns a 2.62 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 34.1 innings of work.
• Pitched first-ever complete game and struck out career-high 11 batters in 6-1 win over Dartmouth on March 19.
INTRODUCING...YUSUKE
• In his first season as a Matador, junior Yusuke Akitoshi is third on the team with a .303 batting average.
• Started in all 24 games this season at shortstop
• Has driven in 15 runs, scored 15 runs and stolen six bases.
• Hit safely in 18 of 24 games in 2015.
• Owned an 11-game hitting streak this season.
• Second on the team with 27 hits and leads the team with three triples.
PAGE TOERNER
• Freshman Justin Toerner has started all 24 games in center field this season.
• Reached base safely in last 16 games.
• Third on the team with 13 RBI and fourth on the team with a .295 batting average.
• Went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs in a 10-3 triumph over George Washington on March 13.
• Hit his first career home run in a 10-1 win over Grand Canyon University on February 24.
TRAIL BLASER
• Senior outfielder Nick Blaser is tied for the team-lead in RBI with 17 and is hitting .275 on the season.
• Had three RBI in a 4-3 victory over Dartmouth on March 20
• Drove in three runs in a CSUN win over George Washington on March 15
• Has two three-hit games this season (Seattle University and George Washington).
NOT SINCE 1996...
By recording an 9-1 record to start this season, CSUN Baseball matched the best start in 19 seasons. The last time a CSUN
team went 9-1 was in 1996, when the team compiled an impressive 52-18 record.
ROOKIE REPORT
• Junior transfer Angel Rodriguez pitched a complete game in his Matador debut and has a 2.31 season ERA.
• Junior transfer Nick Viola (2-0) has pitched the most games out of the bullpen with 11 and has a 3.18 ERA.
• Sophomore transfer Conner O'Neil has five saves this season, two wins and a 0.96 ERA.
• Freshman Elias Orona has four stolen bases, two doubles, four RBIs and is batting .368
CHASING HISTORY
• CSUN reached its 1,600th win in school history with a 4-3 win over Dartmouth on March 20
• Senior Jerry Keel is eighth in school history with a 2.69 career ERA
• Keel is five wins away from reaching the Career Top 10 at CSUN; currently has 16
• Senior Ryan Raslowsky is second in school history with 25 sacrifice bunts in his career
• Raslowsky needs seven stolen bases to enter the Career Top 10; currently has 29
• Senior Louis Cohen is tied for 10th in school history with six career saves
TITANS AND THE BIG WEST: Overall, Cal State Fullerton has posted a dominant 709-249-1 (.739) conference record over 40 seasons. Rick Vanderhook, the school's fifth Div. I head coach, has compiled a 54-21 Big West Conference record in his three seasons at the helm and won consecutive conference titles in 2012 and 2013, following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Augie Garrido (14). Larry Cochell (1), George Horton (7) and Dave Serrano (3). Overall, the Titans have won 27 conference titles.
A further breakdown has the Titans winning three PCAA conference championships (1975-76, 1987), eight straight SCBA titles (1977-84), and 16 while playing under the Big West name (1990-91, 94-95, 1997, 1999-2001, 2004-06, 2008, 2010-13). The Big West absorbed the PCAA records in 1990 upon its formation, giving the Titans 19 total Big West championships and a 533-203 (.724; 32 years) PCAA/Big West Conference record.
PICKED TO WIN IT: Cal State Fullerton was picked as the favorite to win the 2015 Big West title as selected by the nine conference head coaches that voted in the Big West Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll. The Titans received five of the nine first-place votes and 74 points overall, edging 2014 Big West Conference champions Cal Poly, which received three first-place votes and 73 points overall. UC Santa Barbara claimed the third spot, receiving the final first-place vote and 62 points overall while UC Irvine (56 points) and Long Beach State (48 points) rounded out the top five spots.
FREQUENT FLYERS: The Titans have had to make themselves comfortable in airplanes this season. The team has already traveled to Clearwater, Fla., Bloomington, Ind. and Lincoln, Neb. Overall, the Titans will log more than 11,000 miles in the air this season with their longest road trips (Maryland, 2,628 miles and Hawai'i, 2,494 miles) still ahead of them.
FIRST TRIP TO LINCOLN: The Titans wrapped up a two-game midweek series at Nebraska, marking the program's first trip to Lincoln, Neb. all-time. The Titans were 8-0 all-time against Nebraska with five of those meetings taking place at Goodwin Field. The other three meetings came in the NCAA Postseason including two meetings at the Stillwater Regional in 2014, where the Titans swept and eliminated the Cornhuskers. The other meeting took place at Rosenblatt Stadium in the 2001 College World Series. In this week's series, the Titans dropped their first ever game to the Cornhuskers, 7-2, on Tuesday before the Titans snapped Nebraska's 11-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory on Wednesday.
THE CLOSER: Senior Tyler Peitzmeier has been nothing short of spectacular as the team's closer this season. Peitzmeier has been perfect in save situations this season, recording eight straight saves on the season. He is currently ranked fifth in the nation in saves and first in the Big West Conference. Peitzmeier had his best outing of the year Wednesday as the Titans visited his native state of Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers. Peitzmeier entered the game in the seventh inning with one out and the Titans holding a one-run lead. The Yutan, Neb. native made the lead hold up as he surrendered just one hit against a lineup that is batting a collective .278 on the season and a lineup that featured four players hitting .300 or better. Peitzmeier struck out four including three of the first five hitters he faced and stranded the game-tying run on first base in the ninth inning to secure the victory for the Titans, giving Fullerton its first win in Lincoln all-time.
THREE CHEERS FOR SCOTTY: Freshman Scott Hurst set a new career-high on Wednesday as he collected three hits in his first three at-bats at Nebraska, including a critical two-run single in the first inning. It was Hurst's first career three-hit game and helped lead the Titans to a victory over the Cornhuskers. Hurst went 4-for-7 (.571 BA) overall in the series against Nebraska and drove in three of the team's six runs in the two games and also added a stolen base.
HURST AND RICHARDS STARTING TO HIT: Hurst and shortstop Timmy Richards have hit well for the Titans over the last 10 games. Hurst is batting .324 in his last 10 games, starting each time in right field. He has one double, a home run and four RBIs while slugging .441 with a .442 on-base percentage to go along with two stolen bases. Richards is hitting .308 in the team's last 10 games with a double and two RBIs.
TITAN CONNECTIONS - THE BLASER BROTHERS: This weekend will see Cal State Fullerton's Dalton Blaser face off against his brother NIck on the CSUN squad. The Roseville, Calif. natives each played for Roseville High School and Sierra College, where Nick was named the team's MVP and named an All-State player while Dalton was named an All-American as a sophomore and earned Big-8 Conference co-MVP honors as a sophomore. Dalton has started in two straight games in left field for the Titans and collected his first career double in the Titans victory over Nebraska on Wednesday. Nick has played in 25 games for CSUN this season and is hitting .265 with 17 RBIs and three doubles in his senior season. He hit .302 in 52 games last season for the Matadors with 23 RBIs and nine doubles.
GARZA FACES CSUN AGAIN: Pitcher Justin Garza is set to face the Matadors on Saturday for the first time since recording a no-hitter against CSUN on May 23 of last season. Garza tossed the fourth no-hitter in Cal State Fullerton history as the Titans blanked the Matadors 3-0 at Goodwin Field. Garza's masterful performance added his name alongside Kirk Saarloos, Ted Silva and Longo Garcia as the only other Titans to toss a no-hitter in the program's 40-year history in NCAA Division I baseball. Saarloos was the last Titans pitcher to accomplish the feat, no-hitting Pacific on Apr. 9, 2001 in a 28-0 win over Pacific.
"With all the alumni and all the great players that have come through here and to have my name on that board is just a big honor," Garza said after the game. "I still can't believe it; right now it just feels like I'm floating and everything is not really real."
Garza's no-hitter also notched him the first complete-game of his career. The Ontario, Calif. native walked three and struck out 12, matching his career high. He struck out a batter in every inning except the sixth, where he induced a double play after the leadoff man got on base thanks to an error.
PITCHING AINT EASY, EXCEPT FOR THESE GUYS: This weekend's series will feature two of the top pitching staffs in the nation. The Titans enter the weekend leading the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 5.05 mark. Titans pitchers have fanned 212 batters while allowing just 42 free passes. Not to be outdone, CSUN's staff is currently leading the Big West Conference and is ranked third in the nation with a collective 2.11 ERA, coming in behind only Texas A&M (1.76 ERA) and Texas Christian (1.77 ERA). CSUN has six pitchers that have made at least three starts this season and none of them has an ERA over 2.84.
CLOSE EDGE: The Titans are now 5-4 this season in one-run games following their 4-3 victory over Nebraska on Wednesday. Last season, the Titans led the nation with 26 one-run games. They went 13-13 in those contests.
