Game 32-34
Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Davis
Date: April 15-17
Time: Friday 7 p.m., Saturday 6 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Goodwin Field
Video: Friday (ESPN3), Sat.-Sun. (BigWest.TV)
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com
Audio: FullertonTitans.com
Series Record: Cal State Fullerton Leads 29-4
Game 35
Cal State Fullerton at CSU Bakersfield
Date: April 19
Time: Tuesday 6 p.m.
Location: Bakersfield, Calif.
Venue: Hardt Field
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com
Series Record: Cal State Fullerton Leads 2-1
FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton hosts UC Davis for a three-game set this weekend before heading up to Bakersfield for a midweek contest on Tuesday.
CATCH ALL THE ACTION:
Fans can follow the action for all three of this weekend's games with live stats, live audio and a live video stream through BigWest.TV. All links can be found on FullertonTitans.com.
ARMED FORCES DAY:
Sunday's game against UC Davis will be Armed Forces Day at Goodwin Field. Free admission to military, past and present. There will also be a pregame ceremony with a helicopter landing at the field and a veteran throwing out the first pitch!
GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL:
Fans attending this weekend's games against UC Davis will receive a Titans Baseball Card set while supplies last!
WORLDWIDE LEADER:
Friday night's game against UC Davis will air on ESPN3 with Sam Farber and Denny Hocking on the call with Megan Reza as the on-field reporter.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow @BaseballTitans on Twitter for daily updates during the 2016 season. Fullerton baseball is also on Instagram, so make sure to follow the 2016 team all season @CSF_TitansBaseball.
POLL POSITION:
The Titans were not ranked or receiving votes in any of the five major college baseball polls this week.
RPI WATCH:
Despite going .500 in four games last week, the Titans were No. 43 in this week NCAA RPI rating, an 11-spot jump from last week's No. 55 rating in the initial rating.
CSF vs. UC DAVIS • ALL-TIME SERIES
First Year Played/Last Year Played: 2005/ 2015
Overall Record: 29-4
Current Streak: Won 2
Overall Conference (Big West) Record: 21-3
Home Record: 12-3
Road Record: 17-1
Neutral Record: 0-0
Longest Winning Streak: 16 games (04/27/08 to 04/06/14)
Longest Losing Streak: 1 game, 3 times (last on 04/10/15)
Extra Innings: 0-0
Most Runs Scored in a Game: 23 runs (04/02/10)
Most Runs Scored in a Game by Opponent: 8 runs (04/15/07)
Largest Margin of Victory: 16 runs, 2 times (last on 04/02/10)
Largest Margin of Defeat: 2 runs (04/04/14)
UC DAVIS NOTES:
The Titans host the Aggies at Goodwin Field in a three-game series for just the sixth time in the program's history. Fullerton has never lost consecutive games to UC Davis since the teams first played each other in April 2005. The Aggies have taken a game from the Titans in the last two series' they have played. Prior to the Aggies' 3-1 win on April 4, 2014, the Titans had won 16 straight games against UC Davis including seven straight at home. The Titans have scored two runs or fewer in all four lifetime losses against the Aggies.
Other Aggies Notes:
• The Aggies have lost five of six games to begin Big West Conference play. They were swept this past weekend by first-place Hawai'i, getting outscored 18-7 in the three-game set.
• Mark Cardinalli leads the Aggies with a .362 batting average in 24 games played while Cameron Olson is the other player with an average above .300 (.308).
• Aggies Friday night starter Robert Garcia will be making his fourth start of the season this weekend. He is currently 1-1 with a 1.32 ERA and leads the team with 41 innings pitched. Opponents are batting .171 against him and he has struck out 43 batters with just 12 walks on the season.
TITANS AND THE BIG WEST:
Overall, Cal State Fullerton has posted a dominant 732-256-1 (.740) conference record over 42 seasons. Rick Vanderhook, the school's fifth Div. I head coach, has compiled a 77-28 Big West Conference record in his five seasons at the helm and won consecutive conference titles in 2012 and 2013. He helped lead the Titans to another title in 2015, 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 28 conference titles.
A further breakdown has the Titans winning three PCAA conference championships (1975-76, 1987), eight straight SCBA titles (1977-84), and 17 while playing under the Big West name (1990-91, 94-95, 1997, 1999-2001, 2004-06, 2008, 2010-13, 2015). The Big West absorbed the PCAA records in 1990 upon its formation, giving the Titans 20 total Big West championships and a 556-210-1 (.725; 34 years) PCAA/Big West Conference record.
PICKED TO WIN IT:
Cal State Fullerton was selected as the favorite to win the 2016 Big West titles as selected by the nine conference head coaches in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll. The Titans received four first-place votes and 71 points overall. UC Irvine received one first-place vote and 65 points. Long Beach State garnered three first-place votes and 62 points overall to slot in at third while UC Santa Barbara was picked fourth with 60 points overall. CSUN (44), Cal Poly (43), Hawai'i (27), UC Riverside (17), and UC Davis (16) round out the poll.
2016 Coaches Poll Results
1. Cal State Fullerton (4) - 71
2. UC Irvine (1) - 65
3. Long Beach State (3) - 62
4. UC Santa Barbara (1) - 60
5. CSUN - 44
6. Cal Poly - 43
7. Hawai'i - 27
8. UC Riverside - 17
9. UC Davis – 16
( ) First Place Vote
CSF vs. CSU BAKERSFIELD • ALL-TIME SERIES
First Year Played/Last Year Played: 2013/ 2015
Overall Record: 2-1
Current Streak: Lost 1
Home Record: 2-0
Road Record: 0-1
Neutral Record: 0-0
Longest Winning Streak: 2 games (02/17/13 to 03/18/15)
Longest Losing Streak: 1 game (04/22/15)
Extra Innings: 0-0
Most Runs Scored in a Game: 11 runs (03/18/15)
Most Runs Scored in a Game by Opponent: 14 runs (04/22/15)
Largest Margin of Victory: 11 runs (03/18/15)
Largest Margin of Defeat: 13 runs (04/22/15)
CSU BAKERSFIELD NOTES:
The Titans will head to Hardt Field for the second time ever and first since they suffered a 14-1 drubbing at the hands of the Roadrunners last season. The defeat was Fullerton's worst loss of the season in 2015. But the Titans recovered following that defeat as they ran off 14 wins in the final 17 games after the loss at Hardt Field to propel the Titans to a Big West Conference title and another NCAA Postseason berth.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS:
The Titans have not lost a game played on a Friday this season. They are 7-0 in Friday games this season, outscoring opponents 40-16 in Friday games. Fullerton has been held to three runs or less just twice in those seven games and the Titans have won by an average of 3.3 runs per game.
COUNT T(W)O THREE:
The Titans have never scored less than three runs in the 29 all-time victories against UC Davis. In fact, the Titans have won by two or more runs 27 times over the Aggies, with just two one-run wins on April 15, 2007 and April 3, 2010.
BRAVO GETTING ON:
Jerrod Bravo has reached base in 11 straight games, pushing his overall on-base percentage to .333 after a rough start. The Titans infielder's bat has also picked up a bit in conference play as he is batting .357 with five runs scored and three RBIs in six Big West contests. He has also walked five times and been hit by a pitch once, good for a .524 on-base percentage in conference play.
PINKSTON CONTINUES TO HIT:
Tanner Pinkston has been batting .368 (14-for-38) in his last 10 games and scored a team-high 11 runs with five doubles during that stretch. He had a seven-game hitting streak snapped Friday night at Cal Poly but tallied hits in the last two games of the series. Pinkston has reached base in 11 straight games. In conference games, Pinkston is second on the team with a .364 batting average and has three doubles and five runs scored to lead the team.
BAUM-ING RUN:
Cal State Fullerton assistant coach Chad Baum is in his 10th season as an assistant with the Titans, serving stints from 2000-04 and again from 2012 to the present. Baum has been a part of 398 wins as a member of the Titans coaching staff and is just two away from 400 as an assistant coach with the Titans.
MENDOZA!:
Fullerton has split its eight weekend series this season. In the four series losses, the Titans have hit under .200 in three of the series with the only exception coming in the Maryland series on March 18-20. The Titans have had less than 20 combined hits in all three of those series losses.
PITCH AND DEFENSE:
The Titans pitching staff is currently ranked seventh in the nation with a 2.44 ERA. They have allowed 78 earned runs in 278 and 2/3 innings pitched and have given opposing batters fits as Fullerton has allowed the enemy to bat at just a .199 clip this season. The Titans are ranked second in the country in hits allowed per nine innings, allowing just 6.35 hits per game. Fullerton is also ranked second in the nation with a 1.00 WHIP, sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.27) and 10th in walks allowed per nine innings (2.48).
Meanwhile, Fullerton's defense has been outstanding this season and is currently ranked seventh in the nation in fielding percentage (.980). This season, the Titans have committed 23 errors in 1,180 chances.
CLOSE CALLS:
More than half of the Titans losses this season have come by one run. Fullerton has played 13 one-run games this year and is 5-8 in those contests, including a 1-0 loss in 10 innings on Saturday at Cal Poly. Fullerton also scored a one-run win at Cal Poly, a 2-1 decision in Friday night's opener.
SETTING THE TONE:
Cal State Fullerton has outscored its opponents 17-7 in the first inning of games this season and have put up at least one run in the opening frame 11 times. They are 8-3 when scoring in the first inning this season.
FIRST BLOOD:
The Titans are 13-3 when scoring first in a game and 5-10 when the opponent gets on the board first.
USING THE YARD STICK:
The Titans have blasted 15 home runs in 31 games this season after belting 20 in 64 games all of last year. Timmy Richards leads the way with five homers after belting his fifth on Sunday afternoon at Cal Poly. Chris Hudgins has gone yard three times while Josh Vargas has belted a pair of homers along with Dalton Blaser. Tanner Pinkston and Niko Pacheco each have one and freshman Ruben Cardenas added his name to the list on Sunday, belting a leadoff homer in the ninth inning on Sunday, his first career home run. Of the 15 homers, 11 have been hit at Goodwin Field. The Titans are 10-3 this year when hitting at least one home run in a game and are 4-6 when the opponent hits at least one homer. Fullerton's two homers on Sunday marked the second time this season the Titans have hit multiple homers in a game. They are now 1-1 in those games.
TITANS IN THE BIG LEAGUES - DEVENSKI BECOMES NO. 60:
The Titans have had 60 former players ascend to the major leagues since their first products, Dan Whitmer and Tim Wallach, got there in 1980. Chris Devenski became the latest to make his debut and the first of 2016, as he entered the game in relief for the Houston Astros on April 8. Devenski came into the game in the fourth inning with the Astros down 4-0 and went on to allow just one hit in four innings of work. He struck out four and made 38 pitches, 27 for strikes. The right-hander's debut came one day after he was called up from Triple-A Fresno. Dustin Garneau, Noe Ramirez, Michael Lorenzen and Danny Dorn all made their debuts in 2015. Former Titans Christian Colon (Kansas City Royals), Justin Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers), Kurt Suzuki (Minnesota Twins), Noe Ramirez (Boston Red Sox) and Khris Davis (Oakland Athletics) were each on their respective team's roster when the 2016 got underway on April 3.
