NCAA Starkville Regional
Date: June 3-6, 2016
Time: Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Location: Starkville, Miss.
Venue: Dudy Noble Field
TV/Video Stream: ESPN3/WatchESPN and ESPN Bases Loaded
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com
STARKVILLE, Miss. - No. 21 Cal State Fullerton will travel to the Starkville Regional hosted by Mississippi State for the 70th annual NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The No. 2 seeded Titans will face No. 3 seed Louisiana Tech Friday night. It will be the sixth time in the NCAA Super Regional Era (since 1999) that Fullerton travels for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2014, the Titans went 2-2 at the Stillwater Regional hosted by Oklahoma State.
The Starkville Regional, hosted by No. 6 national-seed Mississippi State, also features Southeast Missouri and is paired with the Lafayette Regional hosted by Louisiana Lafayette. That regional also features Arizona, Sam Houston State and Princeton.
TITANS HISTORY IN THE POSTSEASON:
Fullerton will make its 38th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 in 42 seasons at the NCAA Division I level. It is the Titans 25th straight postseason berth, the third longest active streak behind Miami, FL. (44) and Florida State (39).
The Titans have won 21 Regional Titles, including a national best 11 on the road (two each in Fresno and Baton Rouge and one each at USC, Austin, Starkville, Stillwater, South Bend, Tempe and San Diego). Prior to 2000, the Titans had never hosted a regional. Of the eight programs (Texas, Florida State, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma State, Clemson, Arizona State, Southern California, Cal State Fullerton) that have recorded 37-or-more Div. I baseball postseason appearances, the Titans are the only team to have never gone winless in Regional play. They have gone 0-2 only twice in a Super Regional (2008 & 2013) and six times in Omaha (1975, 1982, 1990, 2007, 2009 and 2015).
Cal State Fullerton's all-time NCAA record is 151-81 (.651) including Regional (99-41, .707); Super Regional (18-11, .620) play and 34-29 (.540) in Omaha.
ON THE ROAD TO OMAHA:
The Titans will be looking to win their first NCAA Regional on the road since 2007 when Fullerton swept through the San Diego Regional in 2007. They have lost their last two regionals on the road, going 1-2 at the Eugene Regional in 2012 and 2-2 at the Stillwater in 2014.
VIVA STARKVEGAS:
This weekend will mark the second time the Titans play a regional in Starkville. The 1988 Fullerton squad swept through the Starkville Regional, defeating Missouri (6-3), Mississippi State twice (5-1; 5-3 in 12 innings) and Texas A&M (6-3) en route to the NCAA College World Series. The Titans won their first two games in Omaha before falling to Stanford twice to end their season.
A BIT ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (NO. 3 SEED)
-Location: Ruston, Louisiana
-Coach: Greg Goff, third season
-Tournament Berth: The Bulldogs earned an at-large berth into the 2016 NCAA Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 40-18 overall record and a 19-11 mark in Conference-USA action. The Bulldogs finished fifth in the conference standings and lost to Rice in the semifinals of the Conference-USA Tournament.
-Series History: This will be the second all-time meeting between the Titans and Bulldogs and the first in nearly 30 years. Cal State Fullerton faced Louisiana Tech at the NCAA South Regional in New Orleans on May 23, 1987. Fullerton defeated the Bulldogs by the score of 11-0 in that game.
-The Bulldogs are batting .293 as a team this season, led by Raphael Gladu's .365 average.
A BIT ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (NO. 1 SEED; NO. 6 NATIONAL SEED)
-Location: Starkville, Mississippi
-Coach: John Cohen, eighth season
-Tournament Berth: The Bulldogs earned the No. 6 National Seed after winning the Southeastern Conference's regular season crown. They went 41-16-1 overall and 21-9 in conference play. The Bulldogs were defeated on the fourth day of the SEC Tournament, falling to Florida, 12-2, in seven innings.
-Series History: The Titans and Bulldogs have met six times since 1979, five of them in the NCAA Postseason. Cal State Fullerton has taken five straight contests from Mississippi State including a two-game sweep over the Bulldogs in the 2001 NCAA Super-Regionals at Goodwin Field. The Titans only loss to the Bulldogs came in the first ever meeting between the squads back on June 2, 1979 at the NCAA College World Series. The Titans would go on to win their first of four NCAA National Championships that year.
-In 2016, the Bulldogs won their 11th SEC regular-season conference title and first since 1989.
A BIT ABOUT SOUTHEAST MISSOURI (NO. 4 SEED)
-Location: Cape Girardeau, Missouri
-Coach: Steve Bieser, fourth season
-Tournament Berth: The Redhawks swept Jacksonville State to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and earn the automatic bid into the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The Redhawks finished the season with a 39-19 overall record and 22-8 mark on OVC play.
-Series History: Should the Titans meet the Redhawks at the Starkville Regional, it will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.
-Redhawks ace Joey Lucchesi leads the nation with 145 strikeouts in 105 and 2/3 innings pitched.
TITANS AND THE BIG WEST:
Cal State Fullerton claimed its 21st Big West Conference title in 2016, its second straight conference crown. The Titans have won six of the last seven Big West Championships. In the 2000s, Fullerton has won 12 of 17 Big West Conference titles. Overall, Cal State Fullerton has posted a dominant 745-261-1 (.740) conference record over 42 seasons. Rick Vanderhook, the school's fifth Div. I head coach, has compiled a 90-33 Big West Conference record in his five seasons at the helm and won consecutive conference titles during the 2015-16 and 2012-13 seasons. He has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, Augie Garrido (14). Larry Cochell (1), George Horton (7) and Dave Serrano (3). Overall, the Titans have won 29 conference titles.
A further breakdown has the Titans winning three PCAA conference championships (1975-76, 1987), eight straight SCBA titles (1977-84), and 18 while playing under the Big West name (1990-91, 94-95, 1997, 1999-2001, 2004-06, 2008, 2010-13, 2015-16). The Big West absorbed the PCAA records in 1990 upon its formation, giving the Titans 21 total Big West championships and a 569-215-1 (.725; 34 years) PCAA/Big West Conference record.
CONTINUED EXCELLENCE:
The Titans beat UC Riverside on May 8 for their 30th win of the season. Fullerton has won 30-plus games in each of its 42 seasons at the Div. I level and are tied for third in the nation when it comes to most consecutive 30-win campaigns. The only Titan team to win as few as 30 games was the 1989 squad skippered by Larry Cochell. The Titans clinched a winning season on Friday night and have never had a losing season at the Div. I level. Fullerton comes in tied for third with Clemson and behind Arizona State and Miami.
Consecutive 30+ win seasons (active)
1. Arizona State - 54
2. Miami, Fla. - 46
3. Cal State Fullerton - 42
Clemson - 42
BIG WEST ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS:
Seven Titans were selected to the 2016 Big West All-Conference Team, the conference announced on June 1. Senior Dalton Blaser was named the Big West Conference Field Player of the Year, the second straight season a Titans player has earned at least a share of the award. Freshman Colton Eastman was named the Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year. Both also earned spots on the First Team along with first baseman Tanner Pinkston. Jerrod Bravo, Timmy Richards, Connor Seabold and Scott Serigstad each earned All-Big West Second-Team selections while John Gavin and Dylan Prohoroff each received Honorable Mention.
In addition, head coach Rick Vanderhook was named the Big West Conference Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his five seasons at the helm of the Titans. It was also his second straight coach of the year award.
FRESHMAN SENSATION:
Right-hander Colton Eastman earned his second Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week Award of the 2016 season on May 30 after having his best start of the year. He went a career-high eight and 1/3 innings on May 28 at Long Beach State, holding the Dirtbags to just one run on four hits and striking out nine to help Fullerton clinch the outright conference title and automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. He allowed just one base runner through six innings, retiring nine straight at one point.
This season, Eastman led the Titans with eight wins, 94 innings pitched and a 2.11 ERA. He was second on the team during the regular season with 93 strikeouts. Opponents hit just .211 against him, the second lowest mark on the team amongst starting pitchers.
BLAS-ING SADDLES:
Senior Dalton Blaser led the Titans this season with a .362 batting average, playing in 55 of the team's 56 games in 2016. He led the team in hits (71), RBIs (38), walks (28), slugging percentage (.495) and on-base percentage (.441). He was also very tough to strike out, doing so once every 10.9 at-bats, a mark which ranks fifth in the Big West and 111th in the country going into the NCAA Postseason. Blaser wreaked havoc on Big West competition this season, batting .419 (36-for-86) in 24 conference games. He posted a 1.078 OPS (.593 slg/.485 obp) in Big West play and tallied at least one hit in 14 of the last 16 conference games. He had 12 multi-hit games in conference play and drove in three or more runs three times in conference.
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD:
Sophomore Connor Seabold led the Titans with 94 strikeouts and issued just seven walks in 81 and 2/3 innings in 2016. His 13.43 strikeout-to-walk ratio led the Big West and ranks second in the nation behind Houston's Andrew Lantrip (16.80). Seabold's 0.77 walks allowed per nine innings average also ranks second in the nation behind Lantrip (0.50).
MORE PITCHING:
The Titans pitching staff is ranked first in the nation with a 2.21 ERA, 27 points better than second-place Houston. The Titans have allowed 125 earned runs in 508 and 2/3 innings pitched. This season, they allowed just one earned run in a three-game sweep of Wichita State and three earned in a sweep of UC Davis and three earned in the Big West Conference series at Long Beach State. In addition, the Titans are ranked first in the country in hits allowed per nine innings, allowing just 6.79 hits per game. Fullerton is also ranked first in the nation with a 1.03 WHIP, fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.39) and seventh in walks allowed per nine innings (2.51).
Colton Eastman (2.11, 39th), John Gavin (2.16, 41st), Blake Quinn (2.31, 64th) and Connor Seabold (2.42, 84th) are all ranked in the top-100 in the country in ERA. Quinn (9th, 5.49), Gavin (41st, 6.59) and Eastman (47th, 6.70) are also ranked in the top-50 in hits allowed per nine innings.
NOT SO TINY TIM:
Shortstop Timmy Richards entered the 2016 season with just one career home run under his belt. This year, Richards led the team with nine round-trippers. He batted .284 overall in 52 games played and had 12 doubles, one triple and 31 RBIs. He was second on the team with a .481 slugging percentage and third on the squad with 37 runs scored.
TANNER PINKSTON:
Titans' first baseman Tanner Pinkston played in 54 games and had not missed a start for the team this season before suffering a dislocated elbow in the third inning on a play at first base. He missed his first game of the season on May 24 against USC but did play in the first two games at Long Beach State. He hit .335 during the 2016 season for the Titans, leading the team with 16 doubles and 43 runs scored. He also tied for second on the team with 31 RBIs and tallied 69 hits.
PAV RAKES:
Jake Pavletich made his Titans debut as a pinch-hitter on April 17 against UC Davis, getting a hit in his first career at-bat. The hits have not stopped for Pavletich as he put together a 14-game hitting streak, one that was snapped on May 27 at Long Beach State. Pavletich appeared in 17 games for the Titans this season including 13 straight starts at third base before checking in as the designated hitter in the season finale on May 28. Prior to May 27, the only game where he didn't register a hit came on April 22 against UNLV when he entered solely as a defensive substitution at first base and did not register an at-bat. Pavletich is currently batting .377 (20-for-53) and has seven RBI. He has four multi-hit games including his first career three-hit game on May 14 at UC Santa Barbara, where he recorded his first multi-RBI game by driving in two in the Titans lopsided 18-2 win against the Gauchos.
WHY WAIT?:
Cal State Fullerton has outscored its opponents 36-13 in the first inning of games this season and has put up at least one run in the opening frame 23 times. They are 19-4 when scoring in the first inning this season.
FIRST BLOOD:
The Titans are 25-6 when scoring first in a game and 10-15 when the opponent gets on the board first.
YOU DON'T SCORE UNTIL YOU SCORE:
This season, the Titans are just 4-14 when scoring two runs or less in a game. However, the Titans have lost 10 times when holding opponents to score two runs or less.
GOING, GOING, GONE:
The Titans have blasted 25 home runs in 56 games this season after belting 20 in 64 games last year. They hit three home runs on May 8 against UC Riverside, marking the first time the Titans hit three in a game since 2013. Overall, Timmy Richards leads the way this season with nine homers. Dalton Blaser has four homers while Chris Hudgins has gone yard three times along with freshman Ruben Cardenas. Josh Vargas has belted a pair of homers along with Tanner Pinkston. Niko Pacheco and Jerrod Bravo each have one. Of the 25 homers, 19 have been hit at Goodwin Field. The Titans are 16-4 this year when hitting at least one home run in a game and are 10-7 when the opponent hits at least one homer.
THOSE WHO FALL BEHIND, GET LEFT BEHIND:
The Titans have been nearly unbeatable when holding a lead late in a game. Fullerton is 31-1 when leading after six innings, 32-2 when ahead after seven innings and 33-1 when leading after eight innings.
PLAYING ALL THE HITS:
Fullerton has out-hit its opponent on 35 occasions this season and holds a 32-3 record when that happens. It's a much different story when the Titans are out hit in a game as the team is winless this year on those occasions, holding an 0-16 record. The Titans are 3-2 this year when the hits are tied.
CLOSE CALLS:
Fullerton has played 20 one-run games this year and is 8-12 in those contests.
