BRIEFLY: A "nasty" lefty with perhaps the best stuff of any pitcher on the Titans' staff • Might have been looked over just a bit as one of the most dominating pitchers in the conference last year trailing behind hurlers like Jason Windsor and Long Beach State's Jered Weaver • Named as a first-team preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA and a second teamer by Baseball America.

TITANS `04: Was second in the conference with 14 victories, trailing only Long Beach State's Jered Weaver (15) • His 155 innings pitched were second both on the team and in the conference behind teammate Jason Windsor's 162.2 • All of his 22 appearances were starts • Had the best winning percentage (.778) of any Titan pitcher • Named Big West Pitcher of the Week and Kia Bash Most Outstanding Pitcher (Mar.1) after hurling a complete-game four-hitter against Georgia Tech on Feb. 28 • Tied a season-high with 12 stikeouts in that game • Threw back-to-back complete games against Houston (Feb. 21) and Georgia Tech (Feb. 28), allowing only one run in 18 innings while striking out 22 • Threw a complete game shutout on Apr. 9 vs. Pacific, scattering only four hits in the 13-0 win • Was 5-0 in his last six decisions including two wins at the College World Series, and one each in the Regional and Super Regional • Pitched at least 6 innings in each of his last 12 games and at least 7 innings in 10 of those games • Was named to the All-Big West Conference second team • Was named to the College World Series All-Tournament team after going 2-0 in 15.2 innings (including a complete game vs. Miami on Jun. 21) while striking out 15 • Was 3-1 with a 1.57 ERA while pitching for Team USA last summer.

TITANS '03: Was an outstanding middle reliever and spot starter as a true freshman, but did not see as many innings as he might have otherwise because of the Titans' exceptional depth • Allowed two runs or less in 19 of his 23 outings • Was 2-0 with a 0.99 ERA and .157 batting average against in 12 outings at Goodwin Field • Had a 1.00 ERA from the seventh inning on (18.0 innings) • Held opponents to a .200 average with runners on base • Did not allow a home run in his first 32.2 innings of work (over 13 appearances) • Pitched a three-hit shutout and struck out 14 (the most by a Titan in three years and the most by any Big West pitcher in 2003) vs. Pacific on Apr. 5, but started just one more game • Earned his first win (vs. Tulane) on just two pitches when the Titans rallied in the ninth • Pitched a third of an inning in the Titans' last game of the season vs. Stanford on June 18, his first outing in five weeks.

ROOSEVELT H.S.: Posted a dominant senior season for Roosevelt H.S., where he played for Coach Scott Pearson • Attended Garfield H.S. his first three years • As a senior, he was named the L.A. City Section co-Player of the Year and the Eastern League co-MVP • Posted a 12-1 record along with a 0.53 ERA and 162 strikeouts (and just 27 walks) in 80 innings while opponents batted just .110 • Led all Southern California in strikeouts and struck out at least 10 batters in every start • Hurled nine complete games and two shutouts, including a no-hitter against his former school, Garfield, in which he recorded 14 of 15 outs by strikeouts (the game was shortened to five innings due to the mercy rule) • Tossed a one-hitter and fanned 17 in an eight-inning win over Narbonne • Was a second-team all-city selection as a junior for Garfield • Graduated with a 3.8 grade point average and high honors.

PERSONAL: Born on Nov. 6, 1984, in Los Angeles, Calif. • Parents are Ricardo and Sandra Romero • Has two younger sisters (Sandy and Vanessa) and a younger brother (Gabriel) • Majoring in kinesiology • If he won the lottery, he would buy a house for his parents • Was one of four Titans on the Long Beach Cardinals, which captured the Connie Mack World Series championship in Farmington, N.M. in 2002 • Has been wearing No. 10 since he was a freshman in high school • As a superstition he wears his socks high and doesn't wash his game hat • Hopes to be a baseball coach if he doesn't play professionally • Would like to see Miami added to Fullerton's schedule • Selected by Boston in the 37th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball first-year player draft • Full name is Ricardo Romero Jr. • Favorites ... Randy Johnson and Johan Santana (players), Los Angeles Dodgers (team), tacos de carne asada (food), Remember the Titans (movie), Denzel Washington (actor), titansports.org (web site).