June 8, 2007

FULLERTON, CA - Junior outfielder Clark Hardman was selected in the ninth round on Friday morning and was joined by eight other Cal State Fullerton players selected on the second day of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Draft in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The nine players selected on Friday closes the Titans' draft class at 10 selections in 2007 after junior Wes Roemer was the 50th overall pick by Arizona on Thursday. The 10 players selected is tied for fifth all-time in school history with the 1985 draft class and surpasses the nine players selected last season.

Hardman (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Mission Viejo HS) was taken with the 277th overall pick by the Chicago Cubs with the third pick in the ninth round. Entering this weekend's play, the junior leads the Titans with a .389 average to go with four home runs, 14 doubles, and 44 RBI.

He was named the Most Valuable Player of last weekend's regional tournament in San Diego and was earlier named to the Easton All-Big West Conference First Team.

Senior Evan McArthur (Medford, Ore./Eastern Arizona CC) followed Hardman in the 11th round, taken with the 344th overall pick by the San Francisco Giants.

Senior catcher John Curtis (Newhall, Calif./Hart HS) was the first of three Titans to be selected by the Chicago White Sox, going in the 14th round with the 449th overall selection. He is joined by junior outfielder Nick Mahin (16th round - 509th overall) and junior right-hander Justin Klipp (22nd round - 689th overall) as White Sox selections.

Curtis ranks fourth on the team with a .275 average and was named to the all-conference honorable mention squad on May 29.

Mahin ranks third on the team with a .288 average with team-high's in home runs (9) and RBI (45). Klipp is 2-0 with a team-best 2.15 ERA in 19 appearances with 28 strikeouts in 37.2 innings. He is holding opponents to a .218 average in 2007.

Junior outfielder Jared Clark (Castaic, Calif./Valencia HS) was a 21st-round selection of the Cleveland Indians, taken with the 647th pick overall. Clark has missed the entire 2007 season due to injury after hitting .277 in 59 games as a sophomore.

Senior pitcher/infielder Bryan Harris (Tustin, Calif./LSU) and junior catcher/infielder Matt Wallach (Yorba Linda, Calif./Cypress College) were both taken in the 22nd round by Seattle and the Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively.

Harris, the 675th overall pick, is hitting .250 in 50 at-bats on the year while going 2-2 with a 3.08 ERA and a pair of saves on the mound.

Wallach, pressed into duty at first base after the injury to Jake Vasquez, is hitting .254 with four home runs and 25 RBI in his first season of Division I ball.

Sophomore infielder Joe Scott rounded out the Titans' draft class, taken in the 39th round by Milwaukee. He is hitting .247 with 33 runs scored and 24 RBI while starting all 59 games for Fullerton this season.

Cal State Fullerton returns to action this weekend as the Titans host UCLA in the best-of-three super regional round at Goodwin Field. Saturday's opener begins at 4 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ESPN. Sunday's game two is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first pitch on ESPN2 while Monday's game three, if necessary, will start at 4 p.m., also on ESPN2.

* denotes compensatory round pick