FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton is heading to the Los Angeles Regional hosted by UCLA for the fourth straight year to make their 29th NCAA Regional appearance. The Titans will be the three seed facing off against the number two seeded Missouri Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday to open up the weekend.
The Titans are currently riding a seven-game winning streak after sweeping UC Riverside to close out the season and clinch their fourth straight Big West crown. They finished the regular season with a 38-16 record overall and 18-3 in conference.
As a team, Fullerton hit .286 with 46 home runs and 257 runs scored. The 46 home runs are the most for the program since 2014 and more than the previous two seasons combined. The lineup is led by the Big West Player of the Year, Ari Williams, who has a .380 average for the season. The senior reached base in all 21 conference games becoming the first Titan to do so since 2002. Leadoff hitter Alexa Neil took home Co-Freshman Player of the Year ranks second on the team with a .348 batting average and leads the team with 43 runs scored. The third and final Titan above the .300 mark is freshman Daisy Munoz, who's hitting .310 for the season. Her eight home runs lead the team and is the most by a rookie since the record of 10 was set back in 1981 by Sue Lewis.
In the circle, the Titan pitching staff sports a 2.48 ERA with a .224 opponent average and 271 strikeouts in 359 innings of work. Freshman Pitcher of the Year, Dani Martinez, leads the way with a 1.82 ERA in a team-high 153.2 innings. Opponents are hitting just .175 against her, the lowest mark by a Titan pitcher since 2003. Sophie Frost has been the number two with a 2.65 ERA in 121.1 innings. Sophomore Taylor Dockins has been dominant as of late sporting a 0.84 ERA in 16.2 innings over her last three appearances.
Fullerton's first opponent will be the Missouri Tigers from the Southeastern Conference. They finished ninth in the SEC standings with a 32-23 overall record and were eliminated in the first round of the conference tournament.
Missouri has a team batting average of .286 with a mix of power and speed slugging 59 home runs and stealing 74 bases over the course of the season. They have three regulars hitting over .300 led by Brooke Wilmes' .355 mark. In the circle, they sport a 3.27 team ERA while opponents are hitting .251 against them. Madi Norman is the ace of the staff with a 2.98 ERA in 169 innings of work.
The host Bruins drew the number two overall seed and will take on Weber State in the second game of the weekend on Friday night. Fullerton faced both programs in the regular season defeating Weber State 1-0 at the Santa Clara tournament and fell to UCLA 5-1 in a midweek matchup at Easton Stadium.
LOS ANGELES REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, May 17
Game 1 – Cal State Fullerton vs. Missouri – 5:30 p.m. – ESPNU
Game 2 – Weber State vs. UCLA – 8 p.m. – ESPNU
Saturday, May 18
Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – 3:00 p.m. – ESPN Family of Networks
Game 4 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser – 5:30 p.m. – ESPN Family of Networks
Game 5 – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner – 8:00 p.m. – ESPN Family of Networks
Sunday, May 19
Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 2:00 p.m. – ESPN Family of Networks
Game 7 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (if necessary) – 4:30 p.m. – ESPN Family of Networks
SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitans.com/Tickets. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the softball team has established its own Twitter (@Fullerton_SB) and Instagram accounts (@Fullerton_SB).
