IRVINE, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton has been picked to win their fifth consecutive Big West Championship per the conference's preseason coaches' poll. The results were announced on Wednesday.
The Titans are coming off another fantastic season where they finished 38-18 overall and 18-3 in conference. It was the second consecutive season that Fullerton did not lose a conference series marking 14 straight Big West series victories as well as 25 of the last 28 dating back to the 2016 season. The team would go on to their 29th NCAA Regional appearance, and fourth straight at UCLA, but would be eliminated after back-to-back losses against Missouri and Weber State.
Last year changed up the record books a bit as the Titans posted their best fielding percentage in program history (.975) to go along with their fifth best mark in both home runs (48) and slugging percentage (.445). Head Coach Kelly Ford became the first coach in Big West history to win four straight Coach of the Year awards while Ari Williams (Player of the Year), Dani Martinez (Freshman Pitcher of the Year), and Alexa Neil (Co-Freshman Field Player of the Year) also took home individual awards.
The 2020 squad will look very similar to last year as the team returns 19 letterwinners, eight of which were in the starting lineup to go along with seven newcomers. Among the new faces on the team are Megan Delgadillo, who ranks in Flo Softball's Hot 100; Alyssa Hernandez, who hit .364 for Team Mexico in the U-19 Women's Softball World Cup; and Adriana Otero, a junior transfer who helped Team Puerto Rico to a bronze medal in the Pan-American Games.
Fullerton's 62 points (six first place votes) in the poll beat out Long Beach State's 54 points (two first place votes). Third place went to last year's runner-up, Hawaii, who received 46 points. CSUN and UC Davis came out in the middle of the pack with 37 points and 30 points, respectively. UC Riverside (28 points), Cal Poly (17 points), and UC Santa Barbara (14 points) round out the rest of the standings.
Coaches' Poll Results
1. Cal State Fullerton – 62 (6)
2. Long Beach State – 54 (2)
3. Hawai'i - 46
4. CSUN - 37
5. UC Davis - 30
6. UC Riverside - 28
7. Cal Poly - 17
8. UC Santa Barbara - 14
The Titans will open up their season on Thursday, February 6 at 6:00 p.m. against Middle Tennessee and begin conference play with a doubleheader against rival Long Beach on Saturday, March 28.
Don't forget to join us at the team's Leadoff Social Fundraiser on Saturday, February 1. To register, click HERE.
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.
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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).