1995 BASEBALL TEAM
Baseball / Inducted Oct. 11, 2013
Long-time fans of the College World Series in Omaha are familiar with the tournament’s moniker of the “Greatest Show on Dirt.” Today we profile the team that, perhaps, put on the “greatest show” that dirt has ever seen: the 1995 Cal State Fullerton baseball team.
Labeled as a “rebuilding year” by Head Coach Augie Garrido prior to the start of the season after finishing the previous year with 47 wins and a trip to Omaha, the Titans ran roughshod through their schedule in 1995, enduring only one losing “streak” of three games during the campaign before rattling off 18 consecutive victories en route to a 57-9 overall record -- still the best record in school history (.864 winning percentage) -- and a Big West Conference title with a 18-3 mark. Fullerton won everything possible that season: a regular season tournament (the Anaheim Hilton and Towers Classic), a regular season conference title (its 17th), the Big West postseason conference tournament, NCAA Regionals in Baton Rouge, and the College World Series for its third national title.
Led by National Coach of the Year Garrido (Cal State Fullerton Athletics Hall of Fame inductee - Class of 2005) and the likes of Golden Spikes Award Winner and CWS Most Outstanding Player Mark Kotsay (Cal State Fullerton Athletics Hall of Fame inductee - Class of 2007), Brian Loyd, and Ted Silva, in the lineup, the ’95 Titans became the first No. 1 seed to win the College World Series, outscoring the championship field by a combined total of 39-11 -- including a trio of 11-run games. The run culminated in an 11-5 victory over Southern California rival, and 11-time national champion, USC in the title game.