LOOK MA! I'M ON TV: The first two games of the Titans series against defending Big West Conference champions Cal Poly will be broadcast on ESPN3. Overall, the Titans will appear seven times on the ESPN family of networks including five on ESPN3. Games can be streamed online or on a mobile device courtesy of the WatchESPN app.
CATCH ALL THE ACTION: Aside from the ESPN3 coverage, the first two games of the Titans series against Cal Poly will also have a live audio feed and live stats. Saturday's finale will be live streamed along with the audio and live stats options. All links can be found on the baseball schedule page at FullertonTitans.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow @BaseballTitans on Twitter for daily updates during the 2015 season. Fullerton baseball is also now on Instagram, so make sure to follow the 2015 team all season @CSF_TitansBaseball.
COLLECT THEM ALL: A predetermined number of baseball card sets will be given away to the earliest fans attending each game of the Titans series against Cal Poly.
CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?: The Titans will hold their second autograph session of the season following Saturday's finale against Cal Poly. Players will be signing free posters for all fans in attendance while supplies last.
BACK HOME FOR ONE HOT MINUTE: The Titans return home this weekend after going 4-4 on an eight-game road trip that saw Fullerton head to Long Beach, Nebraska and CSUN. The homecoming will be short-lived however as the Titans will embark on a season-long nine-game road trip following the Cal Poly series beginning with a non-conference affair at Fowler Park on Tuesday against San Diego.
CSF vs. Cal Poly • ALL-TIME SERIES
First Year Played/Last Year Played 1984/2014
Overall Record 54-16
Current Streak Lost 3
Overall Conference (Big West) Record 45-16
Big West Conference Tournament Record 1-0
Home Record 32-4
Road Record 21-12
Neutral Record 1-0
Longest Winning Streak 11 games (4/13/84 to 5/3/97)
Longest Losing Streak 3 games (4/17/02 to present)
Extra Innings 1-1
Most Runs Scored in a Game 27 runs (5/1/04)
Most Runs Scored in a Game by Opponent 14 runs (5/4/97)
Largest Margin of Victory 25 runs (5/1/04)
Largest Margin of Defeat 10 runs (5/4/97)
CAL POLY NOTES: Cal Poly (9-16), which has won or split three of its last four series after a 1-6 start, including series wins over Pacific and No. 19 Oregon State, opens defense of its 2014 Big West Conference championship Thursday night with the first of three games against Cal State Fullerton (14-13) at Goodwin Field.
• Cal Poly returned 19 lettermen, including six position starters and seven pitchers (three of the four starters), off the 2014 squad which posted a school-record 47 victories, claimed its first Big West Conference title and earned its third NCAA regional appearance in the last six years, hosting a regional for the first time.
• Cal Poly has played near .500 baseball since the 1-6 start, though its entire three-game series at TCU was wiped out by a record three-inch snowfall and icy conditions at the end of February. The Mustangs earned their first series win of the year at Pacific in early March, split a four-game series against Sacramento State, won one of three games against No. 8 USC and claimed a series win at No. 19 Oregon State last weekend. Cal Poly dropped a 10-inning 9-8 decision at Pepperdine on Tuesday as Chris Fornaci homered leading off the bottom of the 10th for the Waves.
• Cal Poly's 2015 roster is led by junior second baseman Mark Mathias, the 2014 Big West Field Player of the Year with a .386 batting average who has earned numerous preseason All-America honors. Mathias underwent labrum surgery on his right shoulder Dec. 2 and returned to the lineup five weeks ago as a designated hitter, going 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and three runs scored against CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 24. Hitting .338 through 17 games with hits in each of his first 11 games, Mathias started at second base for the first time Tuesday at Pepperdine.
• Junior Peter Van Gansen returns to anchor the middle infield at shortstop while junior Brian Mundell, Cal Poly's designated hitter the last two years, takes over at first base this spring. Senior Jordan Ellis returns for another season in center field while senior Zack Zehner, drafted in the seventh round by Toronto last June, has moved from left field to right field this spring to replace Torres.
• Cal Poly's pitching staff is led by junior Casey Bloomquist (12-2, 1.56 ERA a year ago), another preseason All-American, along with sophomores Justin Calomeni (8-2, 3.68 ERA) and Slater Lee (3-2, 6.20 ERA). All are right-handers. Replacing Reilly as the Mustangs' closer is senior southpaw Taylor Chris (4-1, 1.61 ERA, 5 saves), who allowed just one earned run in 27 Big West innings a year ago.
• Sophomore catcher Brett Barbier, junior first baseman Brian Mundell and senior center fielder Jordan Ellis all had five hits in the Oregon State series. Senior right fielder Zack Zehner added a pair of home runs while junior right fielder John Schuknecht hit a grand slam and knocked in six runs in the series. The Mustangs hit 294 in the series, outhit Oregon State in each game, compiled a 2.08 staff ERA and did not commit an error.
• Van Gansen currently sports a .382 batting average, second in the Big West, with six doubles, two triples and 14 RBI and also leads the Mustangs with nine multiple-hit contests. He has collected a hit in 20 of Cal Poly's 25 games, has reached base safely in 24 of 25 contests and takes a 10-game hitting streak into Thursday's game. Mathias has a .338 mark while Mundell is hitting .362. Zehner sports a .255 average with a team-leading five home runs and 25 RBI in 25 games, while senior outfielder Jordan Ellis has a .296 mark with a five-game hitting streak and a pair of four-hit games this season.
TITANS AND THE BIG WEST: Overall, Cal State Fullerton has posted a dominant 711-250-1 (.739) conference record over 40 seasons. Rick Vanderhook, the school's fifth Div. I head coach, has compiled a 56-22 Big West Conference record in his three seasons at the helm and won consecutive conference titles in 2012 and 2013, following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Augie Garrido (14). Larry Cochell (1), George Horton (7) and Dave Serrano (3). Overall, the Titans have won 27 conference titles.
A further breakdown has the Titans winning three PCAA conference championships (1975-76, 1987), eight straight SCBA titles (1977-84), and 16 while playing under the Big West name (1990-91, 94-95, 1997, 1999-2001, 2004-06, 2008, 2010-13). The Big West absorbed the PCAA records in 1990 upon its formation, giving the Titans 19 total Big West championships and a 535-204 (.723; 32 years) PCAA/Big West Conference record.
PICKED TO WIN IT: Cal State Fullerton was picked as the favorite to win the 2015 Big West title as selected by the nine conference head coaches that voted in the Big West Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll. The Titans received five of the nine first-place votes and 74 points overall, edging 2014 Big West Conference champions Cal Poly, which received three first-place votes and 73 points overall. UC Santa Barbara claimed the third spot, receiving the final first-place vote and 62 points overall while UC Irvine (56 points) and Long Beach State (48 points) rounded out the top five spots.
THE CHAMPS ARE HERE: This weekend's series will feature the last two conference champions as the Titans won four straight Big West titles from 2010-13 with Cal Poly claiming the crown in 2014. The Titans defeated the Mustangs in eight of 12 meetings during their title runs but Cal Poly recorded its first ever sweep of the Titans in 2014.
CSF vs. SAN DIEGO • ALL-TIME SERIES
First Year Played/Last Year Played 1976/2015
Overall Record 53-12-2
Current Streak Lost 4
Overall Conference (SCBA) Record 20-3-1
NCAA Regional Record 1-0
Overall NCAA Postseason Record 1-0
Home Record 33-6-1
Road Record 18-5-1
Neutral Record 2-0
Longest Winning Streak 16 games (4/7/87 to 3/2/97)
Longest Losing Streak 4 games (3/5/13 to present)
Extra Innings 3-1-1
Most Runs Scored in a Game 17 runs, 2 times (last on 4/9/91)
Most Runs Scored in a Game by Opponent 11 runs, 2 times (last on 4/4/81)
Largest Margin of Victory 17 runs (4/9/91)
Largest Margin of Defeat 5 runs (3/17/87)
LAST TIME VS. THE TOREROS: The Titans hosted San Diego for a midweek contest back on March 10 that saw the Toreros score a 9-4 victory at Goodwin Field. It was San Diego's fourth straight win over Fullerton. The Titans had their seven-game winning streak snapped while the Toreros recorded their fifth consecutive win over a ranked opponent at the time. Fullerton managed just three hits on the day courtesy of Jake Jefferies, Chris Hudgins and Turner Buis, who made his first career appearance for the Titans this season. San Diego got the bulk of their runs in the first inning, putting up a four-spot off Titans starter Kyle Murray. Jerod Smith walked to lead off the game and moved over to second on a passed ball. He advanced to third on a Jesse Jenner single to left and scored on a single by Colton Waltner, putting the Toreros up 1-0. A strikeout later, Ryan Kirby deposited the first pitch he saw from Murray over the right field fence for a three-run shot to give the visitors a quick 4-0 lead. The Titans scored a run on four walks in the second inning but the Toreros got that run back in the fifth to make it 5-1 through five innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the Titans got back into the game after Jefferies was hit by a pitch and then Hudgins followed with a double to left. Tanner Pinkston and Dalton Blaser each had RBI groundouts to trim the Toreros lead to 5-3, bringing up Buis with two away. Buis jumped on the first pitch he saw and launched it over the right-field wall for his first career-hit, a solo home run to make it 5-4. But the Toreros added an insurance run in the eighth and three more in the ninth to put the game away.
VERSUS THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE: The Titans currently hold a 297-104-3 record against teams currently in the West Coast Conference. The Titans have faced the Toreros 67 times and hold a dominant 53-12-2 record against San Diego. However, the Toreros have won the last four against Fullerton and swept the Titans in two games last season, the first time San Diego has ever swept a season series against Fullerton. Overall, the Titans have a winning record against every team in the West Coast Conference with their best mark coming against Pacific (83-12).
THURSDAY IS THE NEW FRIDAY: Game one of the series between the Titans and Mustangs will feature two of the top pitchers in the conference as Thomas Eshelman takes the hill for the Titans while Casey Bloomquist will pitch for the Mustangs. Both pitchers are coming off victories in their previous starts with Eshelman going eight innings in a 5-3 win at CSUN. Bloomquist had possibly his best start of the year, pitching his first complete-game of the season and holding Oregon State to one run on four hits. He only notched three strikeouts but needed just 96 pitches to finish the game.
Overall, Eshelman is 3-2 with a 1.93 ERA with 58 strikeouts and four walks in 51 and 1/3 innings pitched while Bloomquist is 2-2 with a 3.08 ERA. He has 33 strikeouts and 14 walks in 38 innings pitched.
A PERFECT NINE: Senior Tyler Peitzmeier has been nothing short of spectacular as the team's closer this season. Peitzmeier has been perfect in save situations this season, recording nine straight saves on the season. He is currently ranked fifth in the nation in saves and first in the Big West Conference. Peitzmeier added another save to his belt in the Big West Conference opener at CSUN on Friday. He came in to protect a three-run lead in the ninth inning and, despite surrendering a run on two hits, struck out the side to notch his ninth consecutive save.
OLMEDO-BARRERA SLUGGING IT OUT: Designated hitter David Olmedo-Barrera has been on a tear during the team's last 10 games. He has batted .316 (12-for-38) with nine runs scored and four RBIs. He also has the team's best slugging percentage in that stretch at .632 with three triples and two home runs. The two round-trippers each brought in the game-winning run as his two-run blast at Nebraska broke a 2-2 tie and eventually led to a 4-3 win. He belted a solo home run in Sunday's finale at CSUN with the Titans up 2-0. The team would go on to a 7-2 victory. Overall, Olmedo-Barrera has recorded five triples on the year, which ranks fifth in the nation and first in the Big West Conference. He is just two triples shy of the top spot in the nation held by Kent Blackstone of George Mason.
CLOSE EDGE: The Titans are now 5-5 this season in one-run games following their 4-3 loss at CSUN on Saturday. Last season, the Titans led the nation with 26 one-run games. They went 13-13 in those contests.
