Posted: May 26, 2015
FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton baseball team was well represented in the Big WestConference postseason honors, garnering Big West Pitcher of the Year, Co-Fielder of the Year and Coach of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday.
Thomas Eshelman, who was honored with his second-consecutive Big West First-Team selection, was named the Big West Pitcher of the Year. Fellow junior David Olmedo-Barrera was given the nod for Big West Co-Player of the Year along with UCSB's Cameron Newell while head coach Rick Vanderhook was named Big West Coach of the Year for the third time.
Vanderhook guided the Titans to their 20th Big West title with a 19-5 record and their 24th consecutive NCAA appearance this weekend. The Titans dominated conference play, winning all eight series, three of which were sweeps. With this year's selection, Vanderhook garners his third Big West Coach of the Year honor and the school's 13th selection.
Four Titans joined Eshelman and Olmedo-Barrera with first-team selections as Tyler Peitzmeier, Josh Vargas, Jerrod Bravo, and Miles Chambers rounded out the top-team selections. Tyler Stieb was awarded a second-team nod while Taylor Bryant and John Gavin were added to the honorable mention list.
Eshelman was a workhorse for the Titans in 2015, posting a conference-leading 1.57 earned run average in 114.1 innings pitched. The junior started 15 games for Fullerton, throwing five complete-games en route to eight wins during the regular season. Eshelman led the Big West Conference in strikeouts with 111 and held opposing batters to just a .207 batting average while on the bump.
The right-hander earned back-to-back Big West Pitcher of the Week honors from May 11-18 and won National Pitcher of the Week on May 11th after shutting down the UC Santa Barbara offense to earn his sixth victory of the season. Eshelman was recently named as a semifinalist for the 2015 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, presented to the best Amateur baseball player in the nation.
Olmedo-Barrera hit .310 for the Titans in 2015, and led the team in home runs (8), RBI's (39), triples (5), runs (37) and slugging percentage (.540). The junior's eight home runs were good enough for second in the Big West Conference while his RBI total ranked third.
The La Canada, Calif. native tied the school record for most RBIs in a single game on April 4 at Goodwin Field as Fullerton trounced Cal Poly 13-2 to clinch win the three-game Big West Conference series at Goodwin Field. He drove in eight runs for the Titans, tying Danny Dorn's record set on April 8, 2003.
Peitzmeier was the Titans go-to stopper in the ninth inning in 2015, posting a Big West Conference leading 16 saves in his final year at Fullerton. The senior posted a 2.44 ERA in 27 appearances for the Titans. He racked up 48 strikeouts while holding opposing hitters to a .253 batting average in 44.1 innings pitched.
The Yutan, Neb. native was named to the 11th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writer's of America Stopper of the Year Watch List on April 21st as the only representative from the Big West Conference. The five finalists for the award will be announced June 3, prior to the start of the NCAA Super Regional Competition.
Vargas was the Titans leading hitter in 2015, posting a .355 batting average in 166 at-bats during the regular season. His .463 on-base percentage was tops for the Titans this season while his 36 runs scored was second only to Olmedo-Barerra.
The junior twice posted nine-game streaks of safely reaching base during the season and will take a seven-game streak of reaching base into the NCAA Regional, starting Friday at Goodwin Field.
Bravo hit .333 for the Titans this season, which was good enough for second on the team, only trailing Vargas. He played in 40 games in 2015 and posted a .456 on-base percentage and 120 at bats. He pounded out 40 hits during his junior season, finishing with nine doubles, 22 runs scored, and is currently riding a 38-game streak of reaching base safely.
Chambers was called on out of the Titans bullpen plenty in 2015, appearing in 23 games and posting a 4-3 overall record. The Elverta, Calif. native was stingy on opposing hitters during the regular season, posting a .246 opposing batting average when on the hill. Chambers racked up 47 strikeouts in 56.0 innings of work as a starter, reliever and closer during the season.
The sophomore was only one of two Titan pitchers to earn at least one win and one save in 2015, the other being freshman Conner Seabold.
Stieb led the 2015 Titans with 194 at bats which lead to a team-high 60 hits on the season. He also led Fullerton offense with 10 doubles on the season while swiping 11 bases in 13 total attempts.
The junior hit .309 on the season and appeared in the most games out of any Titan, playing in 55 of Fullerton's 56 games this season.
Bryant and Gavin both earned Big West Conference honorable mention nods for their 2015 performances. Bryant appeared in 48 games during the regular season and hit .232 in 82 at bats. Gavin shined in his first collegiate season for the Titans, posting a 7-2 record in 15 starts. He struck out 59 in 80.0 innings of work and help opposing hitters to a .237 batting average.
Fullerton is set to host Pepperdine on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the second game of the NCAA Regional at Goodwin Field.