Game 44-46
Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Riverside
Date: May 6-8, 2016
Time: Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Location: Fullerton, Calif.
Venue: Goodwin Field
Video: BigWest.TV
Live Stats: FullertonTitans.com
Audio: FullertonTitans.com
Series Record: Cal State Fullerton Leads 38-21
FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton welcomes UC Riverside to Goodwin Field this weekend with the Highlanders just two games back of the Titans in the Big West standings.
SCHEDULE NOTE:
Reminder to all fans that Saturday's game is set for a 1 p.m. start as opposed to the typical 6 p.m. Saturday start times. The change was made prior to the season due to the campus hosting its annual spring concert Saturday night.
CATCH ALL THE ACTION:
Fans can follow the action for all this week's games with live stats, live audio and a video stream through BigWest.TV. All links can be found on FullertonTitans.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow @BaseballTitans on Twitter for daily updates during the 2016 season. Fullerton baseball is also on Instagram, so make sure to follow the 2016 team all season @CSF_TitansBaseball.
GIVE IT AWAY NOW:
Fans attending Friday night's game against the Highlanders will receive a free Titans Koozie courtesy of JR's Heating and Air Conditioning while supplies last.
CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?:
Following the conclusion of Saturday's game against UC Riverside, the Titans will hold their final autograph session of the season.
POLL POSITION:
The Titans moved up 11 spots in the Collegiate Baseball poll as they were ranked No. 17 in Monday's poll. Fullerton continues to receive votes in both the NCBWA and USA Today Top-25 poll.
RPI WATCH:
The Titans checked in at No. 49 in Thursday's NCAA RPI ratings.
CSF vs. UC RIVERSIDE • ALL-TIME SERIES
First Year Played/Last Year Played: 1978/2016
Overall Record: 38-21
Current Streak: Won 3
Overall Conference (Big West) Record: 24-18
Home Record: 21-8
Road Record: 15-14
Neutral Record: 0-0
Longest Winning Streak: 8 games, 2 times (03/28/09 to present)
Longest Losing Streak: 4 games (05/12/02 to 05/04/03)
Extra Innings: 2-3
Most Runs Scored in a Game: 19 runs (05/02/15)
Most Runs Scored in a Game by Opponent: 13 runs (05/02/03)
Largest Margin of Victory: 19 runs (05/02/15)
Largest Margin of Defeat: 10 runs (05/02/03)
TITANS AND THE BIG WEST:
Overall, Cal State Fullerton has posted a dominant 737-257-1 (.741) conference record over 42 seasons. Rick Vanderhook, the school's fifth Div. I head coach, has compiled a 82-29 Big West Conference record in his five seasons at the helm and won consecutive conference titles in 2012 and 2013. He helped lead the Titans to another title in 2015, 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 28 conference titles.
A further breakdown has the Titans winning three PCAA conference championships (1975-76, 1987), eight straight SCBA titles (1977-84), and 17 while playing under the Big West name (1990-91, 94-95, 1997, 1999-2001, 2004-06, 2008, 2010-13, 2015). The Big West absorbed the PCAA records in 1990 upon its formation, giving the Titans 20 total Big West championships and a 561-211-1 (.726; 34 years) PCAA/Big West Conference record.
UC RIVERSIDE NOTES:
The Titans will face the Highlanders this weekend after sweeping UC Riverside last season, including a 19-0 shellacking on May 2, 2015 at The Plex. It was the most runs the Titans have scored against the Highlanders in 49 all-time meetings since 1978. However, the Titans have lost two straight series to UC Riverside at Goodwin Field. The Highlanders took two of three from Fullerton in 2014, posting a pair of one-run wins in game one and game three of that series. In 2012, the Highlanders took the last two games of a three-game series at Goodwin Field, posting 6-3 and 1-0 victories. They are the only two home series the Titans have dropped to UC Riverside all-time.
Other Highlanders Notes
• The Highlanders enter this weekend's series tied for fourth place in the conference standings, just two games back of the Titans. They have won two straight conference series over Long Beach State and CSUN at The Plex and have won seven of their last nine games overall.
• This will be just the second road conference series for the Highlanders this season. They dropped the last two games of their series at UC Irvine after taking the opener.
• UC Riverside is 8-10 overall on the road this season and have won just one three-game road series this season, taking two of three at CSU Bakersfield. The Highlanders have won two straight road games coming into this weekend's series, taking a 5-3 decision at Utah on April 17 and winning 5-4 against San Diego at Fowler Park.
• Offensively, the Highlanders are led by Vince Fernandez, who leads the team with a .344 batting average. He has 56 hits in 41 games and has posted a .882 OPS. His three home runs are second on the team and his 31 RBIs are the most on the Highlanders. Overall, the team is batting .269.
• Reliever Ryan Lille leads the conference with 24 appearances this season. He has a 4-3 record with a 4.94 ERA and has recorded six saves. In 23 and 2/3 innings of work, Lille has posted 24 strikeouts but also issued 21 walks.
PICKED TO WIN IT:
Cal State Fullerton was selected as the favorite to win the 2016 Big West titles as selected by the nine conference head coaches in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll. The Titans received four first-place votes and 71 points overall. UC Irvine received one first-place vote and 65 points. Long Beach State garnered three first-place votes and 62 points overall to slot in at third while UC Santa Barbara was picked fourth with 60 points overall. CSUN (44), Cal Poly (43), Hawai'i (27), UC Riverside (17), and UC Davis (16) round out the poll.
2016 Coaches Poll Results
1. Cal State Fullerton (4) - 71
2. UC Irvine (1) - 65
3. Long Beach State (3) - 62
4. UC Santa Barbara (1) - 60
5. CSUN - 44
6. Cal Poly - 43
7. Hawai'i - 27
8. UC Riverside - 17
9. UC Davis – 16
( ) First Place Vote
CARDENAS NAMED BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Cal State Fullerton outfielder Ruben Cardenas was named the Big West Conference Field Player of the Week on May 2. He became the second Titans player to earn the nod this season after Tanner Pinkston earned the award on April 18. Connor Seabold and Colton Eastman have each been named the conference's pitcher of the week this season.
Cardenas had a role in more than half of the Titans run total in the four games as he scored four runs and drove in eight. He had a 1.182 slugging percentage in the UC Irvine series. He also nabbed a runner at the plate in the team's game two win, preserving a three-run lead for Fullerton.
Of his eight hits during the week, six went for extra bases. The right fielder produced four doubles and two triples, hitting .500 (8-for-16) with a 1.000 slugging percentage to help lead the team to three wins.
Cardenas delivered a career-high four RBIs in a 10-7 non-conference win over UCLA on April 29. He had a bases-clearing three-run double that gave Fullerton a 10-3 lead and ultimately proved to be the game-winning runs. He clubbed a pair of run-scoring doubles in a 6-4 win over UC Irvine on April 30 including a two-run double in the fifth that proved to be the game-winning runs once again.
On May 1, Cardenas knocked in his third game-winning run of the week, belting a two-run triple in the Titans five-run third inning to put Fullerton up 3-0. The Titans would go on to win 7-2 as he finished the game 3-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBIs.
TIMMY!:
Titans shortstop Timmy Richards is one hit away from 100 for his career. He has 99 base hits in 124 career games with 45 of those hits coming this season. He would become the third Titans player to reach the 100-hit mark this season and second within the week as Josh Vargas tallied his 100th hit on Saturday at UC Irvine. Overall, Richards is currently riding a five-game hitting streak and has reached safely in 13 consecutive games. He is batting .292 and played in 39 of the team's 43 games this season. He leads the squad with six home runs and is second on the team with eight stolen bases.
ON THE NATIONAL STAGE:
Connor Seabold and Colton Eastman have been outstanding at limiting base runners this season. Seabold is ranked 16th in the country with a 0.90 WHIP with Eastman close behind with a 0.91 WHIP, placing him 19th in the nation. Seabold also ranks second in the country with an 11.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio, leading the Titans with 67 strikeouts in 58 innings pitched while issuing just six walks. The Titans also have three pitchers ranked in the top-100 in hits allowed per nine innings with Blake Quinn (5.81, 17th), Colton Eastman (6.42, 52nd), John Gavin (6.86, 86th).
DOUBLE THE FUN, TRIPLE THE EXCITEMENT:
Tanner Pinkston leads the Big West Conference with 15 doubles this season, a mark that ranks 61st in the nation. Meanwhile, Josh Vargas leads the conference with four triples, a mark that ranks 48th in the nation.
STILL LEADING THE NATION:
Despite giving up seven earned runs in Tuesday's loss at San Diego State, the Titans pitching staff is still currently ranked first in the nation with a 2.38 ERA. They have allowed 104 earned runs in 393 and 2/3 innings pitched and have given opposing batters fits as Fullerton has allowed the enemy to bat at just a .211 clip this season. The Titans are ranked second in the country in hits allowed per nine innings, allowing just 6.81 hits per game. Fullerton is also ranked second in the nation with a 1.04 WHIP, third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.32) and sixth in walks allowed per nine innings (2.54).
OFFENSE IMPROVING:
The Titans offense has picked up the pace in the last 12 games. They entered the UC Davis series on April 15 with a collective .237 batting average but have since improved that number by 21 points. Fullerton has pounded out double-digit hits in seven of the last 12 games and scored in double-digits four times. The Titans have pounded out 128 hits in the last 12 games, scoring 77 runs in that span. The team's six-hit output in Tuesday's loss was the third lowest during the 12-game span. In conference games, the Titans have hit .279 with 39 extra base hits including 29 doubles.
DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME!:
This weekend's series is the first of four weekend sets for the Titans in May, the final month of the regular season. Fullerton has 13 games left this year with seven of them at Goodwin Field while they play six on the road; three at UC Santa Barbara and three at Long Beach State to finish the season. Both of those teams sit in second and third place in the conference, respectively, going into May. The Titans posted a 13-4 record in April, their best month of the season.
THOSE WHO FALL BEHIND, GET LEFT BEHIND:
The Titans have been nearly unbeatable when holding a lead late in a game. Fullerton is 24-0 when leading after six innings, 24-1 when ahead after seven innings and 25-1 when leading after eight innings.
PLAYING ALL THE HITS:
Fullerton has out-hit its opponent on 26 occasions this season and holds a 24-2 record when that happens. It's a much different story when the Titans are out hit in a game as the team is winless this year on those occasions, holding a 0-13 record. The Titans are 3-1 this year when the hits are tied.