Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State have had an intense rivalry in all sports since the two schools began playing each other. A Titans win over the 49ers in the 1978 PCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final propelled Fullerton's "Cal State Who?" squad to a dazzling run into the NCAA Tournaments' Sweet 16.
However, it is possible that no game or series with Long Beach State has matched the drama or fervor of the 2017 NCAA Baseball Super Regional which was held at historic Blair Field in Long Beach.
The Titans had blazed their way through the Stanford Regional, defeating BYU, and regular season rival, Stanford twice. Fullerton won their three regional games by a combined score of 21-4.
By virtue of their regular season record, Long Beach was selected to host. Despite the games scheduled to be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, both schools experienced a ticket buying frenzy, with individual game tickets going for $250 to $300 on the aftermarket. Season ticket holders at both schools were given priority, while the rest had to scramble before all tickets were quickly sold out. Fullerton fans accused Long Beach of holding back on the agreed-upon quota, so feelings were already high before a pitch was thrown.
Two wins would send either team to Omaha for the College World Series, so the stakes were at an all-time high, and both fan bases were energized at a level never before seen. Said longtime Titan fan, David Wright: "The intensity in the stands for that series was nothing that I have ever experienced in my nearly 30 years of attending Fullerton games."
Long Beach scored three runs in the first inning of Friday's Game 1. The 3-0 score held up, giving the 49ers the opening game victory. The Titans had their backs to the wall, needing to win the next two games to advance. One more loss would send them home short of their goal.
With a noon start in Saturday's Game 2, head coach Rick Vanderhook and the Titans had little time to brood over their loss. Sensing that a lift was needed, Titan fans Dave Rodriguez and David Lamm arrived at Long Beach's Recreation Park in the wee hours of the morning to plant a navy-blue Fullerton flag just over Blair Field's left field wall.
Everything seemed to work that day as the Titans scored two runs in the first inning, and seven runs in the third inning on their way to a 12-0 romp over the 49ers. John Gavin was dominant, pitching his first career complete-game shutout. Timmy Richards led the Fullerton offensive outburst, going 3 for 4 with three runs scored and two RBI. Chris Hudgens had three hits, including a home run and four RBI. In total, eight Titans combined for 15 hits that Saturday afternoon.
Exuberant Fullerton fans chanted "Gavin – Gavin – Gavin" in the ninth inning. Gavin described his feelings at the time: "I had goosebumps. That was something I'll never forget the rest of my life… The fans were great the entire game."
Vanderhook summed up the Game 2 win: "This was a good game for us. I thought we swung the bats well. We came out with a plan to be aggressive on him (Long Beach pitcher, Dave Smith) because he throws a whole lot of strikes, and just tried to put a good swing on it and hit some balls where they weren't."
Previewing Game 3 scheduled for the following day, Vanderhook added: "It's tee it up, toe-to-toe. The Big West, it's going to be a blast."
Sunday's Game 3 high noon showdown was now set, with the winner going to the College World Series in Omaha.
Colton Eastman took the hill for the Titans and was nearly unhittable. Unfortunately, so was Long Beach State's John Sheaks. After three innings of scoreless baseball, Fullerton broke through in the top of the fourth inning when Hank LoForte drilled a single to right center field, scoring Sahid Valenzuela and Dillon Persinger to give the Titans a 2-0 lead.
Long Beach would answer with a run in the sixth inning, making it 2-1 in the nerve-wracking pitching duel.
Long Beach fans and Fullerton fans traded chants, and a few insults, throughout the contest. At one point, Fullerton booster and alumnus, Steve Reger, picked up a Fullerton flag and bravely paraded through both sides of the stadium. Fortunately, he returned in one piece.
Colton Eastman, after striking out eight batters, was replaced by ace reliever Brett Conine in the eighth inning. Conine had already notched 14 saves as he came to the mound in the nail-bitingly tight game.
Long Beach advanced runners to second and third in the eighth inning, but Conine struck out a Long Beach batter for the third out. Titan fans gave a huge sigh of relief.
Fullerton, with only two hits on the day, were unable to add to their lead in the top of the ninth inning. Things got sticky again in the bottom of the ninth inning as Conine surrendered a leadoff double, but then he clamped down, recording a ground out, a pop up out, and then a swinging strike three to clinch the game. A dogpile ensued and Fullerton was headed to their home away from home, Omaha, Nebraska.
Said Vanderhook, "Today was probably the most energetic college baseball game in the history of Southern California."
Titan fans, players, and coaches met at the team buses to celebrate. It seemed that no one was ready to go home that afternoon.
It should not go unmentioned that after attending the Sunday game, Titan super fan, Ira Goldstein, passed away in his sleep within hours of the dramatic victory. His friends agreed that Ira had died a happy man. His family would soon gift an Endowment to Titan Baseball in his name.