May 28, 2012
Fullerton, Calif. - The Big West Conference champion Cal State Fullerton Titans (35-19) will be making their 21st consecutive and 34th overall appearance in the NCAA Division I postseason this weekend as they were shipped to the Eugene Regional hosted by the No. 5 national seed Oregon Ducks. The NCAA announced the complete 64-team field this morning via ESPNU on its annual selection show.
Fullerton will play just its third Regional away from home since its first hosting opportunity in 2000, and will go into Eugene as the No. 2 seed. The Titans' first game will pit them against three seed Indiana State (41-17). Oregon (42-17) draws No. 4 seed Austin Peay (38-22) in their first round game.
The double elimination Eugene Regional will run from June 1-4 at PK Park with the winner of the tournament facing the winner of the Purdue Regional. That tournament features No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Kent State and No. 4 Valparaiso.
At this time, there is no television broadcasts for the Eugene Regional. The game times are as follows:
Friday, June 1
No. 2 Cal State Fullerton vs. No. 3 Indiana State, 2 p.m.
No. 1 Oregon vs. Austin Peay, 6 p.m.
Saturday, June 2
Game 3, Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 2 p.m.
Game 4, Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 6 p.m.
Sunday, June 3
Game 5, Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, Noon
Game 6, Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 4 p.m.
Monday, June 4
Game 7, If Necessary, Same as Game 6, 6 p.m.
Game times are subject to change with the addition of television.
Rick Vanderhook's Titans' first opponent, Indiana State, was an at-lard bid out of the Missouri Valley Conference and will be making its first postseason appearance since 1995. It is their eighth all-time appearance to the tournament. They reached the College World Series in 1986. Former Titan third baseman Ronnie Prettyman is the Sycamores' volunteer assistant coach.
Oregon finished third in the Pac-12 Conference and are coached by former long-time Titan Head Coach George Horton who won a national championship with the Titans in 2004. The national seed for the Ducks is the first in the program's history and it is their second postseason appearance since the the program was reinstated in 2009.
Austin Peay is coming off its second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships.
Fullerton wrapped up its 26 Div. I conference championship on Friday night and earned the automatic bid on Sunday with a series win over Long Beach State at Blair Field. The Titans have played in 34 postseason in 38 years at the Div. I level and have an all-time Regional record of 90-37 (.709) and an all-time 140-72 (.660) postseason mark.
Fullerton's 21st consecutive postseason appearance is the third-longest active streak behind Miami (40 years) and Florida State (35 years).
The Titans are the only team in the Eugene Regional to have won a national championship. They have four to their credit, one in each of the last four decades (1979, 1984, 1995 and 2004).
This is Vanderhook's first postseason appearance as the Titans' head coach, but he is no stranger to championship baseball. "Hook" has been part of 13 conference championships, 21 postseason appearances, eight Super Regional appearances and 11 trips to the College World Series over nearly a quarter century as a college baseball coach.