2015 Schedule
FULLERTON, Calif. - On the heels of a remarkable 2014 campaign in which the Cal State Fullerton softball team posted its most wins since the 2007 season, the Titans will again host the nation's elite programs in 2015.
Single-game event dates include the hosting of (2014 final rankings) No. 11 Michigan, Buffalo and CSU Bakersfield, while the Titans will visit No. 5 UCLA and San Diego, along with the full complement of Big West games. Fullerton will take part in six tournaments over the course of the 2015 campaign, four of which will take place at the friendly confines of Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, Calif.
"To be the best you have to play the best, and our goal is to win the Big West Championship and be a contender at the Women's College World Series," said Fullerton head softball coach Kelly Ford. "We want to challenge our program and student-athletes with one of the more rigorous schedules across the nation."
The Titans will again host one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country, the Judi Garman Classic held from Mar. 5-8. The star-studded field will feature 14 top programs, including defending national champion No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Oregon, No. 9 Baylor, No. 11 Michigan, No. 13 Arizona State, No. 14 Arizona, No. 18 Auburn, Fresno State, Iowa, Long Beach State, Pacific, San Diego State and San Jose State.
"The vision of Judi Garman was to host one of the most competitive tournaments in the nation," stated Ford. "With many repeat attendees, the Judi Garman Classic will once again be reflective of one of the more distinguished softball events in the country. We are excited to welcome a plethora of elite programs to Southern California and beautiful Anderson Family Field."
Cal State Fullerton will open the season tri-hosting the So Cal Collegiate Challenge alongside UCLA and Long Beach State. The tournament held from Feb. 6-8 is highlighted by No. 25 Notre Dame, in which the Titans and Fighting Irish will square off on a pair of occasions.
The Titans then leave the state of California to participate in the UNLV Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. Fullerton will compete with Boise State, BYU, host Nevada, Utah and Utah Valley over the three-day event from Feb. 13-15.
Fullerton returns to Palm Springs, Calif., for the Mary Nutter Classic from Feb. 19-22 where the Titans will face No. 16 Missouri, No. 19 LSU, No. 22 Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Nevada. In last season's event, CSF upended then No. 15 Baylor, 6-1, en route to a tournament record of 2-2.
Anderson Family Field will again be used as a venue to co-host the Louisville Slugger Invitational with Long Beach State, hosting eight games from Feb. 26-Mar. 1. Visitors to Cal State Fullerton will include Boise State, Northwestern, Portland State, Southern Utah, Utah Valley and Wichita State.
Prior to the start of conference competition, the Titans will host the two-day Easton Tournament on Mar. 13-14 as the sixth and final tournament of the regular season. The five-team field features No. 21 Nebraska, Boise State, Charleston Southern and DePaul. In last season's event to open the season, Fullerton upset then No. 2 Oklahoma, 3-1, marking the first program win over a second-ranked opponent since 2008.
In conference play, Cal State Fullerton will welcome in Hawai'i, Cal Poly and CSUN for three-game tilts, while hitting the road at defending conference champion Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara.
"The parody in our conference makes every game and every pitch pressure filled," said Ford. "The strength of schedule among our non-conference opponents and the amount of experience we'll gain from six tournaments will prepare us for the competitive conference. The vision of the Big West is to have multiple teams in the NCAA tournament and an elite schedule is a key element toward attaining that goal."
In her second season at the helm in 2014, Ford led the Titans to a 6-0 start, chalking up the best start for the program since the 2000 campaign. Tallying an overall record of 33-21-1, the Titans reached the 33-win mark for the first time since 2007. Fullerton finished fourth in the Big West standings with a 13-11 record.
Boasting a league second-best RPI of 53 behind Long Beach State, the Titans inked competition against 12 teams that advanced to the NCAA postseason including Oklahoma and Baylor, who reached the eight-team field in the 2014 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The Titans won seven of their final 10 games, while improving in 10 offensive categories including batting avg. (.300), runs (303), hits (431), doubles (70), home runs (57), RBIs (253), total bases (690), slugging pct. (.479), walks (170) and on-base pct. (.385). The orange and navy carded its first .300 team batting average since 2000.
Cal State Fullerton's Missy Taukeiaho and Ariel Tsuchiyama were named to the All-Big West Conference First Team, highlighting a group of six Titans named to the 2014 all-league honor roll.
Taukeiaho became the 11th Titan to be crowned Player of the Year in the conference, earning the top honor for the first time since Ashley Van Boxmeer was given the nod in 2006. The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., native was also named to the NFCA Division I All-America Third Team, becoming the 29th Titan to be recognized as an NFCA All-American and the first since Kiki Munoz garnered second team honors in 2008.
Leesa Harris and Samantha Galarza were selected to the conference's second team, while junior Eliza Crawford was recognized as an honorable mention selection. Christina Washington rounded out the honor roll being placed on the inaugural Big West All-Freshman Team.
FULLERTON UNVEILS TITANS FRONT ROW MOBILE APP:
Created by PrestoSports in partnership with Cal State Fullerton, Front Row gives fans access to breaking news, scores and alerts by signing up for notifications. Fans click the notifications button on the more tab to enable the alerts and set your sport preferences. The app is currently available through the Apple App Store as well Google Play.
Features:
- Notifications
- Schedules
- Live Scoring
- Event Statistics
- Event recaps
- Audio and video links (when available)
- Photo galleries