Titan Classic Hub Page | Game Notes (PDF) | Flo Softball Subscription
FULLERTON, Calif. – Coming off their third straight Big West championship, Cal State Fullerton is set to open their 2019 season with the Titan Classic this weekend.
The Titan Classic features a stout field that includes Idaho State, Loyola Marymount, Northwestern, Buffalo, Utah State, Louisville, and Pacific. The tournament will feature 20 games in total and kicks off with the host Titans facing Idaho State on Thursday night. Every game will be featured on Flo Softball.
QUICK HITS
TITANS AGAINST THE FIELD
vs. Idaho State: CSF leads 2-1 all-time; last matchup CSF 2-3 ISU, 12 inn. (2.20.16)
vs. Buffalo: CSF leads 2-0 all-time; last matchup CSF 8-4 BUF (3.17.15)
vs. Louisville: CSF trails 0-2 all-time; last matchup CSF 2-4 LOU (2.25.17)
vs. Utah State: CSF leads 47-23 all-time; last matchup CSF 2-5 US (2.9.18)
vs. Pacific: CSF leads 70-35 all-time; last matchup CSF 0-3 PAC (2.12.17)
RECAPPING 2018
Cal State Fullerton finished the 2018 season with a 35-25 overall record and 18-3 in conference. The team captured their third straight conference championship and made their 28th NCAA Regional appearance. They made it all the way to the final game of LA Regional after upsetting No. 22 Texas State and No. 3 UCLA before falling to the host Bruins in game 7.
2019 SEASON OUTLOOK
The Titans will have a healthy mix of returners and newcomers this season. Among the returners are All-Big West recipients Ari Williams, Zoe Richard, Deshea Hill, Julia Valenzuela, Sophie Frost, and Trish Parks. Among the newcomers, they bring in 2 players with international experience (Paola Villegas and Mia Marinakis) as well as the San Diego single-season hits record holder (Alexa Neil).
ROAD FOR 4
After becoming three-peat Big West champions last season, the Titans have been picked to take the crown yet again. If the pre-season rankings come to light, it will be the fourth straight title for Fullerton.
JUST OUTSIDE THE TOP 25
The nation's top 25 teams are out in the pre-season polls and the Titans are receiving votes in both putting them within the top 30 in the NCAA. They also were placed at #39 in the College Sports Madness top 41.
ROAD FOR 4
After becoming three-peat Big West champions last season, the Titans have been picked to take the crown yet again. If the pre-season rankings come to light, it will be the fourth straight title for Fullerton.
MOVING ON
Once again, Fullerton will be replacing a loaded senior class as they lost 10 players to graduation. The key losses in their roster include Sammie Vandiver, Brooke Clemetson, Bryanna Ybarra, and Shianne Brannan.
AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
As they do every year, Fullerton will have plenty of games against some of the nation's best. Based on this year's ESPN.com/USA Softball pre-season poll, the Titans will have 9 games against Top 25 teams. Six of those games are against Top 10 teams and three against Top 3 teams including a game at UCLA and a pair of games against Washington.
ON THE ROAD
After a very home-heavy schedule last season, Fullerton will find themselves on the road a lot more this year with only 26 home games. Among the trips include tournaments in Arizona, Palm Springs, and the Sillicon Valley.
IN SEASON OPENERS
Cal State Fullerton is 28-11 all-time in season openers. When they open up at home, they are 14-6 and are 4-1 in their last five seasons. Last year's opener was a 6-5 victory over Rutgers while this year's opener is a matchup against Idaho State.
TITANS IN THE TITAN CLASSIC
This will be the fourth year of the Titan Classic as Fullerton hosts it in consecutive years for the first time. Last year, the Titans went 3-1 defeating Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Loyola Marymount. Overall, they are 9-4 in the three previous years of the tournament.
WINNING IS IN OUR BLOOD
Fullerton has won 30-plus games in 33 of its 39 seasons and 25-plus in all but 3 seasons. They have collected at least 33 wins five straight years under head coach Kelly Ford.
HITTING THE MILESTONES
Head Coach Kelly Ford collected her 200th career victory as the Fullerton head coach last season and looks to keep that success going as she is 40 wins away from 250. Overall, in 16 seasons as a head coach, she has 665 wins and is primed to reach #700 this season.
CALIFORNIA LOVE
Kelly Ford and her staff do a fantastic job of recruiting the best local talent here in California. The 2019 Titan roster speaks to that as only 1 player (Sophie Frost) is not from California. Furthermore, only 1 player (Kiana Parrish) is not from So-Cal.
SAYING GOODBYE TO A LEGEND
This January the softball community lost a hitting legend as former Titan Sue Lewis passed away from a long battle with cancer. To this day, she is Fullerton's all-time hit leader and ranks in the top 10 in virtually every offensive category. She was a 3-time All-American and a 2011 Hall of Fame inductee.
EVERYONE LOVES A WALKOFF
Last year's Titans had a lot of late game magic as they had 11 walkoff victories including 4 walkoff home runs. Most notable of those wins was the winner's bracket game of the LA Regional when the Titans walked off on host UCLA to send them to the Regional final.
TWO-OUT RALLIES
The Titans offense last season was as clutch as it comes. In their 60 games, over 40% of their 256 runs scored came with 2 outs in an inning.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Fullerton led the Big West in fielding percentage with a .978 mark in conference play en route to their third straight title. Part of that outstanding defensive season, the Titans turned 35 double plays last season which ranked second most in the entire country.
#TAYLORSTRONG
Sophomore Taylor Dockins will be back on the field for her second season. After missing over a month of the 2018 campaign due to her battle against cancer, she returned in the Regional final striking out the PAC-12 Freshman of the Year. After some tough treatments throughout the summer, she is primed and ready to go for the 2019 season.
THE BRICK WALL RETURNS
Catcher Julia Valenzuela comes back for her junior season after a tremendous year last year. Behind the plate, she caught all but 6 innings in 60 games and threw out 35.6% of would-be base stealers.
ALL-TIME RECORD HOLDER
Senior Ari Williams made history last season becoming the all-time stolen base leader and becoming the only Titan to ever steal 20+ bases in three seasons. She currently sits at 71 SBs for her career.
INTERNATIONAL BALL
There are several Titans on this year's roster who already have international experience under their belt. Freshman Paola Villegas spent time with the Mexican Junior national Team over the offseason while freshman Mia Marinakis played with the Greek National Team in the Super 6 Tournament over the summer.
NEW YEAR, SAME ROTATION
The Titans had 3 main pitchers leading the rotation last season in Sophie Frost, Trish Parks, and Taylor Dockins. The three combined for 341 of the team's 398.2 innings last season accounting for 33 wins in 2018. All three return to the Titans expecting to carry the rotation once again.
LIVING AMERICA'S PASTIME
Junior Kelsie Whitmore continues her journey and dream of playing and working in baseball. This past offseason she was a member of the USA Women's National Baseball Team that competed in theWBSC Women's Baseball World Cup. She also participated in the MLB 'Take The Field' event which was designed to give knowledge to women interested in working in the game of baseball.
TITAN CLASSIC FAMILY 4-PACK!
For just $40, you will receive 4 General Admission tickets, 4 rally towels, 4 hot dogs, and 4 small sodas. To purchase this great package, click here.
SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitans.com/Tickets. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the softball team has established its own Twitter (@Fullerton_SB) and Instagram accounts (@Fullerton_SB).
