FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton (27-15, 7-2 BWC) will host Hawaii (27-10, 8-1 BWC) at Anderson Family Field. Friday's series opener will be under the lights at 6:00 p.m. with a doubleheader to close out on Saturday beginning at 2:00 p.m.
This is a big weekend for both programs as they occupy the top two spots in the Big West standings with Hawaii sitting one game ahead of Fullerton.
All-Time Series: CSF 60-14 UH
Last Ten Games: CSF 9-1 UH
Last Year's Results: CSF sweep; 4-3, 6-2, 11-1 (5)
The Titans are coming off their 10th consecutive conference series win taking two of three at rival Long Beach State. Since conference play began, the Fullerton offense has been stellar ranking top two in virtually every offense category including a Big West leading .448 slugging percentage. In the circle, the Titan pitching staff continues to dominate sitting in third in ERA and opponent average while ranking fourth in strikeouts. Defensively, there is no real contest as the Titans lead the way with a .978 fielding percentage which also ranks eighth in the entire NCAA.
Individually, the story has been the bottom of the order as Kelsie Whitmore (.429) and Julia Valenzuela (.400) are the average leaders for Fullerton while ranking fourth and sixth in the conference respectively. The power as of late has come off the bats of Irie Siofele and Deshea Hill, who both rank in the top ten for slugging percentage. Dani Martinez leads the pitching staff claiming three straight Big West Freshman of the Week awards as she has worked to a 1.11 ERA, .171 opponent average, and 22 strikeouts in 31.2 innings in conference play.
On the other side, Hawaii has surprised everyone this year sitting atop the Big West standings. Through the first three weeks, they have a top three offense and lead the way with 51 runs scored in nine games. Their pitching has been dominant posting a remarkable 1.05 team ERA while Big West hitters are hitting .235 against them.
Individually, it has been the Callee Heen show for the Rainbow Wahine. Heen leads the team with a .417 average in conference play (.392 overall) and leads the conference with 12 home runs on the season. Brittany Hitchcock has been the start in the circle for Hawaii going a perfect 6-0 in Big West play so far with a 0.90 ERA.
Friday night's game will be Parent Appreciation Night while Saturday will be Titans Kids Day. Kids will have the chance to participate in an egg hunt in between games as well as photos with Tuffy and a post-doubleheader autograph session.
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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.
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