The Cal State Fullerton softball team is coming off another solid season in 2021, where they went 38-15 overall and 21-3 in conference and came in second place in the Big West Conference.
The Titans needed only one win in their final series against Long Beach State to capture the 2021 Big West title but they fell just short of completing a historic run of 5 consecutive conference championships. However, the 2022 Titans are primed and ready to regain their title back.
"What a fierce season 2021 was. Not a lot of teams came up with 38 wins. This game humbles you and that was a humbling weekend. But that weekend is burning in our belly. We're turning that weekend into our drive for this upcoming 2022 season." head coach Kelly Ford said.
The Titans have been the standard bearer for the Big West in the past couple seasons. They were ninth in the country last season with a team batting average of .328. They had a fielding percentage of .972 and only committed 40 errors for the season. They were 19th in the country in on-base percentage (.396) and 17th in slugging percentage (.535). They were 13th in the country in stolen bases per game (2.02). The defense should remain a pillar of the Titans program with ¾ of the infield returning and the only new starter in the infield to this year's team is no stranger to the diamond as Alexa Neil was the Big West Conference Freshman Field Player of the Year in 2019 for the Titans.
The Titans have waved goodbye to a phenomenal senior class that was chock full of veteran leadership that won three of the last four conference titles. Julia Valenzuela goes into the books as one of the best catchers in Titan history. Kelsi Whitmore was the 2021 Big West Player of the Year. Sophia Frost was the ace of the staff and was a first team All-Big West pitcher. And Irie Siofele who was named a Big West honorable mention last season.
Among the returners for this year's team include the reigning Big West Home Run Queen and Freshman Field Player of the Year, Hannah Becerra. Becerra was also named to the NFCA All-American Third Team and the NCFA All-West Region First team. Becerra led the Big West in home runs with 14, led the team with 47 RBIs, and scored 48 runs. The Titans will also be led by junior first basemen and Big West All-First Team member and one of the team captains in Daisy Munoz. Munoz had her first best season as a Titan last year as she posted a slash line of .338/.397/.640 overall and tallied 11 home runs and nine doubles to go with 40 RBI. Munoz had a .991 fielding percentage on the year with 50 games played, 339 total chances, 329 putouts and seven assists to go with three errors (just one in Big West play). The Titans outfield will be led by Big West All-Second Team member, and fellow team captain Megan Deldadillo. Delgadillo, a member of the All Big-West Freshman team and Second Team, had a .340 batting average with 51 hits, 5 doubles, two triples, and 14 RBIs. She was second in the Big West with 41 runs scored. She led the league in stolen bases with 31 which was the second-most in program history in a single season. She was also 11th in the country in stolen bases. And the Titans will also be led by Big West Honorable Mention Peyton Toto. Toto slashed .287/.327/.466 to go with four homers, 19 RBI and seven doubles.
The 2019 Co-Freshman Field Player of the Year Alexa Neil is expected to return to the starting lineup this season along with former two-time All Big West First Team Selection, Deshea Hill, who opted out of last year's campaign.
The Titans lost most of their pitching from last season but Coach Ford is adamant that this year's pitching crop is just as deep and talented as before. The Titans lost over 257 innings pitched from last season and return just 76 ⅓ innings with Staci Chambers, Ellie Zellien, and Alexis Silvas as the three returning pitchers.
The Titans will welcome in a solid group of newcomers led by the freshman, Raci Miranda. Miranda will be a fixture in the Titans rotation as a true Freshman. She has pitched under Associate Head Coach Jorge Araujo with the Mexican Junior National Team.
The Titans will also welcome in a couple transfers that will make an immediate impact on the roster. Myka Sutherlin from the University of the Pacific. Sutherlin started 12 games for the Tigers and went 6-2 from the circle with a 1.88 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched. She had 49 strikeouts to 17 walks.
Antuanett Dean from New Mexico State will look to add more speed in the outfield and on the basepaths to complement Megan Delgadillo. Dean batted .286 last season for the Aggies and scored 15 runs and had 10 stolen bases.
This year's schedule is highlighted by 12 teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season including three programs (Arizona, Oklahoma, UCLA) that made it to the Softball World Series, with defending champion Oklahoma the headliner. The schedule also includes ten teams that are within the Power 5 conferences.
"We're not shying away from the power five schools. We have them set up all pre-season long to prepare us for conference play. My philosophy is to play the toughest pre-season you can and that hasn't ever changed," said head coach Kelly Ford.
The Titans are also excited to open up their brand new 6,500 square foot facility for the 2022 season. The facility features brand new locker rooms, coaches offices, a game room, athletic training rooms, rooms for video analysis, and covered batting cages. Over the two past seasons, the softball team has not had a locker room. "We got a new little swag with the new locker room and new batting cages. There is a lot of excitement in the air with the university celebrating our student athlete's experience." said head coach Kelly Ford. The official ribbon cutting to the facility will be held on Thursday, February 10th at 12 PM.
The Titans softball coaching staff would also like to communicate that pitcher Taylor Dockins is doing well. She had a successful liver transplant surgery and is operating cancer free. She is still rehabbing from the major surgery but she was able to surprise the team with a visit this past week.
The season begins next week as Fullerton faces Ole Miss and Dixie State on Friday, Feb. 11 at 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm to kick off the Fullerton Easton Invitational.
WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch every home softball game exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Anderson Family Field. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the softball team has established its own Twitter (fullerton_sb) and Instagram accounts (fullerton_sb).