IRVINE, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton softball team has been selected to take home the Big West Conference championship for the 2023 season by the coaches of the conference. The pre-season poll was announced by the Big West Conference on Friday.
The Titans are coming off a year where they regained the Big West Title and their fifth conference championships in the last six full seasons (excluding the 2020 canceled Covid shortened season). The Titans went to the Tempe Regional last year where they lost a close one to hosts ASU and knocked out the No. 21 LSU before ending the season against San Diego State.
Also new for the 2023 Season is the Preseason All-Conference team. Out of the eleven players selected, five Titans were selected to the team. The other six players were represented by six different institutions.
The reigning Big West Field Player of the Year, Megan Delgadillo leads the first of the Titans preseason nominations. Last season, Megan Delgadillo slashed .404/.462/.444 for the season. She led the Big West Conference with 80 hits. She was 9th in the country in hits. She also led the conference with 57 runs scored. She set the individual Cal State Fullerton/Big West Conference single season stolen base record with 50 steals and was 4th in the country in steals. She was named to the NFCA All-West Region Second Team, the Big West Conference Field Player of the Year, and to the All-Big West First Team
Jessi Alcala was the second of the Titans preseason honorees. Alcala was named to the NFCA All-Region Third Team last year and the All-Big West First Team. Alcala slashed .377/.420/.596 for the season and .455/.506/.766 in Big West play. She had a 1.016 OPS overall and 1.272 OPS in conference only stats. She was third on the team with 57 hits which was good for fourth in the conference. She also had 38 RBIs, 12 doubles, and 7 home runs. She had a perfect fielding percentage from behind the dish and threw out 11 baserunners. Alcala swung one of the hottest bats during conference play and was one of the three nominees for the field player of the year that went to her teammate Megan Delgadillo.
Daisy Munoz is the third of the Titan's preseason honorees. Last season, Munoz slashed .328/.389/.570 for the season. She was second on the team with 61 hits and third in the conference. She led the conference with 15 doubles and swatted 10 home runs. She led the team and the conference with 49 RBIs and also had a perfect fielding percentage for the season. Munoz was the hero of the final series of the regular season after hitting a walk-off home run in the first game against Long Beach and the late go-ahead homerun against Long Beach in the second game to secure the conference crown for the Titans. Munoz was named to the All-Big West Second Team last year.
Hannah Becerra is the fourth of the Titans preseason honorees. After having an insane freshman season, Becerra had a tiny bit of sophomore slump after setting the bar so high after her freshman year. Becerra was named to the NCFCA All-West Region Second Team and the All-Big West Second Team last year. Last season, Becerra still slashed .302/.463/.525 for the season. She had 49 hits and was second on the team and conference with 49 runs scored. She also had 36 RBIs, 12 doubles, and 98 home runs. She was pitched around a ton last season and led the league with 44 walks. She had the second highest on-base percentage at .463
Myka Sutherlin is the final representative of the Titans on the preseason conference team. Sutherlin was the ace of the pitching staff last year and went 16-7 from the circle. She had a 2.43 ERA in 150 innings pitched and led the team with 154 punch outs. She pitched the 57th no-hitter in program history against CSU Bakersfield. She also picked up wins over ranked Arizona, Northwestern, and LSU. She was fourth in the conference with a 2.43 ERA and in strikeouts.
Fullerton was picked to finish first with 80 points (8 first place votes) over last season's runner-up Long Beach State who had 68 points (1 first place votes). Hawaii was picked to finish third with 59 points. UC San Diego was picked to finish fourth with 56 points. CSUN was picked to finish fifth 41 points. Cal Poly was picked to finish sixth with 40 points (1 first place vote). UC Riverside was picked to finish 7th with 36 votes. UC Davis was picked to finish eighth with 35 votes. UC Santa Barbara was picked to finish 9th with 20 votes. CSU Bakersfield was picked to finish last with 15 votes.
Cal State Fullerton begins their road to retain the conference title on Thursday, February 9th against the No. 2 team in the country, UCLA at Easton Stadium at 7:00 p.m.
Coaches Poll Results
1. Cal State Fullerton (8) - 80
2. Long Beach State (1) - 68
3. Hawaii - 59
4. UC San Diego - 56
5. CSUN - 41
6. Cal Poly (1) - 40
7. UC Riverside - 36
8. UC Davis- 35
9. UC Santa Barbara - 20
10. CSU Bakersfield - 15
The Big West All-Preseason Team is made up of 11 players: Jessi Alcala (Catcher, Cal State Fullerton), Hannah Becerra (Infielder, Cal State Fullerton), Kenedi Brown (Pitcher, UC Davis), Jada Cecil (Pitcher, UC San Diego), Jessica Clements (Outfielder, Cal Poly), Megan Delgadillo (Outfielder, Cal State Fullerton), Samantha Fowler (Pitcher, Long Beach State), Brianna Lopez (Pitcher, Hawai'i), Madelyn McNally (Infielder UC Santa Barbara), Daisy Munoz (Infielder, Cal State Fullerton), Myka Sutherlin (Pitcher, Cal State Fullerton)