May 17, 2007

PLAY BALL: Mathematically out of the automatic berth to the postseason, the Titans (31-19, 8-7) continue their quest for a 16th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament (current mark of 15 in a row is nation's fourth longest active streak) with only six games remaining in the regular season -- three this weekend at Cal Poly (27-23, 8-7) and three at home next weekend vs. Long Beach State.

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Titans at Cal Poly (27-23, 8-7)
@ Baggett Stadium, May 18-20, 2007

Friday, 6 p.m. PST (GT, WEB, BWTV)
CSF: Wes Roemer, RHP (8-5, 2.97 ERA)
CP: Eric Massingham, RHP (1-1, 5.01)

Saturday, 6 p.m. PST (GT, WEB, BWTV)
CSF: Jeff Kaplan, RHP (9-3, 3.63 ERA)
CP: Grant Theophilus, LHP (1-1, 4.11 ERA)

Sunday, 1 p.m. PST (GT, WEB, BWTV)
CSF: Paul Canedo, LHP (0-0, 5.23 ERA) or
CSF: Justin Klipp, RHP (2-0, 2.32 ERA)
CP: Thomas Eager, RHP (9-3, 3.58 ERA)

ON THE AIR: All three Titan baseball games this weekend will be broadcast live from Baggett Stadium by baseball SID Mike Greenlee. You can access the broadcast from any computer by going to fullertontitans.com and following the links set up on the right side of the home page.

GAME TRACKER: Follow the Titans and Highlanders pitch by pitch with the CSTV.com GameTracker interface. Links are conveniently located on the baseball schedule page on the right hand side, ready to take you to each game with a simple click of your mouse.

BIG WEST TV: You can watch the remaining six regular-season baseball games live as they happen right from your computer. Get your subscription now at bigwest.or/tv and watch the Titans as they take on Cal Poly and nationally-ranked Long Beach State in the coming two weeks. You are just a few clicks away from catching your Titans as they come down the home stretch.

VERSUS THE MUSTANGS: Cal State Fullerton holds a 41-5 all-time series lead over Cal Poly dating back to their first-ever meeting in 1984. The Titans have won the last four meetings with the Mustangs dating back to the 2005 season. Last year, Fullerton swept Cal Poly by scored of 6-4, 3-1, and 1-0 at Goodwin Field. The last time the Titans traveled to Baggett Stadium, the Titans earned the series win with a pair of 3-1 wins sandwiching a 3-4 loss against the then-No. 20 Mustangs. The two teams have not met in the post season

LAST WEEK: Winning a series at Wichita State over the past weekend was a big plus toward an at-large berth and came despite less than desirable travel conditions. Due to a "miscommunication" with a travel agent, the Titans' travel party was broken into seven groups involving both Los Angeles and Orange County Airports in both directions. The majority of the group couldn't get out of Wichita until Monday.

Wes Roemer and Jeff Kaplan picked up the victories at Wichita State with solid relief help. Roemer won the opener, 6-2, with Adam Jorgensen pitching the final 2.1 innings of shutout relief for his team-high seventh save. Roemer struck out eight and improved to 8-5. John Curtis drove in the game's first run and scored the second. Joe Scott and Clark Hardman teamed up for a pair of runs as Scott finished with 3 hits and Hardman was one of four Titans with two.

Kaplan got his second win of the week on Saturday by a 3-1 score and later was named Big West Conference pitcher of the week. After five hitless innings, he was tagged for Tyler Weber's leadoff home run in the sixth. Dustin Birosak got one out and Bryan Harris pitched the final 2.2 innings of shutout relief for his second save. The Titans got their runs in a span of four batters in the fourth inning. Scott doubled and came home on Nick Mahin's eighth home run of the year. Curtis doubled and scored on Khris Davis' RBI single.

Michael Morrison suffered a 7-0 loss on Sunday, surrendering four runs in the second inning. Two Shocker hurlers combined on a shutout despite a 3-for-4 day by Hardman. Birosak's string of consecutive scoreless innings was snapped at 13.1 when the Shockers pushed across a third-inning run.

Earlier in the week the Titans erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning for a deceptive 13-5 victory over Loyola Marymount. Mahin hit two home runs and Corey Jones and Josh Fellhauer also went "yard."

KAPLAN NAMED BIG WEST PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Cal State Fullerton junior righthander Jeff Kaplan (Dana Point, CA / Irvine Valley College) was selected this week's Easton Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week. It is the second week in a row and fifth time overall this season that a Titan has garnered the award. Kaplan went 2-0 in two appearances, picking up a win against Loyola Marymount in his first relief performance of the season and then going the first six innings of a 3-1 victory at No. 9-ranked Wichita State. The win vs. LMU came at home when he pitched two scoreless innings and the Titans broke open a tie game. On Saturday, he did not allow a hit through the first five innings and lost his shutout on a leadoff home run to start off the sixth. For the week he worked 8 innings and allowed only 4 hits while striking out eight. His seasonal record is now 9-3.