FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton assembled a challenging schedule for the 2013 season, which features 25 home dates at Goodwin Field and 20 different opponents, including seven that advanced to last season’s NCAA Division I Baseball tournament.
Highlights of the schedule include Goodwin Field hosting series against 2012 postseason participants Oregon (Mar. 1-3) and Texas A&M (Mar. 8-10). Nebraska will also travel to Fullerton twice, for a doubleheader on Feb. 16 and back-to-back contests on March 19-20.
“I’m pleased that we were able to schedule a number of high-quality opponents for the 2013 season, and just as important, have several of the best teams in the country visit Goodwin Field,” second-year head coach Rick Vanderhook said. “As always, the Big West Conference will be a difficult test, and the league only gets stronger with the addition of Hawai’i. I think our fans will be elated with the quality of competition at Goodwin Field this season.”
A number of former Titans pepper CSF’s schedule. Along with Oregon head coach George Horton, former Cal State Fullerton assistant coach and player, Ted Silva, will return to Goodwin as part of Nebraska’s coaching staff. The Titans will also see former CSF pitching coach Bill Kernen, who is now entering his fifth season as head coach at Cal State Bakersfield.
Fullerton will meet both Silva and Kernen to kick off 2013 as the Titans play three different opponents the first weekend of the year, beginning with hosting USC to open the season on Friday, Feb. 15. The Titans will then host a doubleheader with Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 16, before traveling to Cal State Bakersfield to close opening weekend on Sunday, Feb. 17.
Fullerton will travel to Fort Worth, Texas for the second weekend of action (Feb. 22-24) to play 2012 super regional participant TCU in a return series from 2012. Former player and assistant coach Kirk Saarloss is also now on staff with the Horned Frogs.
Following the club’s trip to Fort Worth, CSF will return to Goodwin Field to host 2012 super regional host Oregon and regional host Texas A&M in back-to-back series. The Titans will then travel to Tulsa, Okla., to play a return series with Summit League champions Oral Roberts.
In total, the Titans will play seven opponents that reached the 2012 postseason, including midweek foes San Diego (March 5), Pepperdine (Feb. 19, April 16), and UCLA (April 2, May 14).
CSF will close non-conference action with a non-league series at Long Beach State (March 22-24). The Big West rivals have now scheduled non-conference series for three consecutive years. The Titans will open Big West action hosting Pacific (March 28-30), and will close league play at Cal State Northridge (May 23-25).
The Titans will also play Hawai’i for the first time as a conference opponent. Fullerton holds an 8-4 all-time record against the Rainbows, including a four-game series sweep of UH in Honolulu during the 2011 season.
The Titans will also play three scrimmages in the fall, with back-to-back games at UNLV this weekend as well as hosting Family Fun Day on Saturday Nov. 3, which will include a scrimmage against UC Santa Barbara at Goodwin Field.
Notes: The Titans will play seven opponents that advanced to the 2012 Division I Baseball tournament (Oral Roberts, Pepperdine, Texas A&M, San Diego) three opponents that advanced to the super regionals (Oregon, TCU) and one opponent that advanced to the College World Series (UCLA)…CSF will play four opponents that finished 2012 ranked in Baseball America’s Top-25 (No. 5 UCLA, No. 11 Oregon, No. 16 TCU, No. 19 Texas A&M)…six of Fullerton’s opponents were ranked in the top-50 of the NCAA’s final top-50 2012 RPI ratings (No. 1 UCLA, No. 6 Oregon, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 29 Pepperdine, No. 31 TCU, No. 36 San Diego )…four of CSF’s opponents were also conference champions in 2012: Pepperdine (West Coast), TCU (co-Mountain West), Oral Roberts (Summit), UCLA (Pac-12).
Titan connections: Ted Silva (pitching coach Nebraska) was an assistant coach with the Titans (2005-2006), helping CSF to the 2006 College World Series when Fullerton produced an NCAA-best 2.73 ERA. Silva also played three seasons for the Titans from 1993-95, helping Fullerton to its third national championship during his junior year. An All-American, Silva led the nation in victories in 1995, posting an 18-1 overall record with a 2.83 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 152 2/3 innings…Bill Kernen (head coach Cal State Bakersfield) spent a combined seven seasons at Cal State Fullerton. From 1978-82, he helped guide the Titans to five NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the College World Series and the Titans’ first national title in 1979. Kernen also was CSF’s pitching coach in 1987 and 2007…Kirk Saarloss (assistant coach TCU), spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, putting together a 77-38 (.670) record and winning two Big West titles. Saarloss racked up a school-record 127 appearances over his four seasons (1998-01) in a Titan uniform. As a senior in 2001, he went on to earn first-team All-American honors and was named the Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year…George Horton (head coach Oregon) spent 17 seasons at Cal State Fullerton serving as the Titan head coach from 1997-07, and as an assistant from 1991-96. During his time as head coach, CSF made 11 consecutive postseason appearances, including six trips to the College World Series and a national championship in 2004. Horton also played for the Titans for two years (1975-76), earning all-conference honors as a first baseman during both seasons…Jason Gill, currently the head coach at Loyola Marymount, was an assistant coach for the Titans from 2005-07. He also played for CSF in 1994.
2013 Cal State Fullerton Schedule
