Cal State Fullerton 2012 Baseball World Series Capsule

Cal State Fullerton Titans
Big West (35-19, 17-7)

 
After Dave Serrano left for Tennessee, it could have been easy for the Cal State Fullerton Titan baseball program to be content with rebuilding. However, that word is not in their vocabulary as they had a streak of winning 11 consecutive series, continuing their elite status under first year head coach Rick Vanderhook, who came over from UCLA after being an assistant coach under John Savage. The Titans put together a strong non-conference run in winning series against TCU and on the road in College Station, which should help them greatly come Selection Monday as the Big West is not quite as strong as in previous years.

Big Wins: 2/19 at Florida (8-5), 2/25 vs TCU (4-2), 3/10 - 3/11 at Texas A&M (6-5, 4-3), 3/28 at Arizona State (9-5)
Bad Losses: 3/6 at USC (4-7), 3/13 vs Washington State (8-9, 11), 4/24 at Loyola Marymount (5-6)
Coach: Rick Vanderhook (1st season at Cal State Fullerton)

Why They Can Surprise:
The Titans will try to maintain their overall consistency in regards to their hitting and pitching, which is buoyed by the dual threat of Michael Lorenzen, who plays in the outfield and has been the closer this season as well. Lorenzen can hit for average and steal bases with the nation’s best as well. He is arguably the most valuable player for Fullerton. Graham Weist and Dylan Floro have been strong in the weekend rotation supplying plenty of depth for a long post season run to Omaha. Also, the nonconference schedule should safely have prepared this team for a gauntlet of postseason baseball in June.

Why They Can Disappoint:
The Titans are not the most power laden team in college baseball. They can’t completely afford to get into slugfests in the postseason unless absolutely necessary. The Titans have made the mark by being fundamentally sound offensively, making teams pay on the base paths and getting out in front of teams and locking them down with their pitching depth and strong defense. If they have to play from behind a lot in the postseason it could equal an earlier than expected exit from postseason play for Fullerton for the second year in a row.

Key Field Players:
Michael Lorenzen, Sophomore, OF, .303 BA, 39 RBI, 14 SB
Carlos Lopez, Junior, IF, .327 BA, 34 RBI
Richy Pedroza, Junior, IF, .332 BA, 20 RBI
Matt Chapman, Freshman, IF, .288 BA, 22 RBI
Anthony Hutting, Junior, OF, .280 BA, 26 RBI

Key Pitchers:
Graham Wiest, Freshman, Starting Pitcher, 2.78 ERA, 5-5 W/L, 81.0 IP, 56 SO
Dylan Floro, Junior, Starting Pitcher, 2.52 ERA, 10-3 W/L, 107.1 IP, 68 SO
Michael Lorenzen, Sophomore, Closer, 1.23 ERA, 2-0 W/L, 22.0 IP, 17 SO, 16 SV

By the Numbers:
Batting Average: .281 (117th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Offense:  5.3 (155, 3)
Doubles per Game: 1.80 (84, 3)
Triples per Game: 0.25 (108, 4)
Home Runs per Game: 0.16 (278, 7)
Slugging Percentage: .364 (185, 4)
Stolen Bases per Game: 0.86 (171, 3)
Earned Run Average: 3.15 (30, 2)
Fielding Percentage: .974 (38, 2)
Double Plays per Game: 0.82 (103, 4)

Recent Postseason Appearances:

*all team stats through 5/20

 
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