May 30, 2003

Fullerton Regional Capsules

1. Cal State Fullerton Titans

Fullerton, California

At-large bid from Big West Conference

2003 record – 15-6, 43-13 (second in Big West)

Coach:  George Horton (Cal State Fullerton ‘78)

Record at school: 302-129-1, seven years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Dave Serrano, Rick Vanderhook

Team offense: .335 BA, 464 R, 31 HR, .472 SLG%, .415 OB%, 102/141 SB

Team pitching: 2.80 ERA, 497.1 IP, 465 H, 109 BB, 441 K

Top hitters: Shane Costa (.382/4/50/26 SB), P.J. Pilittere (.379/2/24), Danny Dorn (.371/5/52), Kurt Suzuki (.355/2/27), Ronnie Prettyman (.358/0/30/45 R), Kyle Boyer (.335/5/48/22 SB), Sergio Pedrosa (.335/4/24/23 SB).

Top pitchers: Chad Cordero (4-1, 5 saves, 1.52, 44.1 IP, 35 H, 6 BB, 56 K), Ryan Schreppel (5-2, 1.90, 42.2 IP, 30 H, 13 BB, 34 K), Jason Windsor (8-2, 1.91, 70.2, 58 H, 15 BB, 58 K), Dustin Miller (7-2, 3.40, 79.1 IP, 84 H, 19 BB, 81 K), Wes Littleton (5-3, 3.82, 77.2 IP, 80  H, 14 BB, 63 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2002 (1-2 at Palo Alto Regional)

Notes: This will be Fullerton’s 25th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Titans have gone to the College World Series 11 times.

2. Arizona Wildcats

Tuscon, Ariz.

At-large bid from Pacific-10 Conference

2003 Record – 13-11, 35-21 (fourth in Pac-10)

Coach – Andy Lopez (UCLA, 1975)

Record at school – 66-45, two years

Overall record – 753-463-6, 21 years

Assistant coaches – Mark Wasikowski, Jeff Morris

Team offense - .329 BA, 514 R, 71 HR, .540 SLG%, .395 OB%, 142/184 SB

Team pitching – 4.96 ERA, 502.2 IP, 571 H, 198 BB, 403 K

Top hitters – Jeff Van Houten (.415/11/71), Brian Anderson (.375/14/61/17 SB), Nick Hundley (.359/2/25/14 SB), Brad Boyer (.345/5/45/24 SB), Richard Mercado (.319/4/31), Pat Reilly (.318/2/23/15 SB), Trevor Crowe (.317/2/33/13 SB), Derek Decater (.309/4/32), Moises Duran (.293/15/63/16 SB)

Top pitchers – Richie Gardner (9-2, 3.84, 105.1 IP, 110 H, 37 BB, 91 K), John Meloan (4-1, 2 saves, 4.32, 36 H, 27 BB, 39 K), Kevin Guyette (3-3, 2 saves, 4.80, 50.2 IP, 65 H, 10 BB, 34 K), Sean Rierson (9-2, 5.27, 97.1 IP, 116 H, 17 BB, 63 K), Joe Little (4-4, 5.40, 75 IP, 87 H, 44 BB, 62 K)

Last NCAA appearance – 1999 (0-2 at Waco Regional)

Notes – Andy Lopez is one of eight coaches to take two schools to the College World Series. Pepperdine won the national championship in 1992 with Lopez at the helm. Arizona is in the NCAA Tournament for the 29th time and has made 14 trips to Omaha. The Wildcats have three national titles and three seconds. Arizona was swept in its final series at Arizona State. The Wildcats stole 142 bases, compared to 74 last season. Arizona has 50 triples, compared to 16 by its opponents.

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
South Bend, Ind.
Automatic - won the Big East Tournament
2003 Record: 16-7, 43-16 (second in Big East)
Coach: Paul Mainieri (Florida International, 1980)
Record at school: 397-158-1, eight years
Overall record: 723-434-1, 21 years
Assistant coaches: Brian O’Connor, David Grewe, Wally Widelski
Team offense: .306 BA, 410 R, 30 HR, .430 SLG%, .383 OB%, 77/108 SB
Team pitching: 3.51 ERA, 518 IP, 481 H, 200 BB, 482 SO
Top hitters: Matt Edwards (.379/8/65), Steve Sollmann (.370/4/37/33 SB), Cody Rizzo (.316/4/38), Brennan Grogan (.312/0/24), Craig Cooper (.302/0/15), Javi Sanchez (.296/1/25), Matt Macri (.293/3/20), Joe Thaman (.267/1/21), Kris Billmaier (.265/5/40).  
Top pitchers: Brandon Viloria (1-0, 1.64, 22 IP, 17 H, 4 BB, 17 K), Tom Thornton (5-1, 1.84, 53.2 IP, 53 H, 14 BB, 29 K), Ryan Doherty (2-0, 1.93, 23.1 IP, 10 H, 7 BB, 40 K), J.P. Gagne (4-5, 12 saves, 2.61, 58.2 IP, 52 H, 21 BB, 45 K), Chris Niesel (9-1, 2.69, 90.1 IP, 80 H, 15 BB, 82 K), Ryan Kalita (6-1, 3.29, 68.1 IP, 62 H, 26 BB, 56 K), John Axford (9-3, 4.31, 71 IP, 63 H, 50 BB, 69 K).
Last NCAA appearance: 2002 (3-0 at South Bend Regional, 2-1 at Tallahassee Super Regional, 1-2 at College World Series)
Notes: The Fighting Irish got off to a bit of a slow start, but rolled in the latter part of the season to make its fifth straight trip to regionals and its ninth trip in 12 years. Matt Edwards went from fill-in last year to the offensive leader, hitting 16 doubles to go along with a team-best .379 average and team-high eight homers and 65 RBI. Steve Sollmann is still the guy who gets things going, stealing 33 bases and hitting at a .370 clip. Chris Niesel is the ace, but he was injured and didn’t pitch in the Big East tourney. The Irish turned to closer J.P. Gagne, who tossed a complete game in his absence. Ryan Doherty has 40 Ks in 23.1 innings out of the pen. Starters Ryan Kalita and John Axford are solid, although Axford has walked 50 in 71 innings.

4. San Diego Toreros

San Diego, Calif.

Automatic bid from West Coast Conference

2003 Record: 18-12, 31-28 (first in WCC West Division)

Coach: Rich Hill (California Lutheran, 1984)

Record at school: 167-126-2, five years

Overall record: 500-346-2, 16 years

Assistant coaches: Sean Kenny, Matt Kramer, Craig da Luz

Team offense: .295 BA, 363 R, 46 HR, .439 SLG%, .381 OB%, 50/76 SB

Team pitching: 5.32 ERA, 520.2 IP, 619 H, 240 BB, 375 K

Top hitters: Joey Prast (.360/12/56/15 SB), Tony Perez (.351/7/34), Freddy Sandoval (.324/8/40), Josh Hansen (.315/9/48), Lucas Wennersten (.303/3/43), Jose Ortega (.268/2/28), Mike Oseguera (.267/2/16)

Top pitchers: Kyle Collins (8-4, 3.68, 95.1 IP, 87 H, 41 BB, 69 K), Justin Blaine (4-5, 4.35, 70.1 IP, 73 H, 45 BB, 47 K), Tony Perez (2-4, 12 saves, 4.70, 46 IP, 43 H, 13 BB, 38 K), A. Wilson (5-6, 4.71, 84 IP, 116 H, 34 BB, 52 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2002 (1-2 at Mesa Regional)

Notes: San Diego is making its second consecutive NCAA appearance after winning the West Coast Conference title for the second straight year over Pepperdine in Malibu. The Toreros won a game in their first NCAA trip a year ago. Joey Prast leads the club in home runs (12) and steals (15).