Jan. 21, 2009

Cal State Fullerton received seven first-place votes and is No. 1 in the Big West Conference preseason poll, in voting by the league’s head coaches and released by the conference office.

The Titans, who have earned at least a share of seven of the past 10 championships, garnered 78 points. Cal State Fullerton was 41-22 a season ago under first-year head coach Dave Serrano. The Titans are led by Josh Fellhauer (.335, 62 runs, 40 RBI).

UC Irvine received 67 points to claim second place. The Anteaters were 42-18 in 2008 and advanced to a Super Regional for the second straight year. UC Irvine and second-year skipper Mike Gillespie return preseason All-America pitchers Eric Pettis (2.62, 17 saves), Daniel Bibona (9-3, 3.08) and Christian Bergman (5-2, 1.94).

UC Santa Barbara got one first-place vote and 65 points to come in third, while Long Beach State earned the other first-place vote and got 55 points for fourth. Cal Poly was fifth, followed by UC Riverside, UC Davis, Cal State Northridge and Pacific.

Big West Preseason Poll

1. Cal State Fullerton (7) 78

2. UC Irvine 67

3. UC Santa Barbara (1) 65

4. Long Beach State (1) 55

5. Cal Poly 45

6. UC Riverside 41

7. UC Davis 26

8. Cal State Northridge 19

9. Pacific 9