Cal State Fullerton releases 2017 Schedule

Photo By David Cohen, BHEphotos

Of the 55 games, 29 games will take place at Goodwin Field with 26 road games. In addition, the Titans will host their annual alumni game at 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 28, and will play an exhibition with NC Dinos of the Korean Professional Baseball League on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

The Titans, who enter the season with the 21st ranked recruiting class in the country as evaluated by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, will play six opponents who finished the 2016 season in the top-50 of the RPI ratings, as well as seven opponents that participated in the postseason.

In 2016, the Titans were 23-10 at home, 12-12 on the road and 1-1 in neutral site games as Cal State Fullerton wrapped up the 2016 season with a 36-23 (.610) overall record, notching the 42nd straight 30-win season for the Titans. Head coach Rick Vanderhook led Fullerton to its 21st Big West Conference title and 29th conference championship overall as he was named Big West Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career. It was also the Titans’ fourth conference title in his five years as head coach. He now holds a 197-103 overall record as coach of the Titans.

Fullerton made its 38th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 in 42 seasons at the NCAA Division I level. It was the Titans 25th straight postseason berth, the third longest active streak behind Miami, FL. (44) and Florida State (39).

NON-CONFERENCE || Road Games
The Titans will face a particularly tough test with an eight-game road stretch that includes a three-game series at UNLV (Feb. 24-26), a three-game series at Houston (March 3-5) and a two-game set at Arizona State (March 7-8). The eight-game road stand is the first of two on the schedule.
UNLV Notes: Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Greg Maddux is the Rebels’ volunteer assistant coach…Titans lead the all-time series 71-18, last playing one another in a single-game affair, a 2-1 Titan victory, on March 18, 2014 in Las Vegas…the teams last played a three-game set in 2008 with Fullerton getting the sweep at Goodwin…the Titans last played at three-game series at UNLV from Feb. 9-11, 2007 winning the first two games.
Houston Notes: Finished 36-23 overall last year and 11-12 in the American Conference…23-9 at home…Titans lead the overall series 9-2…last meeting was a three-game series from Feb. 20-22, 2004, in Houston in which the Titans took the last two games.
Arizona State Notes: After hosting Arizona State last year in a two-game midweek series, the Titans will travel to Tempe for the first time since 2012 for a two-game set…the Sun Devils lead the all-time series 32-27, including 21-11 advantage in Tempe…in 2012, the teams split a pair of games…ASU advanced to the 2016 NCAA Tournament and finished the year with an RPI of 38…2016 recruiting class ranked No. 1 in the country.
Long Beach State Notes: Counting 2017, the teams will play both a three-game non-conference series and three-game conference series for the seventh straight year…Fullerton leads the all-time series, 140-68…Long Beach State advanced to a NCAA Regional in 2016 and ended the year with a RPI rating of 41.

NON-CONFERENCE || Home & Road Games
San Diego Notes: First game of an eight-game road stretch for the Titans on March 21…Fullerton holds a 55-12-2 advantage in the all-time series…CSF has won the last two games between the programs…the teams have played one another 15 times dating back to 2007…Toreros return on April 18.
UCLA Notes: Fullerton leads the all-time series 67-32-2…away game on April 28 and home on May 9…have played one another at least once every year dating back to 1975, Fullerton’s first season competing at the Division I level.

NON-CONFERENCE || Home Games
Cal State Fullerton opens the season with four consecutive home games, not counting the Alumni Game (Jan. 28) and exhibition with the NC Dinos (Feb. 21).
Stanford Notes: The Titans will open the season for a three-game series with Stanford on Feb. 17. The Titans have played Stanford more than any other PAC-12 program in history, with the Cardinal holding a 58-44 lead in the series, although the Titans boast a 29-22 advantage at Goodwin Field. Dating back to 1982, Stanford and Cal State Fullerton have opened the season against one another 16 times, each team winning eight times, with Fullerton holding 6-1 record against Stanford in season openers at home.
San Diego State Notes: The Aztecs and Titans will play just once in 2017 as SDSU visits on Feb. 22. Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series 39-11 with a 19-3 record at home.
Gonzaga Notes: When Gonzaga visits from March 10-12, it will start an eight-game home stand for Fullerton, the longest of the year. It will also be the Titans’ first meeting against the Bulldogs since a 7-4 Cal State Fullerton victory in the 2009 Fullerton Regional at Goodwin Field…the Titans lead the overall series 8-3 including an 8-1 advantage at home…Gonzaga reached an NCAA Regional in 2016, ended the year with an RPI rating of 33 and an overall record of 36-21.
San Jose State Notes: Head Coach Jason Hawkins is in his first year…Fullerton leads the all-time series 29-13.
Arizona Notes: Playing a single-game on March 15…the Wildcats finished the season 49-24 and lost in the College World Series championship series to Coastal Carolina…ended the year with a RPI rating of 12…Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series 63-35 as the teams will meet for the 99th time…UA recruiting coordinator and first base coach Sergio Brown won a national championship as a player at Cal State Fullerton in 1995, and coached for the Titans from 2008-10.
New Mexico Notes: Another postseason team will visit Goodwin Field from March 17-19 to close the home stand. The Lobos ended last season with a RPI rating of 47 and a 39-23 overall record…Fullerton holds a 7-2 record in the all-time series and this will be the first meeting for the programs since an 11-3 CSF win in the 2010 Fullerton Regional.
USC Notes: The final two games of a three-game set (April 13-15) will be played at Goodwin Field…Fullerton leads the all-time series 50-41-1…the series will be the first true three-game series between the two programs since 2011.
Saint Mary’s Notes: A single game at Goodwin Field on May 15…finished the season with a 33-25 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the West Coast Conference Tournament.

CONFERENCE NOTES:
The Titans will begin their Big West Conference title defense at UC Riverside on March 31…UC Davis will visit April 7-9 to mark Fullerton’s first home conference series of 2017. The Titans swept the Aggies in 2016 and boast a 32-4 overall record against UCD, never losing a three-game series…Fullerton will travel to Cal Poly (April 21-23) after a break from league action…the Titans will host UC Irvine at Goodwin Field (April 28-30), holding an 83-27 advantage in the all-time series and winning the Big West three-game set for seven straight seasons…the Titans will make a trip to Hawai’i (May 5-7) to open the final month of the regular season before returning home to host UC Santa Barbara (May 12-14). The Gauchos finished 2016 with an RPI rating of 18 and advanced to the College World Series after finishing third in the Big West Conference (43-20, 13-11)…Fullerton’s final road series of the year will be at CSUN (May 19-21) before ending the regular season hosting Long Beach State (May 25-27) at Goodwin Field. The 2-1 conference series win for the Titans at the end of 2016 clinched the Big West championship for Cal State Fullerton.

2017 Cal State Fullerton Schedule