June 11 , 2007

Fullerton Super Regional Preview:UCLA Bruins at Fullerton State Titans

Contributed by Michael Bader

This is an intriguing best of three series against two unlikely opponents. So unlikely that UCLA did not even bother to bid for the right to host a super regional. So unlikely that Baseball America, BDD’s Dean Jones and just about every prognosticator pick the Bruins in 2 straight games against a Fullerton team they have spent a lifetime competing with. Even more unlikely and yet strangely familiar, we find another George Horton coached team hitting its stride in the post season and poised to add another College World Series appearance to their hallowed list. We’ll take a few minutes and try to decipher the mystery they call “the Fullerton Super Regional”.

Both squads were different teams when they met up in late February of this year. The Bruins were ranked 15th nationally while the Titans were #10 in the polls. Both teams are young in experience with superior pitching and starters. The Titans handed UCLA two losses (7-4 and 7-2) in Westwood while Bruin Tyson Brummett handed the Titans their 4th loss of the season in mid-February. After dropping the series to Fullerton, the Bruins fell from the national rankings with series defeats by Ole Miss, San Diego St. and a game to Long Beach St. But fortunes would improve for the Bruins as they would go on to finish 3rd (behind the Arizona schools) by posting a 14-10 record in the Pac-10 conference.

Fullerton’s season mirrored defending national champion Oregon State’s, who finished 6th in the Pac-10 going 10-14 in conference but were still were selected to participate in the post season. Injuries befell the Titans when they lost starting 2b Joel Weeks and starting 1b Jake Vasquez depleting any experience they had on the bench. Also, #3 starter, Sean Urena, fell to the Sports Illustrated jinx after being noted in the publication for his dominating 1-hit complete game performance in March against #6 Rice.

Subsequently the Titans dropped out of the national rankings while the Big West conference sought and found revenge for Fullerton’s regular conference dominance. After taking a home series to #2 Rice, they were swept on the road by East Carolina. They proceeded to lose series to Irvine, Santa Barbara, Long Beach, Cal Poly SLO and conference champion’s UC Riverside lead the Titans to an uncharacteristic 5th place finish (10-11 in conference). Later in the season they appeared to right the ship somewhat with a series victory on the road with 9th ranked Wichita State.

This best of three series marks the first time since 1979 that Fullerton and UCLA have faced one another in the playoffs. In that last playoff appearance, UCLA took the first game of that series and forced Fullerton into the losers’ bracket. The Titans returned the favor twice with two victories to win the regional and lead the Titan baseball team to their first national championship.

Saturday’s game (7 p.m. EDT – ESPN) features two pitchers selected on Wednesday in the 2007 amateur draft. Tyson Brummet for UCLA (selected in the 7th round by Philadelphia) posted a 10-5 record in 17 starts and a 3.57 ERA recording 109 strikeouts and 29 walks in 134 innings this season. Wes Roemer for Fullerton (selected in the first round by Arizona) touted a 10-6 record in 18 starts, 3.33 ERA 136 strikeouts and 26 walks in 127 innings.

Sunday pits UCLA’s freshman LHP starter, Gavin Brooks (6-6, 4.65 ERA) vs Fullerton’s Jeff Kaplan (11-3, 3.35 ERA) on ESPN 2 beginning at 10 pm EDT. Brooks hurled a 2 hit complete game victory over Illinois-Chicago in the Long Beach regional last weekend.

The tentative starters for Monday’s rubber match (if necessary) will most likely find Bruin’s Tim Murphy (5-4, 5.68 ERA) on the mound and Justin Klipp (2-0, 2.15 ERA) for CSF. Justin Klipp was asked to spot start for the first time this season against Fresno State in the SD regional and turned in an exceptional performance. Although RP Bryan Harris was credited with the win because Klipp didn’t make it through the fifth, Harris stepped up to show his recent development and maturity by displaying tremendous poise, confidence and with what Coach Horton called “very dirty and nasty stuff”.

It is safe to say that it will be a tight game as long as the starters remain in the game. Both starters went all the way in their regional appearance wins and both bullpens are short on quality experience with no one dominating closer.

Offensively, the Bruins posted better offensive numbers than Fullerton did this season by hitting .297/.382/.431 (BA/OBP/SLG). However, Fullerton crossed the plate more times than UCLA did (379 – 363) because of their “small ball” style of play. The Bruins will undoubtedly try using their strategy against them as other teams have done successfully against Fullerton this season. However, Fullerton seems to have stepped up the offensive intensity and pressure against their playoff opponents, something that was missing most of the regular season.

Fullerton also touts Jr. 1B, Matt Wallach who stepped into the spotlight several times this season for the Titans in place of injured Jake Vasquez. Key home runs against Northridge & Long Beach launched come from behind victories for the Titans. Matt is the son of ex-Titan 1979 college and CWS MVP, former Montreal Expo and LA Dodger, Tim Wallach.

The Bruins are led by sophomore 3rd baseman Jermain Curtis, MVP of the Long Beach regional, 2nd baseman, Alden Carrithers (.351 ba), SS Brandon Crawford (.338 ba) outfielder, Gabe Choen (.348 10 HR’s) and catcher, Cody Decker (15 HR’s and 51 RBI’s). The Bruin offense has many ways to hurt a struggling pitcher and the team making the fewest mistakes in this series will come away the victor.

These two institutions can be found on the opposite ends of the economic spectrum, both with storied sports traditions. There is no need to review the details of the fabled UCLA Bruin athletic program. Bruin water polo recently recorded the athletic department’s 100th NCAA Division I national championship. Readers might be interested to learn that 30 of these championships were earned by the women’s program, 19 of them by men’s volleyball, 16 by men’s tennis, 11 by men’s basketball and “none” by the baseball program.

On the other side of the field, we find Cal State Fullerton with an up and down athletic history. They have 12 national championships to their fame in 7 different sports with baseball holding four of them. Fullerton is the closest college campus to Disneyland, and in 1978, their basketball team coined the phrase “Cinderella” by coming within 3 points of going to the final four. The Fullerton athletic department is also known for spending countless dollars on a football stadium facility, completed just in time to see the school drop football. Known for Brad Holland’s basketball recruiting violations driving a reasonably competitive basketball program into the ground for many years. We’ll explore how Fullerton’s “baseball program on a budget” covets four national championships over the past three decades in my next update from the Fullerton Super-Regional.