Fullerton, Long Beach to Meet in Showdown

Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State begin a high-impact Big West Conference baseball series tonight at Blair Field. It’s a matchup that appears to be a test of the Titans’ strong hitting against the 49ers’ steady pitching.

This series has often gone a long way toward determining the conference championship. It will again. The teams are tied for the lead with 11-4 records, each with six Big West games remaining. Nevada Las Vegas and UC Santa Barbara share third place at 9-6.

After this weekend, Fullerton (38-6) has a three-game series at home against UC Santa Barbara, and Long Beach (28-18) closes its conference season at San Jose State. The top four teams advance to the conference’s postseason playoffs, May 10-12 at Fullerton. The winner there receives the automatic NCAA bid.

Fullerton, ranked No. 1 in two of three polls, is third in the nation in hitting at .351 and sixth in scoring at 9.45 runs per game. Titan outfielders Jeremy Giambi and Mark Kotsay also rank among the national leaders. Giambi, who leads the Big West with a .438 average, is 10th nationally. Kotsay, hitting .399, is 13th nationally in runs batted in per game and 22nd in home runs. He leads the Big West in each category with 15 homers and 64 RBIs.

The Titan pitching staff also ranks eighth nationally with a 3.26 earned-run average. Sophomore left-hander Brent Billingsley (10-0) has become the Titans’ most consistent starter with a 2.73 ERA and two consecutive complete-game victories. Billingsley is scheduled to start tonight’s 7:05 game, with Scott Hild (7-1, 3.07) going Saturday night and Kirk Irvine (10-2, 3.27) set for Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. finale.

Pitching is 25th-ranked Long Beach’s strength. The 49ers are second in the conference behind Fullerton with a 3.42 ERA. Sophomore Marcus Jones (7-3), scheduled to start tonight, has the Big West’s best ERA among starters at 2.54. Rocky Biddle (4-3, 3.69) and Steve Hueston (3-3, 3.48) complete the 49er rotation. Closer Ryan Brannan (4-1, 1.83) leads the Big West in saves with 10 and is second nationally. Long Beach, however, ranks last in the conference in hitting at .277.

The 49ers have four hitters above .300, with shortstop Jason Knupfer at .337. Mike Stembridge, who platoons in the outfield, is hitting .347. First baseman Jeff Tagliaferri leads in RBIs with 28.

Fullerton has run into unexpected problems lately against second-division teams in the conference, losing two of three games at New Mexico State and San Jose State the last three weeks, but the Titans are even with the victory pace of last year’s team that won the College World Series and finished 57-9.