Titans Ride Hot Hitting to Omaha

Cal State Fullerton has been on a batting tear in the NCAA playoffs, and Coach George Horton just hopes the Titans keep it going in the College World Series, which begins Friday.

“Unfortunately, there’s no guarantees that it will stay that way,” Horton said. “We know we’re going to be facing some outstanding pitching in Omaha and we have to hope that we can stay at the top of our game.”

Fullerton (46-16), the nation’s No. 1-seeded team, has out-homered its opponents, 14-2, and is batting .366 in six playoff games.

Shortstop Mike Rouse had four home runs in the two super-regional games at Goodwin Field against Mississippi State, and is batting .545 in the playoffs. He is batting a team-leading .395 for the season.

Rouse homered in three consecutive at-bats in Fullerton’s 13-2 victory Friday, then was three for three with a home run in the Titans’ 9-3 victory Saturday. Rouse went seven for eight in the super-regional and drove in eight runs.

Senior first baseman Aaron Rifkin, who is batting .464 in the playoffs, had three home runs Saturday, giving him a team-high 15. Rifkin moved into a tie for 10th among Fullerton’s career home run leaders with 29.

Horton said he has no explanation for the recent power surge by the Titans, who hit only nine homers in their first 24 games.

“All I know is that the timing sure is good,” Horton said. “And what Rifkin and Rouse did should be a big boost to their confidence.

“It does seem that when teams get hot at this time of the year, they do get a boost from home runs. I remember us having a lot of homers late in the season in 1995, as well as in 1999.”

Fullerton won the national championship in 1995 but was eliminated in three games at the College World Series in 1999.

Horton said one of the strengths of this team is its balance on offense.

“Different players have picked us up at different times, and we need to keep getting that,” Horton said. “This team turned it around when it realized that it didn’t have to do it individually, but as a team. That’s when it started becoming a great team.”

Third baseman Shawn Norris was eight for 11 (.727) with two three-run homers in the regional, and is batting .471 in the playoffs. Freshman Shane Costa, a part-time starter in the outfield, leads the Titans with a .643 batting average for the playoffs.

Fullerton will be making its 11th College World Series appearance and second in three years.

The Titans will play Nebraska (50-14) in their first game in Rosenblatt Stadium either Friday or Saturday. The order and time of the games have not been set. Fullerton also will be in the same bracket with Tulane and Stanford. Tulane eliminated Louisiana State Sunday, and Stanford advanced with a victory over South Carolina.

Titan pitching coach Dave Serrano said either All-American Kirk Saarloos (15-2) or Jon Smith (10-2) will start against the Cornhuskers. “We’ll go over our scouting reports, and then make a decision later in the week,” Serrano said.

With the Titans sweeping the Bulldogs in two games, Smith didn’t pitch in the super-regional, and Serrano said the extra rest should help him in Omaha. Freshman Darric Merrell (7-4) picked up the victory Saturday.

“Just the extra two days of rest was a huge boost to [Smith] a week ago in the regional,” Serrano said.

Saarloos pitched seven innings in Fullerton’s rout of the Bulldogs Friday.