Cal State Fullerton Ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball

Cal State Fullerton (38-11) is ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 2 by Baseball America in this week’s polls.

The Titans have won 10 consecutive games and 24 of their last 25 after sweeping Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in a three-game series last weekend.

Collegiate Baseball ranks the Titans ahead of No. 2 Notre Dame (43-8-1) and No. 3 USC (33-16). It is the first time Fullerton has been No. 1 in the poll since May 9, 1999.

Baseball America has Nebraska (38-12) No. 1 followed by Fullerton and Miami (37-12).

* Santa Ana of the Orange Empire Conference is the top-seeded team in the Southern California Community College baseball playoffs. Pairings were announced Monday.

Santa Ana (33-9) will host one of four four-team first-round tournaments, which start Friday. Santa Ana will host No. 16 El Camino (22-20) and No. 9 Saddleback (31-11) plays No. 8 Chaffey (27-10), also at Santa Ana.

Also on Friday: No. 10 Cypress (28-15) plays No. 7 Palomar (32-9) at L.A. Harbor College; No. 13 Orange Coast (24-16) plays at No. 4 Cuesta (31-10), and No. 14 Hancock (32-11) plays at No. 3 Riverside (37-6), the defending state champion.

The first round continues Saturday and Sunday. The four winners advance to the second round next week.

SOFTBALL

Kelly Ford, an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, has resigned effective at the end of the season to become head coach at Mt. San Antonio College, the Titan athletic department announced Monday.

Ford previously an assistant at Cal State Northridge and Oklahoma, has been a member of Michelle Gromacki’s Fullerton staff for two seasons.

* Amber Gaines, an outfielder at Pacifica, has signed with Francis Marion in Florence, S.C., and Erin Murray, a third baseman with La Habra, has signed with Louisiana at Monroe.

BADMINTON

Villa Park, favored to win its first Division I title, is the top-seeded team in the Southern Section badminton pairings announced Monday. The Spartans were favored to win the title the previous three years, but fell short in each attempt. This season, however, they have added three of the top male players in the nation to their squad, along with their already strong girls’ team.

Defending champion Alhambra is seeded No. 2, 2000 finalist Garden Grove is No. 3 and South El Monte is No. 4.

Cypress, Troy, Kennedy, La Quinta and Ocean View are in Villa Park’s half of the 32-team bracket, while Santa Ana Valley, Katella, La Habra, Westminster, Fullerton and Bolsa Grande round out Garden Grove’s side of the bracket.

VOLLEYBALL

Rebecca Gottlieb of Newport Beach has been named to the U.S. women’s team that will compete in the 16th World Maccabiah Games in July in Israel. Gottlieb is a coach with the Orange County Volleyball Club.