Fullerton Again Named Host City

Cal State Fullerton will host one of the 16 NCAA regional baseball tournaments for the second consecutive year, which Coach George Horton called “a tribute to our players and our program.”

Horton said Monday he just hopes the Titans will fare better on the playing field than they did last season when they hosted a regional for the first time. Fullerton lost its first-round game to third-seeded Loyola Marymount, then lost in the final of the double-elimination tournament to top-seeded USC.

“I think this year’s team deserves to host because of the record they’ve put together, even though we slipped a little last week,” Horton said.

Fullerton (39-14) lost two of three Big West Conference games to UC Santa Barbara, but leads the Gauchos by one game and Long Beach State by two in the conference race with three games to play. The Titans and 49ers meet in a three-game series at Fullerton beginning Friday.

Fullerton was one of three West Coast schools chosen by the NCAA selection committee to host one of the four-team tournaments May 25-27. USC (36-16) and Stanford (39-14) also were picked. Pairings for the 64-team field will be announced next Monday.

Horton also sees the selection for a second year as a reward for improvements in the Titans’ stadium.

“There were a lot of obstacles to be overcome, but a lot of people have worked hard to put our playing facility in position to host a regional,” Horton said. “We really appreciate that.”

Additional improvements have been made at Goodwin Field since last year’s tournament. More permanent seats have been added to bring the capacity to about 4,000.

“All the reports we received from NCAA observers and umpires said we did an outstanding job last year,” Athletic Director John Easterbrook said. “We’re excited about being able to host again.”

Easterbrook said Fullerton made money on the regional, although he said he did not have exact figures available. “We returned more money to the NCAA than we bid,” Easterbrook said. The minimum bid is $35,000.

Wally Groff, chairman of the NCAA selection committee, said 32 schools submitted bids to host regionals. He said one bid was $330,000.

Tournament attendance at the Fullerton regional was 13,042 last year, an average of 2,174 for six games.

The site selection assured Fullerton of its 10th consecutive regional appearance and 23rd in its 27 Division I seasons. The Titans have won 10 regionals on the road, more than any other school.

“I don’t think it matters to our team’s performance this season if we play at home or on the road,” Horton said. “But it will be better for our fans and the families of players for us to be at home.”

Fullerton has a 20-8 record at home this season and is 19-6 on the road.

The Titans appear to still be in the running for a spot among the eight nationally seeded teams heading into the weekend series against Long Beach. Fullerton is ranked No. 4 by Baseball America and No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball this week. Miami is ranked No. 1 by Baseball America and USC tops the Collegiate Baseball poll.

Regional winners advance to best-of-three super regionals June 1-3. The eight super-regional champions move on to the College World Series June 8-16 in Omaha, Neb.

This will be the first time two regionals are scheduled in Southern California. USC last hosted at Dedeaux Field in 1999.

“I like the idea that we’re in surroundings we’re comfortable with for the regional,” USC Coach Mike Gillespie said. “Our guys can kind of stay in their daily routines.”

Nebraska (41-14), Tulane (45-9), Georgia (40-16) and East Carolina (44-11) will host regionals for the first time. Miami (41-12), Stanford, Louisiana State (37-18-1), Florida State (40-15), Clemson (37-18) and South Carolina (41-15) are other schools besides Fullerton that also hosted last year.

Notre Dame (45-9-1), Tennessee (41-15), Rice (40-12) and Ohio State (41-14) also were selected.

Regional hosts are guaranteed either first or second seedings in their regionals.

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Staff writer Gary Klein contributed to this story.