Cal State Fullerton Titans
Overall Rank: #39
Conference Rank: #2 Big West
Cal State Fullerton got off to a tough start but responded very well during conference play as they took two of three against Long Beach State and won the Big West Conference championship. The Titans were sent to the Los Angeles Regional where they took a game against UCLA and gave the Bruins all they wanted before falling short in the double elimination bracket. A very experienced pitching staff is back to lead Cal State Fullerton and that should set them up nicely to get back to postseason.
2018: 35-25, 18-3
2018 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Kelly Ford
Key Departed Players:
Sammie Vandiver, LF, .320 BA, 0 HR, 22 RBI
Shianne Brannan, SS, .227 BA, 1 HR, 17 RBI
Brooke Clemetson, RF, .289 BA, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 35 SB
Bryanna Ybarra, 3B/DP, .331 BA, 4 HR, 31 SO
Key Returning Players:
Sophie Frost, P, 2.23 ERA, 14-9 W/L, 151.0 IP, 82 SO
Trish Parks, P, 2.45 ERA, 12-3 W/L, 111.1 IP, 66 SO
Deshea Hill, INF, .356 BA, 2 HR, 30 RBI
Zoe Richard, INF, .309 BA, 3 HR, 32 RBI
Ari Williams, OF, .297 BA, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 22 SB
Julia Valenzuela, C, .262 BA, 2 HR, 27 RBI
Sam Kennedy, INF, .212 BA, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Taylor Dockins, P, 3.29 ERA, 7-4 W/L, 78.2 IP, 28 SO
Projection:
Sophie Frost and Trish Parks are going to set the tone for Cal State Fullerton in the circle this season. Frost is the workhorse as she threw 151 innings last season and did a nice job of keeping the ball in the park, allowing just seven homeruns. Parks does a good job of pitching to contact and only allowed nine homeruns and walked 49 batters in 111.1 innings. Taylor Dockins is going to be solid number three in the circle and will look to get better balance of hits to innings pitched in 2019. Deshea Hill, Zoe Richard, and Ari Williams will anchor the everyday lineup for the Titans. Hill and Richard are the best returning hitters as they hit well over .300 last season and combined to drive in 62 runs in 2018. Williams brings a nice mix of hitting for a high average and speed that will lengthen this lineup for Cal State Fullerton. The schedule will be tough as always during the non-conference for the Titans, but if they can hang around .500, they should be in good shape by Big West play. Look for Cal State Fullerton to get back to the NCAA Tournament with about 35-37 wins in 2019.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Softball Tournament
