Regional scouting: Cal State Fullerton
As the Auburn Tigers prepare for their run to Oklahoma City and the Women’s College World Series, Auburn Wire will spend the upcoming days previewing every possible opponent that the Tigers could face in this weekend’s Clemson Regional.
After previewing the regional host on Monday, it is time to learn more about Auburn’s first opponent of the weekend, the Cal State Fullerton Titans.
Cal State Fullerton is best known for being a Major League Baseball talent factory, producing athletes such as Boston’s Justin Turner, Toronto’s Matt Chapman, and former players such as Mark Kotsay and Phil Nevin. However, Titans softball is showing its dominance as they prepare to compete in its sixth NCAA Tournament since 2016. Fullerton enters the Clemson Regional as the No. 3 seed with a 33-19 overall record and a second-place finish in the Big West Conference.
There is plenty of talent on Fullerton’s roster. Led by dominant pitching from Myka Sutherlin and Haley Rainey, the Titans have held their own this season by playing the country’s best teams, and have even earned wins over Oregon and Tennessee.
Ahead of Auburn’s matchup with Cal State Fullerton on Friday evening at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson, here’s a brief rundown of what the Titans have done this season.
Overall Record: 33-19
Arizona Republic
The Titans boast an impressive 33-19 record heading into regional play. Outside of Big West competition, Fullerton has played some of college softball’s best teams such as Oklahoma, Tennessee, and UCLA.
RPI ranking: No. 39
Photo by Katie Albertson/Fullerton Athletics
Fullerton will provide a challenge to Clemson regional participants, as they enter the postseason as the No. 39 team in the RPI. The Titans have dropped ten spots in the RPI over the last ten days, but remain a tier-two team heading into postseason play.
Record away from home: 15-9
Photo by Katie Albertson/Fullerton Athletics
Cal State Fullerton has played just 13 true road games this season, but have competed in several challenging tournaments such as the Puerta Vallarta Challenge, and the Mary Nutter Classic. Their combined away/neutral site record is 15-9, which is impressive considering the competiton that they have faced away from Fullerton.
Record vs. tier one teams: 3-5
Photo by Katie Albertson/Fullerton Athletics
The Titans have only played eight games against teams in the RPI top 25, but posting three wins over such teams is quite impressive. Fullerton defeated Tennessee at the Puerta Vallarta College Challenge, and took care of Oregon and Florida at the Mary Nutter Classic in February.
Fullerton will face two more tier one teams this weekend at the Clemson regional: Clemson and Auburn.
Record vs tier three teams: 1-5
Photo by Katie Albertson/Fullerton Athletics
Here is where the road gets tricky for the Titans. Despite their success against the country’s top teams, they seem to struggle with tier two and tier three teams. According to D1Softball’s RPI rankings, Fullerton is 5-9 against teams ranked 26-100, with just one win against teams ranked 51-100.
UNC-Greensboro, the No. 4 seed of the Clemson regional, ranks No. 93 heading into postseason play.
Pitcher to watch: Myka Sutherlin
Photo by Katie Albertson/Fullerton Athletics
The early talk of the Clemson regional is the pitching power of Clemson’s Valerie Cagle and Auburn’s Maddie Penta. However, there is a third pitcher that wants to make her mark in the postseason.
Fullerton’s Myka Sutherlin holds a 19-9 record with an ERA of 1.30 and 227 strikeouts to just 56 walks. Her strikeout total is No. 10 in the country, and she currently has more punchouts than UCLA’s Megan Faraimo, Oklahoma State’s Kelly Maxwell, and Leanna Johnson of Troy.
Batter to watch: Hannah Becerra
Photo by Katie Albertson/Fullerton Athletics
Fullerton’s bats have totaled 23 home runs and are hitting for a collective average of .254. The top slugger in the lineup is junior Hannah Becerra. Becerra is batting .256, and leads the team in home runs with 8, RBI with 28, slugging percentage with .518, and stolen bases with 13.
