2007 San Diego Regional

(capsules compiled by Jamie Learakos, Stuart Smith, Scott Day, Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton)

1. San Diego Toreros

San Diego, California

Automatic bid – won West Coast Conference Championship Series

2007 record: 18-3, 43-16 (1^st in WCC)

Coach: Rich Hill (Cal Lutheran, 1984)

Record at school: 309-217-3, 9 years

Overall record: 638-444-3, 20 years

Assistant coaches: Eric Valenzuela, Jay Johnson, Mark Viramontes

Team offense: .316 BA, 370 R, 36 HR, .436 SLG, .395 OBA, 58/93 SB

Team pitching: 3.39 ERA, 517.2 IP, 478 H, 155 BB, 469 K

Top hitters: Shane Buschini (.361 BA, 54 R, 13 HR, .653 SLG, 10 SB), Justin Snyder (.349 BA, 47 R, 4 HR, .475 SLG, 8 SB), Jordan Abruzzo (.336 BA, 54 R, 8 HR, .504 SLG, 3 SB), Josh Romanski (.332 BA, 38 R, 3 HR, .430 SLG, 8 SB), Logan Gelbrich (.318 BA, 34 R, 3 HR, .438 SLG, 5 SB), Sean Nicol (.299 BA, 40 R, 5 HR, .420 SLG, 9 SB).

Top pitchers: Brian Matusz (2.73 ERA, 115.1 IP, 91 H, 37 BB, 156 K), AJ Griffin (2.76 ERA, 58.2 IP, 45 H, 18 BB, 59 K), Anthony Slama (3.04 ERA, 50.1 IP, 54 H, 20 BB, 40 K), Josh Romnski (3.16 ERA, 105.1 IP, 82 H, 22 BB, 85 K), Matt Couch (3.73 ERA, 94 IP, 94 H, 19 BB, 69 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (1-2 at Fullerton Regional)

Notes: The University of San Diego Toreros are going to have their hands full as the host school in the 1st round.  The 33-25 Toreros started the season with a three-game sweep of No.1-ranked Texas.  Coach Rich Hill is in his 20th season as a head coach and 9th year at USD.  USD played Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine, USC, San Diego State, Gonzaga, USF (just to name a few of the ranked opponents they faced off with during the regular season).  What is a Torero? Torero comes from the Spanish term Toro meaning “the bull”, and from the word Torear meaning “to fight”. Toreros identify all who are willing to stand alone in the ring and take the challenge! This describes perfectly the mind set of the Toreros going into this tournament. They will be challenged!  The Bull Pit  (a wildly enthusiastic student group) will be out in force to cheer on the underdog Toreros of San Diego.  They will need strong performances out of sophomore left-handers Josh Romanski (9-2) who has been a hot pitcher all year and Brian Matusz.  Matusaz was the Arizona player of the year and was recruited by Arizona State, University of Arizona, Pepperdine and many others. He was also drafted in the 4th round by the Angels. He opted for USD and it is paying off both for him and USD. San Diego is the host school for the regional, however the games will be played at Tony Gwynn Stadium on the campus of San Diego State. 

2. Cal State Fullerton Titans

Fullerton, California

At-large bid from Big West

2007 record: 10-11, 33-23 (fifth in Big West)

Coach: George Horton (Cal St, Fullerton, 1978)

Record at school: 485-210-1, 11 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Rick Vanderhook, Jason Gill, Bill Kernen

Team offense: .275 BA, 339 R, 27 HR, .383 SLG, .362 OBA, 49/78 SB

Team pitching: 3.74 ERA, 478.1 IP, 460 H, 155 BB, 392 K

Top hitters: Clark Hardman (.374 BA, 46 R, 2 HR, .487 SLG, 8 SB), Josh Fellhauer (.301 BA, 25 R, 1 HR, .382 SLG, 6 SB), Nick Mahin (.301 BA, 32 R, 8 HR, .536 SLG, 5 SB), John Curtis (.284 BA, 48 R, 3 HR, .432 SLG, 1 SB), Matt Wallach (.272 BA, 24 R, 4 HR, .447 SLG, 1 SB), Joe Scott (.262 BA, 30 R, .343 SLG, 7 SB).

Top pitchers: Adam Jorgenson (3.27 ERA, 55 IP, 49 H, 16 BB, 50 K), Jeff Kaplan (3.42 ERA, 97.1 IP, 85 H, 37 BB, 68 K), Wes Roemer (3.51 ERA, 118 IP, 121 H, 21 BB, 129 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (won Fullerton Regional, won Fullerton Super Regional, 2-2 at College World Series)

Notes: Catcher Matt Wallach’s father, Tim Wallach, was the 1979 Golden Spikes Award winner for the Titans and a former Major League All-Star for the Montreal Expos.  Pitcher Brad Barragar was drafted in the eighth round in 2005 by the Texas Rangers before joining the Titans. 

3. Minnesota Golden Gophers

4. Fresno State Bulldogs