To borrow from Yankees legend Yogi Berra, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”
A year ago, Cal State Fullerton’s baseball was 6-6 in Big West play. The squad won 13 of its next 19 games to secure a berth in the five-team conference championship tournament.
The 2026 Titans were also at 6-6 after losing at Hawaii last Sunday. Can they rally like last year’s team? They took a step in the right direction Thursday with a 9-1 win over UC Riverside (8-20 overall, 3-7 in Big West play) in the opener of a three-game series at Goodwin Field.
“We played a clean game with solid pitching, timely hitting and good defense. And we had strong base running. It was nice to see us play a complete game,” said Head Coach Jason Dietrich.
The Titans have what it takes for another resurgence in the latter half of the season, said three of the team’s top players.
“Last season, we were in the same predicament — we were 6-6 literally on the same day of the year. We can go one of two ways. We can go the route where we aren’t doing too good, or we can continue to go forward,” said junior right fielder Paul Contreras.
Cameron Kim, a junior infielder, said the Titans knows what is needed. “The team understands there is a lot to clean up. If we can clean it up, we’ll win a lot more games,” he said.
“Our hitting has been just a little bit inconsistent, and our pitching is a little inconsistent too. We’ve seen both sides of the ball click. Now is the time to get both of those on the same page. If we see that happen, I have a lot of trust in this team to take it to whoever comes to the diamond,” said pitcher Mikiah Negrete, who has been the Friday night starter for the last three years.
Fullerton is tied for fourth with CSUN in the Big West standings. Eight of the Titans’ losses have come in one-run games, frustrating players and coaches alike.
“We are not where we want to be, but I don’t think it’s for lack of care or effort. It’s more about executing and playing consistent baseball. We haven’t played consistent baseball,” said Dietrich, who is in his fifth year guiding Fullerton. “We are in almost every single ball game. We are 2-8 in one-run games. That’s something that we have to improve on.”
The Titans have faced a lot of adversity, said Dietrich, who has had to juggle his lineup because of team injuries and sickness. Senior shortstop and No. 2 hitter Armando Briseno has been out with an injured foot. Multiple players were used at shortstop before Kim moved over from third base.
“The injuries have tested our depth. Younger and more inexperienced guys have had to fill in, and some get overmatched trying to do too much,” said Dietrich. “The players have dealt with a lot, but they have learned a lot too. If we can get it all going in the right direction and play better baseball, I like our chances.”
Read more on the Titans Athletics website.