College World Series 2017: Power ranking the field

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Jun 28, 2016; Omaha, NE, USA; General view of the game between the Arizona Wildcats and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in game two of the College World Series championship series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Cal State-Fullerton Titans

Since their last championship run in 2004, Cal State-Fullerton has been off the map and this year proved no different. They kept losing to Cal Poly and Long Beach State, yet collected some meaningful wins against Southern Cal, Arizona State and UCLA. After recording a regular season W-L record of 34-21, many speculations concerned the fate of CS-Fullerton. Thankfully, hope reared its head and granted the Titans a 5-1 record during this year’s tournament.

CS-Fullerton’s best performance of the tournament ended up being one for the ages. Following a 3-0 loss to Long Beach State on June 9, CS-Fullerton reversed its fortune in the next game, shutting out Long Beach State, 12-0. In Game 3, CS-Fullerton flexed its pitching muscles as Colton Eastman fanned eight over seven innings.

It seems that every night, there’s a different player that shines for CS-Fullerton. One day, it’s a no-name infielder, who records the game-winning runs. The same phenomenon happens with CS-Fullerton’s pitchers, who effortlessly alternate to reach their own flavor of success. Each side of the plate will most definitely need some kind of surge for when they take on Oregon State in Game 1.

Unlike Oregon State, CS-Fullerton has seen the light of day in terms of championships. When Oregon State won the 2006 College World Series, though, CS-Fullerton wasn’t too far away. In fact, they finished that season in third place behind runner-up, North Carolina. Neither Oregon State nor CS-Fullerton played each other that year, but once June 17 rolls around, they’ll be able to experience a match-up firsthand.