Fullerton, Pepperdine Move On

This shouldn’t be a manic Monday for the baseball teams from Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine, both of which awoke this morning secure in the knowledge that their seasons would go on.

The Titans and Waves not only secured automatic berths to the NCAA tournament by winning their respective conference titles over the weekend but were among the 16 schools selected Sunday to play host to a four-team regional.

But things could get a little jittery for UCLA, Long Beach State and UC Irvine, which hope to be among the 34 at-large selections when the 64-team field is announced at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN.

“I think this team has earned the right to go on and play in a regional,” said UCLA Coach John Savage, whose players planned to gather at Jackie Robinson Stadium to learn their fate. “I think our resume’s pretty good.”

The Bruins (32-23), one year removed from a 15-victory season, finished third in the Pacific 10 Conference after splitting a weekend series with conference champion Oregon State that was shortened by rain to two games. UCLA’s case is bolstered by the fact that it swept three games from nationally ranked North Carolina State on the road and won series against Stanford, Arizona State and USC.

“I think we’re a hot team,” said Savage, whose Bruins are 14-8 since April 13. “You look at the schedule and what we’ve done over the last month and I think you’d have to say we’re playing well.”

Long Beach State probably will make its sixth consecutive regional appearance after finishing second to Fullerton in the Big West Conference, though the 49ers (29-27) would enter postseason play on a three-game losing streak after being swept at home by the Titans over the weekend.

Long Beach State can tout its 12-9 record in the Big West and the fact that it won 13 of its last 21 games, though its 6-15 record against ranked teams -- including an 0-6 mark against Fullerton -- is less than stellar.

UC Irvine (36-22) hopes that it can parlay its strong overall record and third-place finish in the Big West -- its best since the program was restored in 2002 -- into a postseason bid. The Anteaters won two of three games against UC Riverside over the weekend and have won six consecutive series.

Fullerton Coach George Horton said UC Irvine could leapfrog Long Beach State because of its strong record, though he said the 49ers were also deserving of inclusion in the tournament.

“I think we deserve three teams,” Horton said of the Big West.

Pepperdine had two reasons to celebrate Sunday. The Waves defeated San Francisco, 9-4, in the deciding third game of the West Coast Conference championship series and learned that they had been selected as the host team of a regional.

It will be the first time the Waves (40-19) have had a regional at 1,800-seat Eddy D. Field Stadium.

Fullerton (43-13) clinched its automatic berth Friday when it defeated Long Beach State to secure its third consecutive Big West title.

The Titans are trying to make their third College World Series appearance in four years after losing to Arizona State last season in a super regional.