Coach White on building on this season: "We were able to play our entire roster this past weekend.  We played 21 position players and 15 pitchers saw action in the four games.  As a coach, you really don't know your team until you play outside competition.  Western Oregon was a great challenge for us and we were able to identify certain things about our team that we can address.  Although the results were not what we wanted, we are as confident about this group as any group we've had."

Coach White on opening season at home: "Playing at home to open the season allows us to utilize our entire roster with everyone getting opportunities to show what they can do.  It allows us to evaluate what type of team we need to be and make necessary adjustments moving forward. Not only are our players competing as a team, they are competing for playing time as we get into our conference schedule.  Our program is built on a competitive roster, so each of our players understand that his performance matters." 

Coach White on Point Loma Nazarene: "PLNU will be another challenge this weekend.  We saw them early last year and they gave us all we could handle.  They are coming off a close series vs. Cal Poly Pomona and I know PLNU will be focused and ready to play.  They return a number of players back from a team that challenged the best teams in The PacWest.  This series will once again allow us to evaluate and play our entire roster." 

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LEADING OFF: The Otters host their final nonconference homestand, welcoming the Sea Lions of Point Loma Nazarene.  The series kicks off on Friday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 7 beginning at 11 a.m. 

SCOUTING POINT LOMA NAZARENE: The Sea Lions dropped all three games in their series against Cal Poly Pomona by just one run (5-4, 4-3 & 7-6) in their season opening weekend.  PLNU saw its hopes of preventing a sweep fall away on a walk-off single by Pomona in the series finale. Players To Watch: Senior outfielder Mike Marcoux (4-for-13, 2 R); senior shortstop Clinton Harwick (4-for-10, 2 SB) and freshman pitcher Kellen Sheppard (7.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 K)

LAST MEETING WITH THE SEA LIONS: The Otters got their Cinderella season off with a bang with a three-game sweep at Point Loma Nazarene in 2013.  A David Garcia ninth-inning grand slam broke a 3-3 tie to give CSUMB a win in the season opener on Feb. 1.The Otters swept the doubleheader with scores of 6-1 and 8-5.  Senior closer A.J. Quintero (Vacaville/Sacramento City College) picked up his first of three wins in the series closer. 

LAST TIME OUT: After a dominating performance in the series opener that resulted in a 15-0 victory, CSUMB just couldn't put together enough runs in the remaining three games for another win. Starting pitcher Jeff Owen (Clovis East HS) earned the win after tossing four innings of work, giving up three hits while striking out five. Junior Brian Hamm (Pleasanton/Chabot College) hit .714 (5-for-7) with three doubles and two stolen bases. Senior Mark Hurley (Hollister/College of San Mateo) also regsitered five hits while driving three runs.  

COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL, 2013 EDITION:  In 2013, the Otters earned a Top 10 ranking by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II Poll (April 29) with a No. 8 ranking. CSUMB ended the season with a No. 19 ranking. 

COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL, 2014 EDITION:  The Otters rank 18th in the 2014 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II Preseason Poll, the program's highest preseason ranking in history. With a No. 12 ranking, Chico State is the only CCAA school ranked above CSUMB. Cal Poly Pomona (No. 37) and UC San Diego (No. 39) are the other two CCAA schools featured.  Western Oregon rounds out the rankings at No. 40. 

OTHER NATIONAL POLLS:  CSUMB is also featured in three other preseason national polls. The highest ranking for the Otters is No. 14 in the National College Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA). The College Baseball Lineup poll puts CSUMB at No. 29 while D2Baseball.com does not feature the Otters...yet. 


MAKING AN IMPRESSION:  The Otters (39-17) made not only their NCAA West Regional poll debut in 2013 but claimed its first No. 1 ranking in program history. CSUMB entered its inaugural West Region Tournament in the top spot, earning an 8-1 victory over Cal State L.A. before being knocked out by Sonoma State (4-1). 

SECOND ISN'T BAD:  The Otters were picked second by the league coaches in the CCAA preseason poll despite receiving five first-place votes.  Chico State, with only one first-place vote,  was deemed the favorite.  CSUMB and Chico State had equal number of votes to win the CCAA Championship Tournament which will be played in Stockton May 8-11.  

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN..:  Senior A.J. Quintero became CSUMB's second NCBWA Preseason All-American after being selected to the third team.  Outfielder Jared DeCastro received honorable mention honors in 2012. Quintero recorded 10 saves in 2013, ranking 12th in the nation. 

...AND ALL-REGION: Joining A.J. Quintero on the NCBWA Preseason All-Region first team is senior Mark Hurley and junior Jeff Owen.  Senior Chris Daniels (Citrus Heights/Sierra College) was a second team selection.  

CAREER RECORD WATCH: Junior Jeff Owen is closing in on two CSUMB career record to add to his already impressive resume.  His two year total of 145 strikeouts is 24 strikeouts shy of leader Patrick McClain (2007-10).  Owen is also cutting the gap in the strikeout looking category.  With his two over the weekend, Owen has raised his total to 35 and is eight away from catching McClain's 43. Owen already holds six CSUMB career record: lowest ERA (2.43), most strikeouts in a 9-inning game (8.40), most wins (16), most complete games (8), most shutouts (3) and most combined shutouts (2). 

2013 CCAA STATISTICS:  Junior RHP Jeff Owen concluded his sophomore campaign on top of the CCAA standings with 12 wins, capping it with a complete nine inning performance to lead CSUMB to its first West Regional victory (8-1 win over Cal State L.A.). He also had a conference leading 98 strikeouts while draft pick Will Anderson finished two spots behind with 86 Ks. Otter closer A.J. Quintero also finished on top of the CCAA statistics with 10 saves. Junior Mark Hurley has the fifth-best batting average in the league at .345 and also ranked fourth with 69 hits. 

2013 NCAA STATISTICS: Jeff Owen also made a mark in the final NCAA Division II statistics (6/2/13) by appearing in three Top 20 categories: wins (5th, 12), strikeouts (13th, 98) and hits allowed per 9 innings (16th, 6.29). A.J. Quintero finished 12th in the nation with his 10 saves.  

RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN II:  RHP Jeff Owen passed Grayson Adams (2007) as the CSUMB single season leader in strikeouts with 98. Owen also clinched the top spot in the CSUMB record books in the 2013 season with most wins in a season (12) .  Junior A.J. Quintero (Vacaville/Sacramento CC) became the single season and career record leader with 10 saves, passing Harold Zosel's eight in 2012. 

FIVE SERIES SWEEPS IN 2013:  The Otters achieved their first series sweep of 2013 at Point Loma Nazarene to open the season (Feb. 1-2) with scores of 7-3, 6-1 and 8-5.  CSUMB has swept four of its last six series that included GNAC's Western Oregon, No. 23 Sonoma State (April 5-7), Cal Poly Pomona (April 19-21) and Cal State Stanislaus (April 26-28). The Otters outscored the three CCAA schools by a combined score of 88-33.  

BREAKING UP THE NUMBERS: In Head Coach Walt White's three years at the helm, the Otters have an 18-8 overall record against nonconference opponents including an 8-2 record in 2013.  CSUMB dominates the GNAC series record in the last three season with eight wins and three losses (all to Central Washington).