Coach White on San Francisco State series: "SF state was a challenging series. We needed a good series and needed to play well. We were able to take 3 of 4. I expect us to continue improving as the season progresses."
 
Coach White on UC San Diego Series: "UCSD will be another challenge. They are a good club with post season aspirations. They are coached well and have very good players. They are a veteran team that will be ready to play. It should be a great series between two talented teams."

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LEADING OFF: CSUMB heads south to La Jolla to take on UC San Diego in a 4-game CCAA series.  The Otters will play their first game under the lights this season with series opener at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 14. A Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for a noon start time the next day with the series finale on Sunday, March 16 at 11 a.m.
 
SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO: The Tritons are second in the CCAA standings, splitting series with Cal Poly Pomona and Chico State while most recently sweeping Cal State Dominguez. The Tritons are ranked No. 4 in the country after being hit 40 times.  Players To Watch: CCAA Player of the Week (March 3-9) and senior catcher Nick LaFace (.396 BA, 21 H, 11 R, 5, 2B, 16 RBIs); junior first baseman/outfielder Michael Mann (.339 BA, 20 H, 3 2B, 6 HBP), sophomore RHP Justin Donatella (3-1, 1.04 ERA, 26.0 IP, 21 Ks)
 
LAST MEETING AGAINST THE TRITONS: The Otters clinched their first CCAA title in program history outright after taking 3-of-4 games from UC San Diego in the final weekend of the 2013 regular season.  CSUMB squeaked out a 4-3 victory in the Friday's series opener before splitting the Saturday doubleheader, falling 1-6 before rebounding with a 7-5 win.  The Otters held on to a 5-3 victory on Sunday to finish with a one game lead over second place Cal State L.A. and knocking the Tritons out of a postseason bid.
 
HOME SWEET HOME:  Under Coach Walt White's realm, CSUMB has a 62-36 record when playing at the Otter Sports Complex, including an impressive 25-6 record in 2013. So far in 2014, the Otters are 6-7 when playing on their home field.
 
CCAA WEEKEND RECAP:  Last weekend was full of series wins and one sweep in the CCAA.  Three teams recorded 3-1 series victories: CSUMB over SF State, Cal Poly Pomona over Cal State L.A. and Cal State East Bay over Cal State Stanislaus.  UC San Diego was the lone team to sweep, taking four from Cal State Dominguez Hills. 

LAST TIME OUT: The defending CCAA regular season champion Otters earned their first series win of 2014, snagging three victories from San Francisco State. CSUMB came out on fire with a 10-2 victory at SF State on Friday before splitting the Saturday doubleheader in Seaside.  In the doubleheader opener, the Otters gave up four runs in the top of the ninth to fall 6-4 but bounced back with a 4-0 victory behind the arm of junior RHP Jeff Owen (Clovis East HS). CSUMB squeezed out a 2-1 win in San Francisco on Sunday as A.J. Quintero (Vacaville/Sacramento City College) racked up his first victory at a Otter starter.  Senior catcher/relief pitcher Travis Bonner (Los Gatos/West Valley College) snagged his second save. 
 
FIRST BROOM SIGHTING SINCE 2012:  The Otters suffered a series sweep at Cal Poly Pomona to begin the 2014 conference season.  CSUMB had not been swept since its 2012 series against Cal State Stanislaus (March 23-25).  Under Coach Walt White's tutelage, the Otters have only been swept twice with the other one against his alma mater Sonoma State in a non-conference action in 2011 to begin his reign as CSUMB head coach.
 
INDIVIDUAL CCAA STATISTICS: Senior Mark Hurley is the CCAA hit leader with 34 and has a conference-best .405 batting average among players with more than 60 at bats. Junior Brian Hamm (Pleasanton/Chabot College) sits in second place in the CCAA stolen bases category with nine, six less than leader Mark Wise of Cal State East Bay. Junior Jeff Owen is No. 2 in the conference statistic list with 32 strikeouts. nine behind CCAA leader Brandon Quintero of Cal State L.A.
 
TEAM CCAA STATISTICS: CSUMB leads the CCAA in nine categories: walks (89), doubles (50), doubles per game (2.17), sacrifice flies (15), and triples (5).  The Otters rank second in on runs (120), stolen bases (29), and triples per game (.22).

CAREER RECORD ACHEIVED: Junior Jeff Owen captured another CSUMB career record last weekend to add to his already impressive resume.  Catching four batters looking at strikeouts in his 4-0 shutout over San Francisco State, Owen raised his career total to 47, passing previous leader Patrick McClain's (2007-10) 74.  Owen is also cutting the gap in the strikeout looking category. Owen now holds seven CSUMB career record: most strikeouts (177), most strikeout looking (47) most strikeouts in a 9-inning game (8.40), most wins (20), most complete games (10), most shutouts (4) and most combined shutouts (3).
 
PRESEASON HONORS:  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. 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. 
 
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. 
 
NCAA STATISTICS, 2014 EDITION:  Senior Mark Hurley ranks No. 12 in the country with 34 hits.  Hurley is also ranked No. 21 with eight doubles. Senior Richie Johnson (San Leandro/San Jose State) is No. 19 in the nation with 2 triples while junior Brian Hamm (Pleasanton/Chabot College) ranks No. 44 with in stolen bases. On the mound, Jeff Owen No. 16 with four wins.
 
NCAA STATISTICS, 2013 EDITION: 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.  
 
BROKEN RECORDS BREAKDOWN OF 2013:  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 seasons with eight wins and three losses (all to Central Washington).