1544 Miles To Omaha

Today's guest is current Head Baseball Coach of the TCU Horned Frogs, Kirk Saarloos.For Titan Baseball fans that may not be as well versed on Titan Baseball and history, Saarloos pitched four years while at Cal State Fullerton from 1998 through 2001. His name is littered throughout the Titan Baseball Media Guide, appearing 40 times, with over half of those mentions within the top 10 in either season long or career pitching statistics.A strikeout pitcher if there ever was one, Saarloos racked up 358 Ks in four years in 127 appearances which he still ranks No. 1 pulling duty as a starter and a reliever where he racked up 22 saves. He still ranks No. 2 in career wins with 33 and averaged 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.We can not fail to mention in his senior campaign in 2001, Saarloos threw the third no-hitter in Titan Baseball history, pitching a 28-0 shutout over the University of Pacific. 2001 was a terrific year for Saarloos taking the pitching triple cown for the Titans in ERA at 2.18, wins (15) and strike

Welcome into Episode 65 of the 1544 Miles to Omaha Podcast. Today's guest is once again, Cal State Fullerton Baseball Head Coach Jason Dietrich. In today's episode we'll be discussing with coach the end of the fall ball practices, the two scrimmages against UNLV and Washington State, the Navy vs. Orange three game series and which players impressed the most, improved the most, any surprises coming out of the fall session and also discuss the Titan Baseball 2023 schedule.Highlights include:

In Episode 64 we're speaking with Titan Baseball Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Josh Belovsky who, along with Head Coach Jason Dietrich and Assistant Coach Neil Walton, recently signed 11 student-athletes to national letters of intent to play for the Titans. The second class and the first class that is solely under the Dietrich regime is arm heavy with seven of the 11 signees pitchers including five right handers and two left handers. Offensively this class includes three infielders and one outfielder. Two of the pitchers were also listed as a dual threats as infielders as well.In this episode, Coach Belovsky talks about the 2022 signing class and what Titan Baseball fans can expect to from these recruits once they arrive on campus.Highlights include:

This episode of the 1544 Miles to Omaha Podcast features a one-on-one sit down interview with Titan Baseball head coach, Jason Dietrich. Heading into the 2022 summer, Dietz and staff were heavily focused on recruiting for the 2023 Titan Baseball team and future teams.We sat down to discuss getting a contract extension after one year on the job, summer recruiting outlook, changes to the coaching staff, evaluation of players in summer ball, newcomers via the transfer portal, the importance of summer ball, what could be done with the players prior to fall practices and the outlook for the 2023 Titan Baseball Schedule.Highlights include:

This episode of the 1544 Miles to Omaha Podcast features a one-on-one sit down interview with Titan Baseball head coach, Jason Dietrich.Dietz has been at the helm for nearly a year after his introduction on June 30th last year. We sat down to discuss his first year, how the learning curve will not be as steep going into his second year and what were some of the positives to take away from the 2022 season.Highlights include:

Dave Weatherman is considered the ultimate workhors pitcher in Titan Baseball program history. We had the pleasure and honor to get him on the phone to discuss his time as a Titan and the incredible run of the 1979 National Championship team.This is Part 3 of our conversation. We encourage you to listen to Parts 1 & 2 to gain context on the topics he previously discussed. Those include:Growing up in Southern California, getting recruited in the late 1970's, choosing CSUF over all others, freshman year at Cal State Fullerton, playing in a regional in Freshman year, geting ranked No. 1 in 1979, Fresno State regional, Getting to play in Rosenblatt, getting the ball in the championship game and returning home a champion.

Dave Weatherman is considered the ultimate workhorse pitcher in Titan Baseball program history. We had the pleasure and honor to get him on the phone to discuss his time as a Titan and the incredible run of the 1979 National Championship team.This is Part 2 of our conversation. We encourage you to listen to Part 1 to gain context on the topics he previously discussed. Those include:Growing up in Southern California, getting recruited in the late 1970's, choosing CSUF over all others, freshman year at Cal State Fullerton and playing in a regional in Freshman year.Part 2 Highlights include:

Cal State Fullerton's Titan Baseball program would be just another small school mired in obscurity without pitching and defense to carry the water in the program's initial years after breaking into the Division One ranks. Right Handed Pitcher Dave Weatherman was one of the biggest reasons the Titans made their mark so quickly at the highest levels of College Baseball from 1978 to 1981. Weatherman's name is littered throughout the Titan Baseball Record book for both career and single-season pitching records. Weatherman is tied for second for wins in a single season with 15 wins in 1979, the year the Titans would win their first National Championship. In 1981, Weatherman tossed eight complete games en route to getting drafted in the 13th round by Oakland that same year. The ultimate workhorse pitcher for the Titans, Weatherman ranks No. 1 in numerous pitching categories including innings pitched (453.1), wins (42) and complete games (25) from 1978 to 1981. Weatherman and Mark Beck hold the Freshman record for c

This is Episode 58 where we continue our conversation with Sam Favata. In part 1 we covered his youth growing up in Southern California the impact Augie Garrido had on him as a player and a person, hitting four home runs in a single game and advancing to the 1979 College World Series. In Part 2 of a three part conversation, we covered Favata's time at the 1979 College World Series, his junior year at Cal State Fullerton in 1980, getting drafted and playing professionally. We highly encourage you to listen to Parts 1 & 2 before listening to Part 3 for context. This is Part 3 where we covered his professional career, his catastrophic brain injury, his comeback and eventually walking away from baseball. Please enjoy part 3 of our conversation with Sam Favata.Part 3 highlights include:

This is Episode 57 where we continue our conversation with Sam Favata. In part 1 we covered his youth growing up in Southern California the impact Augie Garrido had on him as a player and a person, hitting four home runs in a single game and advancing to the 1979 College World Series. We highly suggest listening to Part 1 if you have not already.This is Part 2 of a three part conversation. This episode will cover Favata's time at the 1979 College World Series, his junior year at Cal State Fullerton in 1980, getting drafted and playing professionally. We will also cover his catastrophic head injury suffered while playing professional baseball and his miraculous comeback that was featured on the popular 1980's TV show, "That's Incredible" in Part 3. Please enjoy part 2 of our conversation with Sam Favata.Part 2 highlights include:

In Episode 56 we're talking with Sam Favata, the first Titan Alumni from the 1979 National Championship team to come on the show. Favata scored the winning run in the 1979 championship game, a 2-to-1 victory over Arkansas. Favata was a two-time all conference selection in 1979 and 1980 and still holds numerous records in the Titan Baseball history books. Favata's 66 stolen bases in 1979 season still ranks No. 1 today for the most stolen bases by a Titan in a single season. His 116 hits in 1979 is tied for first with John Fishel's 116 hits in the Titans second national championship year of 1984. In the 1979 season, Favata's .417 batting average led the Titans, beating out Golden Spikes Award winner Tim Wallach for the top batting average. That .417 batting average ranks fourth all time for a single season behind Gary Brown, Steve Woodward and Mark Kotsay. In three season with the Titans, Favata averaged .363 with 22 home runs and 109 RBI. In 1980, Favata was drafted in the 13th round by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Welcome into Episode 55 of the 1544 Miles to Omaha podcast. This is Part 4 of our conversation with legendary Cal State Fullerton coaches Rick Vanderhook and George Horton.Continuing our conversation talking about some of the greatest Titan Baseball players to ever put on a uniform, we cover the intangible aspects of Titan Baseball that helped propel it to be one of the most iconic and most successful programs in college baseball. We delve into who was a great clutch performer, great performances by part-time players, strongest players, slash hitters, base stealers, great students and not able bat boys/girls. We highly suggest listening to Episode 52, the Part 1 of this series, Episode 53, the Part 2 of this series and Episode 54, the Part 3 of this series to gain context on the intent and spirit of these conversations.Part 4 highlights include:Greatest clutch performers (2:06)Greatest performance by a part time player (9:51)Strongest player (15:31)Great slash hitters (18:57)Great base stealer (22:45)Great st

Welcome into Episode 54 of the 1544 Miles to Omaha podcast. This is Part 3 of our conversation with legendary Cal State Fullerton coaches Rick Vanderhook and George Horton.Continuing our conversation talking about some of the greatest Titan Baseball players to ever put on a uniform, we tackle the off the field aspects of Titan Baseball that helped propel it to be one of the most iconic and sucessful programs in college baseball. We delve into who was a great clubhouse guy, great recruiting visit host, toughest players and those who had great baseball IQ. We highly suggest listening to Episode 52, the Part 1 of this series and Episode 53, the Part 2 of this series to gain context on the intent and spirit of these conversations.Part 3 highlights include:Great clubhouse guy (1:58)Great official visit recruiter (14:00)Toughest players (28:20)Great Baseball IQ (34:03)▶️ Visit our website: https://www.calstateomaha.com/▶️ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CalStateOmaha▶️ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.f

Welcome into Episode 53 of the 1544 Miles to Omaha podcast. This is Part 2 of our conversation with legendary Cal State Fullerton coaches Rick Vanderhook and George Horton.Continuing our conversation talking about some of the greatest Titan Baseball players to ever put on a uniform, we tackle the defensive sides of things while also touching on intangible items like work ethic. We highly suggest listening to Episode 52, the Part 1 of this series to gain context on the intent and spirit of these conversations.Part 2 highlights include:Great Defensive Catcher (2:13)Great Defensive Infielder (16:54)Hooky story about Tony Martinez (23:57)Great Infield Arm (25:00)Great Defensive Outfielder (26:53)Great Outfield Arm (35:00)Great double play combo (37:04)Biggest “Grinder” (41:42)Horton story about Reed Johnson (44:22)Hooky story about Jim Betzsold (47:04)Great bullpen catchers (49:02)

Welcome into Episode 52 of the 1544 Miles to Omaha podcast. Today's episode is a podcast unlike any other podcast we have ever done. It features not one, but two guests at the same time. On top of that, those guests are two legends of Titan Baseball, George Horton and Rick Vanderhook.Dave had a chance to sit down in the backyard of George Horton's Yorba Linda home and ask both Horton and Hooky to recall some of the greatest players they played with and coached while with Titan Baseball. We wanted to dive into the players and the people that made the Titans so successful over the years that don't show up in the media guide or the box scores. We wanted to know which Titan had the best slider, the best 2-out hitter, who was the best bullpen catcher, best clubhouse guy, even the best part-time player. Both Hooky and Horton were quick to say that choosing to recognize "the best" change-up or "the best" outfield arm was too difficult and would leave too many deserving Titans off the list. In this episode, we chose

In Episode 51 we're speaking with Brett Kay who played Titan Baseball from the 1999 to 2001 season, playing primarily catcher. In those three years at Fullerton, Titan teams went to Omaha twice in years 1999 and 2001. Kay was behind the plate and caught the third Titan no-hitter when Kirk Saarloos no-hit the UoP Tigers. He also earned All-Big West First team honors in 2001, had a Titan career batting average above .300, was selected in the 8th round by the New York Mets in the 2001 MLB draft and is currently the head baseball coach at JSerra in San Juan Capistrano. Dave caught up with Brett on the JSerra campus recently to discuss growing up in southern California, playing baseball for the Cal State Fullerton Titans, playing professionally and eventually returning home to coach baseball.Highlights include:

Episode 50 we're speaking with Titan Baseball Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Josh Belovsky who along with Head Coach Jason Dietrich and Assistant Coach Neil Walton recently signed 10 student-athletes to national letters of intent to play for the Titans. The inaugural class includes five pitchers, two catchers, two outfielders and one infielder.Dave was able to catch up with Coach Belovsky to ask some questions about the 2021 signing class and what Titan Baseball fans can expect to from these recruits once they arrive on campus.Highlights include:

Episode 49 we're speaking with Titan Baseball Head Coach Jason Dietrich to discuss his first fall practices, scrimmages against UNLV and Grand Canyon University and the Navy vs. Orange instrasquad World Series. We also talk a bit at the end about the upcoming Dinner with the TitansHighlights include:

We are wrapping up our round of interviews with the new faces that have joined the Titan Baseball coaching staff and front office. Today's conversation is with Danny Benedetti who will serve as the Volunteer Assistant on the Titans staff in 2022. Benedetti returns to Orange County where he grew up in Los Alamitos and also played under Jason Dietrich while at Irvine Valley College. He then went on to play at St. John's University where he earned back-to-back All Big East honors and played in the 2008 Houston Regional after helping St. John's win the Big East Tournament.Danny's coaching stops include summer wood bat league stops in the Northwoods and the Hampton Collegiate Summer Leagues, was a graduate assistant at Long Beach State before returning to coach at St, John's and at Manhattan College and most recently at San Diego State. Now at Fullerton, Benedetti brings over nine years of coaching experience and will assist Neil Walton with the offense along with working closely with the catchers and will coach f

Today's guest is Jake Paveltich who has joined the Titan Baseball staff in the role of Director of Player Development. Titan Baseball fans are familiar with Pav after seeing him play for the Titans for four years after redshirting his freshman year. After the heartbreaking loss to Washington in extra innings of Game 3 of the 2018 Super Regional, Pav returned to play his final year of eligibility in 2019 where he wrapped up a career at Goodwin Field batting .276. Pav led the 2019 team in home runs and also finished the 2017 season with zero errors while playing primarily First Base.Pav returns to the Titan Baseball Program after spending two years serving as a graduate assistant at Concordia University in Irvine. While at Concordia, Pav coached next to Titan Alumni Joe Turgeon the head coach at Concordia and Matt Fahey who serves as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator. Highlights include: