Goodwin Field Goodwin Field, formerly known as Titan Field, became
the home of Cal State Fullerton baseball on April 18, 1992, when the Titans
swept a doubleheader from Loyola Marymount, 8-2 and 11-3. It is the third
on-campus diamond to serve Cal State Fullerton, which has also played
“home” games at city parks such as Amerige in Fullerton and
Boysen in Anaheim as well as borrowing junior college fields at Fullerton,
Santa Ana, and Orange coast Colleges during the installation of lights
in 1983.
Goodwin Field has become an undeniable home field advantage for the Titans.
In the 12-plus seasons they’ve played at Goodwin Field, the Titans
are 283-87 (.764 winning percentage) with their best season coming in
2003. That season the Titans won their first 22 games at home before finishing
with a 31-3 mark. The Titans are 18-5 in NCAA postseason play at the facility
and have won their last five postseason tournaments.
The first Titan diamond was laid out to the west of Titan House, located
to the southeast of the current stadium. Home plate was in the southeast
corner of the field plowed out of the citrus groves. A new field was built
around 1970 on today’s site, but with home plate located where the
current left field foul pole rises. The largest crowd to see a game at
that field, with small portable bleachers and plenty of standing room,
was estimated at 5,000 in 1979, when Fullerton hosted the University of
Hawai’i and heralded pitcher Derek Tatsuno.
The most recent facelift to the facility came in August of 2004 when the
playing surface of Goodwin field was completely renovated. The grass was
removed and about 12 inches of topsoil was reworked to provide a smoother,
more durable baseball playing field. Irrigation and drainage were also
updated.
Prior to that, a larger-scale $3 million project was completed just before
opening day 2001. The stadium’s seating capacity was expanded from
1,750 to nearly 3,500 and for the first time, the stadium included an
on-site clubhouse-style building, which connects to the adjoining softball
stadium. The clubhouse includes locker rooms, coach’s offices, umpire
quarters and a VIP viewing and entertainment area. The stadium’s
name was officially changed from Titan Field to Goodwin Field (in honor
of benefactors Jerry and Merilyn Goodwin) in a ceremony prior to the Titans’
game against Long Beach State on April 14, 2000.
Thanks in part to the extensive renovations and a commitment by the university
to transform the field into a state-of-the-art facility, the NCAA has
named Goodwin Field as a regional site in four of the past five seasons.
Fullerton also hosted super regionals in 2001, 2003 and 2004. The Titans
had been on the road for the first 21 Regional appearances in their history
and had qualified for more College World Series appearances (10) by winning
on the road than any other school. When Fullerton hosted Mississippi State
in its first home super regional in June of 2001, consecutive then-sellout
crowds of 3,412 cheered the Titans on as they swept the Bulldogs to clinch
a CWS berth in front of a home crowd for the first time.
Goodwin Field is also home to the prestigious Kia Baseball Bash, which
will mark its sixth annual tournament in 2005. The three-day round-robin
event is considered one of the best tournaments in the country Of the
20 teams that have competed in the tournament over the last five years,
11 have reached the super regionals and six have advanced to the College
World Series.
Goodwin Field has had several other renovations over the years. Its playing
surface sported a brand new look for the 1996 season, thanks in part to
the efforts of the Sports Turf Managers Association led by Steve Guise.
The organization donated materials and labor in rebuilding the pitcher’s
mound and batters’ box, along with planting new grass in the outfield.
Turface was added to the warning track. Additional landscaping has been
placed on the outside of Goodwin Field, including palm trees along the
batting cages in left field.
