CS Fullerton Will Open Against Florida State : Baseball: Titans seeded fourth in College World Series. Right-hander James Popoff probably will start against Seminoles.

Cal State Fullerton has been seeded fourth in the College World Series and will open play against fifth-seeded Florida State on Friday at 4:30 p.m. (PDT) in Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium.

Miami, whose coach, Ron Fraser, is retiring after 30 years, earned the top seed and will face eighth-seeded California on Friday at 1 p.m. in the first game of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament.

Saturday’s first-round games have second-seeded Wichita State (56-9) against seventh-seeded Pepperdine (44-11-1) at 10 a.m. and third-seeded Texas (46-15) against sixth-seeded Oklahoma (42-22) at 4:30 p.m.

The Titans (42-15) advanced to their seventh College World Series appearance since 1979 by sweeping through the NCAA South I Region, outscoring four opponents by a combined score of 35-3.

Fullerton’s last trip to Omaha, in 1990, ended quickly as the Titans, then coached by Larry Cochell, were eliminated after losses to Oklahoma State and The Citadel. Cochell, now at Oklahoma, is the first coach to take three different teams to the College World Series.

Florida State (48-19) lost its first game in the South II Region tournament at home to Western Carolina, 1-0, but came back to win five consecutive games to gain their 12th College World Series berth since 1957. Florida State beat Western Carolina twice Sunday, 4-3, and, 18-3, to advance.

Seminole Coach Mike Martin called the regional victory the “Miracle at Howser Stadium,” because even he didn’t expect Florida State to advance to the College World Series.

This wasn’t considered one of Martin’s better teams in his 13 years as coach, but the Seminoles, not a powerful offensive or flashy defensive club, have overachieved their way to Omaha, relying on a scrappy offense and solid pitching.

Their top player is junior pitcher/outfielder/first baseman Chris Roberts, one of 40 players invited to this summer’s Olympic trials. Roberts is 8-3 with a 2.20 earned-run average and is batting .300 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs.

Florida State’s ace is junior right-hander Roger Bailey, who is 15-4 with a 3.02 ERA. Senior left-hander Tim Davis has nine saves and the Seminoles have a team ERA of 2.92.

Fullerton probably will start senior right-hander James Popoff, who won Sunday’s region championship game over Ohio State to improve to 12-2 with a 2.94 ERA and 121 strikeouts.

The Titans’ top two position players are third baseman Phil Nevin (.390, 20 homers, 75 RBIs) and catcher Jason Moler (.374, 26 doubles, 58 RBIs). Both have been invited to the Olympic trials.

If Fullerton wins Friday, it will play the Miami-California winner Sunday at 4:30 p.m. If the Titans lose, they’ll play the Miami-California loser Sunday at 1:30. The tournament continues with a daily schedule until the championship game June 6.