Fullerton finds a hidden gem

Catcher Dustin Garneau made his mark this season by helping an inexperienced Cal State Fullerton pitching staff become one of the best in college baseball.

So Garneau’s .269 batting average, lowest among Titans starters during the regular season, was not a concern.

“They take my offense pretty much as a bonus,” the senior from San Pedro said.

Fullerton got everything and more from Garneau during a sweep of an NCAA Division I regional at Fullerton last week. He was voted the tournament MVP after batting .583 in three games, including a five-for-five performance against Gonzaga.

The next step for the Titans is to play Louisville in a best-of-three Super Regional starting tonight at 7:30 at Fullerton’s Goodwin Field.

The winner advances to Omaha for the eight-team College World Series, the Titans’ goal since opening practice at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 1.

“First to practice, last to play,” Fullerton Coach Dave Serrano said.

Fullerton has reached the College World Series twice during Garneau’s somewhat improbable Titans career, which evolved without Garneau’s attending showcase camps, playing on traveling teams or any of the other usual stops that most high school players now make on their way to Division I programs.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Garneau played quarterback at San Pedro High and was looking forward to continuing his football career in college until the Cerritos College coaching network helped Fullerton identify him as a baseball prospect.

Some of the Southland’s most successful college, junior college and high school coaches played at Cerritos for coach Wally Kincaid: George Horton, who won a national title at Fullerton before he was hired at Oregon in 2007; former Long Beach State coach Dave Snow and current 49ers Coach Mike Weathers; and Serrano, a former Fullerton player and assistant who guided UC Irvine to the 2006 World Series before succeeding Horton as coach of the Titans.

So when Fullerton assistants Rick Vanderhook and Jason Gill recognized the need for a back-up catcher in 2006, they tapped the Cerritos network. Among others, they contacted Gerardo Perez, a former Cerritos player who coaches at Cerritos Gahr High.

“That’s what happens when you need to find somebody,” said Gill, now the coach at Loyola Marymount. “You start calling your friends.”

Perez told them of a player who was unpolished behind the plate but had a strong arm.

Vanderhook and Gill went to watch Garneau and liked what they saw.

They also liked what they heard. “We got to talking to Dustin on the phone and he just fit our mold of kind of the blue-collar, hard worker,” Gill said.

Even when Garneau couldn’t play because of a leg infection, Fullerton coaches showed up at his games to watch him in the dugout.

“They observed how he was with his fellow teammates,” said Garneau’s mother, Christy. “He was not just one to be on the bench spitting sunflower seeds.” Said Vanderhook, now a UCLA assistant: “You could see he was a leader.”

Garneau played sparingly his first season at Fullerton while learning the system. His playing time increased in 2007 and he became a starter last season, helping the Titans advance to the Super Regionals.

This season, Garneau was a stabilizing influence for a Fullerton staff that forged a 3.44 earned-run average, the nation’s fourth best.

Garneau’s receiving skills and leadership behind the plate helped sophomore Daniel Renken (10-2, 2.56 ERA) and freshmen Noe Ramirez (8-1, 2.91) and Tyler Pill (11.3, 3.95) flourish.

Serrano credits Garneau for “taking these kids under his wing and keeping it simple for them and allowing them to grow up in our program.”

Ramirez, a freshman All-American who is scheduled to start the second game against Louisville, said Garneau, “knows every pitcher like we know ourselves. He’s helped me a ton.”

Garneau hopes to continue his hot hitting, but he is content to resume his more customary role if it helps the Titans reach the College World Series.

“It’s all about getting back to Omaha and winning,” he said. “I don’t care if I go 0 for 12 this weekend as long as we get back there.”

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gary.klein@latimes.com