Together, They Pack a Powerful Punch : Rolls and Baron Supply Offense for USD

Dave Rolls and Sean Baron stood in the outfield of the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium during practice last week. Rolls was gazing past his teammate toward the outfield fence.

“I bet I can remember where I hit all my homers this year,” Rolls said, “and what the pitch was.”

Baron shook his head. No way.

“Well,” Rolls said. “Against Pepperdine I hit a slider to right-center. Against Point Loma I hit a changeup to left. Against Loyola I hit a fastball over the trees in left-center . . .”

And so it went. Rolls, the left fielder, broke USD’s single-season home-run record with 13 this season, and he remembers all of them.

Baron, the first baseman, started to recall his 11 homers.

“I don’t think he’s finished,” Rolls said.

With 24 homers between them, they produced more home runs than any other pair of hitters in USD history.

It was not the best season in USD history, but the Toreros salvaged a .500 season (26-25-2) for the first time since 1982. They climbed over .500 by sweeping a doubleheader from St. Mary’s in their season finale.

It was the best season Rolls has ever had, however. And his 13 home runs broke the 26-year Torero record of 12 set by Jim Fiorenza.

Baron missed a few weeks of the season with a hamstring pull, and that may have helped determine the winner of this two-way home run derby.

“I think if he (Baron) had those games back it would be a little different story,” Rolls said. “He is a home run hitter. When he hits homers they are high and long and far. Mine are out quick and just graze the trees. His are in the air for about five minutes before they’re out.”

Either way, the outcome is the same, though. Baron and Rolls have made this season much easier than last for Coach John Cunningham, who just finished his 24th season at USD. The Toreros were 17-39 in 1985, and Cunningham credits the Rolls-Baron duo with a great deal of the improvement.

“They are the biggest 1-2 punch we’ve had on the team since I’ve been here,” Cunningham said. “I never had anybody hit double figures in home runs in a given season. This year I had two. Getting the runners in, who are in scoring position, is a bigger statistic than home runs, though, and Dave has the second-highest percentage (.610) in USD history. Sean is right behind at .550.”

Where one is, the other is sure to be right behind.

Rolls bats third in the lineup, Baron is the cleanup hitter. Both are 20-year-old sophomores. Both are recently declared business majors.

In a sense, they even complement each other by their differences. Rolls is right-handed and Baron is left-handed.

“We definitely complement each other,” Rolls said. “We let each other know when he does good and hits the ball hard. We say, ‘Keep it going.’ When I get on base I’ll tell him to get a hit: ‘Follow it up, Sean.’ We try to keep each other up every time we are up.”

Said Cunningham: “The amazing thing this year is that they rarely hit homers in the same game. It only happened once.”

When it did happen, the game was a microcosm of USD’s entire season.

The Toreros were down by two runs at Santa Clara on April 18 when Rolls hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to put USD ahead. Santa Clara tied it in the bottom of the ninth. Baron’s two-run homer in the 13th gave USD the lead again, but Santa Clara came back with three for the victory.

“At Santa Clara, there are light poles 90 feet high, behind the 360-foot fence in right, and Baron hit a ball over the pole,” Cunningham said. “In left there is a big scoreboard that starts about 20 feet high, and goes for another 20 feet. Rolls hit the top of that.”

But the Toreros lost.

“We’ve been in a position to win an awful lot of ballgames,” Cunningham said. “Many times we’ve had a lead with three outs to go, and we’ve lost.”

The chance to have a winning season came down to the final doubleheader against St. Mary’s. After winning the first game, the Toreros completed the sweep when Rolls drove home the tie-breaking runs in the eighth inning. It was only a single, but it drove home two runners--one of them Baron.

“We could play with any team this year,” Rolls said. “We have played everyone tough, except for one series with Loyola down here (when the Toreros were outscored 40-11). We did a lot better than last year, though.”

So did Rolls. Last season he hit .254, with three home runs. His goal was .333 this year, but he “settled” for .325.

Rolls lifted weights last summer, something he had not done before. That helped his strength and obviously created power. He said he doesn’t “max-out” with the weights, but goes to the weight room at least three times a week for conditioning.

In addition to the weights, Rolls worked out all summer with Jake Molina, Cunningham’s assistant. And they talked about philosophies of hitting.

“He (Molina) taught me what I have to master,” Rolls said. “He taught me how to go to the opposite field. He was also a positive person, always giving me compliments.”

And Rolls returned with a different attitude.

“Last year, we were terrible and had a bunch of guys that I don’t think wanted to win,” Rolls said. “I kind of followed, and rode behind them. I didn’t play hard like I should have. I tried to change that this year. Instead of watching everybody, doing as they do, I tried to set an example. I tried to take it on my own not to follow, hopefully to lead.”

He came to USD from Tucson, Ariz., where he starred on the state championship team at Canyon Del Oro High.

He was advised that USD might be a place he would enjoy by Orin Freeman, a scout for the New York Yankees. Rolls sent Cunningham a letter, and the Torero coach immediately responded.

“He came out to see me play,” Rolls said, “and offered me a scholarship. I always wanted to come to San Diego to play.”

Meanwhile, a three-sport star named Baron from Antelope Valley High School was attracting Cunningham’s attention.

However, three games into Baron’s senior football season he suffered a knee injury that required total reconstruction. He missed the rest of football and all of basketball season.

He concentrated on baseball.

“I didn’t want to mess with football anymore,” Baron said, “and J. C. (Cunningham) asked me to come down--and I liked it. It’s close to the beach. That’s me.”

Cunningham on Baron’s knee injury: “We took a chance, but it’s paid off.”

So now these two power hitters are together, sophomores with sock and futures.

Maybe one--or both--will make it to the major leagues.

Rolls pondered what he might do with his first seven-figure contract.

“I’d buy a house in the middle of Wyoming,” Rolls said. “I’d like to be away in the outdoors, and go out and fish and camp.”

“That’s Dave,” Baron said. “I’m surprised he didn’t say in the middle of Siberia.”