BASEBALL : Former Canyons Shortstop Moves Into Starting Lineup at Third for Florida State

Former College of the Canyons shortstop Don Erickson has made his presence felt at Florida State (12-2), which is ranked No. 1 in the country. Erickson, who batted better than .300 in 1986 and better than .400 in 1985 at Canyons, has moved to third base where he has started each of the Seminoles’ 14 games. Erickson has 8 hits, 6 runs batted in, 3 doubles, 1 homer, scored 10 runs and is 2 for 2 in stolen bases. The former Kennedy High player is batting .186.

Add COC: College of the Canyons (4-3) is ranked No. 8 in this week’s Southland poll along with Golden West (5-2). Cerritos is ranked No. 1 with a 10-1 record.

Just how well will the Northridge baseball team measure up against other Division II competition? So far, it’s anyone’s guess.

The Matadors were 10-5 going into Wednesday night’s game at Fresno State--3-1 against Division III teams, 7-4 against Division I competition.

Misplaced optimism: Before the season, USC Coach Mike Gillespie spoke cautiously of his USC team’s chances this season. In fact, the former Canyons coach considered himself going out on a limb when he said his team would be competitive--at best.

This week, Gillespie’s Trojans (14-4) are ranked No. 7 in the nation by the Collegiate Baseball-ESPN poll.

Comeback trails: Former Notre Dame High pitcher Jack McDowell, the victim of an assault last December that left him with more than 200 stitches in his face, improved his Stanford record to 2-1 with a 13-5 win at UCLA on Sunday.

McDowell, an All-American last season, is expected to be a No. 1 pick in the June draft.

Add UCLA: Against McDowell, former Camarillo High player Scott Cline hit his fifth home run of the season.

Granada Hills connection: Former College of the Canyons pitcher Frank Halcovich, who twice was named California community college player of the year, is 3-1 for Arizona. Teammate Greg Fowble, who was a teammate of Halcovich at Granada Hills High, is batting .375 for the Wildcats.

Conference opener: College of the Canyons (4-3) and Moorpark College (4-5) will open the Western State Conference baseball season Saturday with a noon game at Moorpark.