Hurler Hopes Tradition Can Come Through

Relief pitcher Paul Johnson will watch his Cal State Fullerton teammates open the College World Series on Saturday with dreams of getting a chance on the mound and of extending a little-known tradition.

When Fullerton won its two national championships, a South Bay high school graduate was the winning pitcher in the Titans’ series-clinching game. Dave Weatherman, formerly of West Torrance High School, pitched a complete game when Fullerton beat Arkansas, 2-1, in 1979 and Eddie Delzer, a Lennox High alumnus, threw seven innings to earn the decision in a 3-1 win over Texas in 1984.

Johnson, a former all-CIF pitcher at Redondo High, would like to become the third South Bay product to leave his mark in Omaha.

“That sounds good,” he said. “I hope it works out that way.”

Considering the way Johnson pitched last weekend at the South Regional at Mississippi State, there seems to be a good chance he will make an impact at the College World Series. The sixth-seeded Titans (41-16) face third-seeded Miami (51-12-1) in an opener at 5:10 p.m. Saturday.

The junior right-hander won back-to-back games to help Fullerton capture the South Regional title with a 4-0 record. He allowed one run and struck out 12 in 7 innings on Sunday in a 5-3, 12-inning victory over Mississippi State and came back Monday to pitch the last five innings of a 6-3 win over Texas A & M.

For his efforts, Johnson earned the all-tournament pitcher award.

“It was the biggest thrill of my life,” he said. “It was like a dream. Coach (Larry Cochell) told us prior to the series that the entire staff would see some action. But I never thought I’d see that much action.”

As Fullerton’s No. 1 long reliever, Johnson has rarely been in the spotlight this season. Sunday’s victory over Mississippi State was his first decision since April 17, when he earned the win against Nevada-Las Vegas.

Although long reliever might not be the most glamorous job on a pitching staff, Cochell believes it is one of the most important.

“If one of our starters falters, we go to Paul immediately,” he said. “You have to have somebody in those middle innings. If you can’t stop the other team, the game gets away from you. Without Paul, we would have been in trouble.”

Johnson (7-3) has accepted many roles during his three years at Fullerton. The junior started his college career as a starter, became a short reliever last season and opened this season as a starter before he was moved to long relief.

He says there’s not much difference between a stopper and a long reliever.

“You’re usually in a situation where the tying runs are on first, second or third,” he said. “You’re just out there to do your job and get things stopped.”

Johnson did exactly that on Sunday. With Fullerton leading Mississippi State, 3-2, Johnson entered with two outs and the bases loaded in the fifth inning. He ended the threat with a strikeout and finished the 12-inning game with a career high in strikeouts.

“It was definitely my best outing,” he said. “I had no idea that I struck out 12 batters.”

Said Cochell: “He couldn’t have been any better. He’s had some outstanding performances, but I’d say that’s as good as he’s done considering the level of competition.”

Johnson opened the season as a starter and pitched eight innings in a 5-1 win over defending national champion Stanford in Fullerton’s second game. But he was replaced in the starting rotation by right-hander Danny DeVille, a transfer from Mt. San Antonio College.

“I give (DeVille) credit,” Johnson said. “He’s a good pitcher. He had some good outings, then he slowly creeped into the No. 3 spot.”

Coming out of the bullpen is something Johnson did not experience during his prep career at Redondo, where he followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Chris, a standout pitcher-infielder who later played at Pepperdine.

As the Sea Hawks’ ace in 1985, Johnson was named the Bay League most valuable player and led Redondo to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section 4-A playoffs.

His first year at Fullerton, however, was not a success.

“My first outing I kind of got crushed,” he said. “After that, I didn’t see much action. I think it hurt my confidence.”

Johnson built up his confidence in the summer of 1986 by posting an 8-0 record for the Humboldt Crabs, a semi-pro team in Northern California.

He returned his sophomore season and became a short reliever, finishing with a 5-3 record and ranking second in saves for Fullerton.

Johnson says he would like to return to the starting rotation next year. Cochell says it’s a possibility.

“We know he’s a good pitcher,” the coach said. “He has outstanding stuff. If he keeps the ball low, he’s as effective as any we have.”