SPORTS NOTEBOOK : 49ers’ Diamond No Longer So Rough

A coat of dew on its green coat, the refurbished baseball field at Cal State Long Beach glistened in the early morning sun. Ballparks that reflect great care tend to be beautiful, especially when they sit in solitude, and this one was no exception.

The infield had been re-sodded and the outfield was a smooth carpet of Bermuda-bred grass.

A friendly man named Tom Burroughs, the 41-year-old groundskeeper, grinned and said: “Five hundred thousand square feet. It takes me 2 1/2 hours to mow the outfield. I double-mow it.

“I have a son who loves baseball. Jeff always says, ‘My dad works at a professional college baseball field.’ ”

It has taken about a year to get the field ready. The old dugouts were replaced, as were the outfield fences. There is a new 40-foot backstop.

Temporary elevated bleachers, seating about 1,000 fans, were also erected. The sprinkler and drainage systems are new, as is the flagpole beyond the 12-foot-high center-field fence.

For teaching, there are areas that hold batting cages and pitching mounds.

The scoreboard, though, may not be put up until mid-March.

“The more we got into it the more we found that wasn’t right,” said athletic director Corey Johnson, who came to Long Beach three years ago from the University of Miami, which is known for a top-flight baseball field and program.

It was discovered, for instance, that the distance from first base to second base was not the regulation 90 feet but about 88 1/2 feet.

And there had been lumps in left-center where a long-forgotten service road had once run through.

“You had to be a billy goat to play the outfield,” Coach Dave Snow said.

All the improvements represent the first phase of a $1.4-million three-phase project. The first improvements were made possible by a $200,000 gift from an anonymous donor.

Lights, the second phase, will be put up in a year, and the third phase, three years away, will consist of permanent bleachers, restrooms, offices and locker rooms.

It is a bigger park now, 345 feet down the lines (15 feet farther) and 412 feet to center field.

“I prefer to play in a big park, especially in college with the metal bats,” said Snow, who in his first season a year ago took the 49ers to the College World Series.

“I think the kids have a lot of pride going out there,” he added. “And it doesn’t hurt you when you’re out recruiting.”

The 49ers, 2-3 this season, will play host to California in a three-game series this weekend.

49ers vs. Gauchos: The Cal State Long Beach men’s basketball team, which has won three of its last seven games, will play UC Santa Barbara tonight at 7:30 in the campus gym.

The 49ers, 13-6 overall and 6-5 in the Big West Conference, have won five consecutive games against the Gauchos (15-5, 8-3).

On Monday night at 9, the 49ers will play North Carolina Charlotte at the Long Beach Arena.

‘New’ Fields in Cerritos: Renovation of Cerritos Regional Park, 19900 Bloomfield Ave., has been completed at a cost of $4.9 million.

It contains three softball fields, a softball/baseball field, a regulation baseball field, six soccer/football fields, an office and a concession stand with an outdoor eating area.

“We took over the lease of half the Los Angeles County park there and renovated 25 acres,” said Joe Mendoza, recreation supervisor.

The park was dedicated Saturday.