CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK : Softball Team Focuses on Plight of Young Fan

Cal State Fullerton’s women’s softball team has attained the No. 1 ranking in the nation, but the Titans also are working toward another goal.

Christina Schnabl, an 8-year-old from Placentia who was a batgirl for the Titans last season, has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. The team has dedicated the rest of its season to Schnabl and is helping to sponsor a drive to find a compatible donor.

“There’s not a lot we can do,” shortstop Jill Matyuch said. “We are just a softball team and we aren’t on national television all the time. But we can do something.”

Last season Schnabl was a member of the Titan Tuffies, a fan club of the team, and was a batgirl in several games. She also had been a member of local youth softball and soccer teams. In January, she was diagnosed with leukemia and, since then, has been hospitalized.

Matyuch said the Titans will be wearing red wrist bands during games in Schnabl’s honor. But their main goal, Matyuch said, is to get 300 people tested for bone marrow compatibility April 23 at the university. The tests cost $75 and although about $4,000 remains from funds that helped 174 people get tested in another drive last week, more money needs to be raised, said Linda Schnabl, Christina’s mother.

Several team members have gone to the hospital to visit Christina, a third-grader at Warner Elementary School in Placentia. Christina’s mother said the visits are helping her daughter, who has been receiving chemotherapy treatments.

“It really picks her spirits up when they come in,” said Schnabl, a music teacher in the Placentia Unified School District.

Titan Coach Judi Garman said the visits are helping the players, too.

“I think we all become winners because it helps us keep things in proper perspective,” Garman said. “When you see Christina’s courage and enthusiasm at what we are doing, it helps us go out and push even harder.”

In his two-year career, Cedric Ceballos left the following imprints on the Titan basketball record book:

--22.1 career scoring average, breaking Leon Wood’s record of 20.6.

--669 points, second-best single-season total, behind Wood’s 719 in 1984.

--1,284 career points, sixth all-time and tops for two-year players.

--362 rebounds, breaking single-season record of 326 set by Tony Neal in 1985.

--618 career rebounds, fourth all-time and tops among two-year players.

--12.5 rebounding average, breaking Neal’s record of 11.2 set in 1985.

Mark Hill completed his career as the holder of most of the school’s three-point shooting records. Hill set records this season for three-pointers made and attempted for a career (145 of 366), a season (77 of 186) and a game (8 made against Cal State Northridge, 18 attempted against Nevada Las Vegas).

Three Titan wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA championships March 22-24 at College Park, Md.: freshman Jeff Maes (126 pounds), sophomore Lyndon Campbell (134) and junior David Jones (heavyweight).

The baseball team’s record of 9-9 is not quite where the Titans want to be--in more ways than one.

How often does a Southern California team get have rainouts this early in the year?

Fullerton had two games at home rained out against Rice, and three more during four days in Stockton, where a Big West Conference series against Pacific was rained out.

“The rainouts have put us behind,” Coach Larry Cochell said. “We haven’t quite jelled yet. We need to play more games to gain the momentum we need.”

Two football players are competing on the track team this year, senior sprinter/receiver Mark Hill, and junior long jumper/cornerback Nuygen Pendleton. Hill ran the 200-meter dash in 22.22 seconds to win in a meet at UC Santa Barbara last weekend, and Pendleton finished second in the long jump with a distance of 6.87 meters.

The men’s team dominated the 5,000-meter run, taking first, second and third with Steve Frisone (15:13.78), Ray Trujillo (15:21.93) and Mike Richardson (15:24.30).

Titan Notes

The Titan Athletic Foundation has a fundraising goal of $550,000, about $75,000 more than last year. The booster group will be trying to raise most of that money during a drive that begins March 23 with a Casino Night--an event that will try to “put the fun back in fund drive,” in the words of Walt Bowman, associate athletic director and executive director of the athletic foundation. The drive ends May 5 with the May Bowl, the spring football game. Fullerton exceeded its drive goal of $425,000 last year by about $16,000.

Kelli Moore and Roseann Alva, Fullerton’s No. 1 doubles team, recently defeated the 13th-ranked women’s doubles team in the country, Pacific’s Leslie Powell and Lisa Gratsushima, 7-5, 6-4.

Times staff writer Robyn Norwood contributed to this notebook.