Career Is a Change-Up for Long Beach Pitcher : College baseball: Dwayne Fowler left Cal State Dominguez Hills because he wanted to be a catcher. But the 49ers, too, put him on the mound.

Change has been a way of life for Dwayne Fowler in high school and in college baseball.

He grew up in Long Beach but played baseball at a private high school in Norwalk. He started as a catcher and was switched to pitcher. Most recently, he went from Division II Cal State Dominguez Hills to Division I Cal State Long Beach, from a small, rebuilding program to one of the nation’s top 10 teams.

At the close of last season, Fowler decided that he didn’t want to continue at Dominguez Hills and requested a release to play at another college. The Toros’ second-year coach, George Wing, granted it, allowing Fowler to change schools without losing eligibility.

“There were several reasons why I wanted to leave,” Fowler said. “The main one was that I wanted an opportunity to play more.”

At Dominguez Hills, Fowler found himself without a starting position and felt left out of the new coach’s plans.

“We just had no need for him to play catcher,” Wing said. “We told him that we wanted to make him a pitcher, and that’s what we worked on with him. I think it’s kind of ironic that he left (Dominguez Hills) still wanting to be a catcher, and he ended pitching on another team.”

In his first year at Dominguez Hills, Fowler played in 30 games and seemed to be the leading candidate for the starting catcher’s job as a sophomore. However, his offensive statistics weren’t very impressive. He batted only .188 with two doubles and three runs batted in.

“The only reason he was not used as a pitcher in his first year was that there were injury problems, and the team needed a catcher,” Wing said. “(Former Coach) Andy Lopez had wanted to use him for a pitcher from the very start.”

Fowler’s sophomore year was a disappointment, and his playing time was reduced. He had only six at-bats and one hit. But he did show some promise as a pitcher, posting a 1-1 record in five appearances with a 5.74 earned-run average on a team that finished 16-29-1.

At Leffingwell Christian High School in Norwalk, Fowler had a different baseball coach in each of his four years. As a freshman at Dominguez Hills, he played for Lopez, who left to take the head job at Pepperdine. Enter Wing, his sixth coach in six seasons.

After last season, Fowler decided that it was time to pick his own coach: Cal State Long Beach’s Dave Snow. He added that he wanted to play closer to home and that educational considerations were also involved in his decision to transfer.

Fowler said he called Snow over the summer and asked if he was looking for an extra player. When Snow said he would take a look at him, Fowler thought he would be a catcher again.

The Long Beach coach had other ideas.

“I knew he had a good arm when I let him try out,” Snow said. “He has very good potential; it’s just that he needs time to develop it.”

Snow told Fowler that he had enough catchers, that what he needed was pitching. Fowler agreed to make the change permanently.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to take such a drastic step,” he said, “but I did know that I wanted to play baseball this season. Catching was still on my mind when I started the season. Now I like pitching too.”

This season Fowler has been thrown into the role of middle-inning reliever. In 23 innings of work in 15 games, he has posted an 0-1 record with 25 strikeouts and nine walks.

Although this is one of the most unheralded positions on the team, Fowler is happy with it.

“(Being a middle reliever) has helped me to make the change,” he said. “I don’t have the pressure of being a starter or a closer.”

When the starter is knocked out, his job is to keep the game close until the last couple of innings, when the stopper comes in.

In this relatively anonymous role, Fowler said, he has had the opportunity to work on throwing various pitches and deciding which pitch to throw. His goal is to be the 49ers’ short-relief man next year.

Fowler has a biting knuckle-curve ball and a decent fastball. As long as he keeps the ball down, Snow said, he’s a tough pitcher.

“The one thing that I have to do is learn to be more relaxed when I pitch,” Fowler said. “Sometimes I get a little too juiced up when I’m on the mound.”

When he first started pitching this season, he tried to strike out every batter, he said, but now he has learned to rely on the fielders behind him.

Fowler, a junior majoring in physical education with a minor in history, has had to make another adjustment since moving to Division I: learning how to play with better athletes.

But though baseball is a little more challenging in the Big West Conference, the game is still played the same, Fowler said. He is confident that with a little more experience, he will measure up.

“It might be easier for guys who have played in large high schools or colleges before coming (to Long Beach),” he said, “(but) they don’t have any more talent than I’ve got.”

Fowler has followed the route of most aspiring baseball players, starting with Little League.

“Anytime I can get out to the playing field, I’m out there,” he said. “I just love getting out in the open and throwing the ball around.”

He still hopes to play in the major leagues, and Snow said several teams have taken a look at him this season.

More likely, Fowler said, he will end up as high school teacher, maybe a coach.