Four Titans, Two Anteaters Receive Honors

Four baseball players from Cal State Fullerton and two from UC Irvine have been named to the All-Big West Conference first team by a vote of conference coaches.

Larry Cochell, who led Fullerton to at least a share of the conference championship, an NCAA regional bid and a top-20 national ranking after beginning the season unranked, was chosen as the coach of the year.

Don Barbara, a Cal State Long Beach senior, was named player of the year after batting .474, breaking the conference record of .431.

Rich Gonzales, a senior outfielder who led the Titans in batting with a .382 average, and junior second baseman Mate Borgogno, who hit .379 and led the team with 53 runs batted in, were the two Titan position players chosen to the first team. Pitchers Huck Flener, a junior left-hander who went 7-1 with a 3.78 earned-run average, and Jame Popoff, a sophomore right-hander who finished 10-4 with a 3.78 ERA, also made the first team.

Irvine’s Ken Whitworth, a senior right-hander whose 13 victories were the second-most in school history, was also named to the first team after finishing 13-4 with nine complete games and a 3.00 ERA. Al Rodriguez, a junior shortstop who hit .345 and stole 15 bases, also made the first team for the Anteaters, who finished 34-25.

Four Fullerton players also made the second team: Third baseman Phil Nevin, shortstop Kevin Farlow, catcher Matt Hattabaugh and designated hitter Frank Charles. Two Irvine players were chosen to the second team: first baseman Osmar DeChavez and second baseman Chris Gallego.