COLLEGE BASEBALL : Nevin Adds Muscle, Cuts Back on Stress

Phil Nevin knew that some major adjustments were in order after a disappointing sophomore season at Cal State Fullerton.

As a freshman, Nevin had batted .358 with 14 home runs and 52 runs batted in. Last year, his average dropped to .335 with three homers and 46 RBIs.

Nevin, a 6-foot-2 third baseman, went to the weight room and added 15 pounds of muscle. Perhaps more important, he took a mental weight off his shoulders by learning to relax on the field.

“It’s still a hard thing to control--I don’t like to make outs or to experience failure,” Nevin said. “This season, instead of throwing a helmet or yelling at an umpire, I try to grit my teeth or squeeze my hand into a fist or something.

“But one of the reasons it’s been easier to deal with this season is because I haven’t had that many bad moments.”

Indeed. Nevin, who bulked up to 189 pounds, entered the week leading the Big West Conference with a .428 average, 17 homers and 57 runs batted in. He also leads the conference in runs (53) and walks (45) and could become the Big West’s first triple crown winner since Lance Shebelut of Fresno State in 1988.

Nevin’s numbers, as well as his new demeanor, have made him a projected first-round pick in the upcoming amateur draft. It has been quite a turnaround for a player who was removed from several games last season because of outbursts.

“The coaches pretty much told me that if I didn’t change my attitude, I wasn’t going to play,” Nevin said. “They wanted me to be a leader by example. And when I thought about it, they had a good point.”

Fullerton (11-4), ranked seventh by Baseball America, is in third place in the Big West behind Cal State Long Beach and Fresno State, both 12-3. Fullerton will travel to Long Beach on Friday for the first of a three-game series.

Nevin is hoping the Titans receive a bid to the NCAA playoffs and that he receives an invitation to try out for the Olympic team.

“If they want the country best represented, they’re going to take me,” Nevin said. “I don’t think there’s a better choice at third base.”

Trivia time: What major league player holds the record for most home runs in a college season?

Real home runs: Mark Gulseth of New Mexico no doubt felt at home when he stepped to the plate Sunday to face pitcher Rob Callaway of San Diego State.

Gulseth, a 6-4 sophomore first baseman, is from Callaway, Minn.

Perhaps that explains the grand slams Gulseth hit off pitches from Callaway during the first and second innings of New Mexico’s 13-5 Western Athletic Conference victory.

“I can’t believe it,” said Gulseth, who also had a two-run single during the fifth. “I’ve never hit a grand slam in my life, and to hit two of them today is unbelievable.”

Not quite as unbelievable, however, as the performance Jim LaFountain of Louisville turned in on March 24, 1976, against Western Kentucky.

LaFountain hit three grand slams, including two during one inning, and finished with 14 runs batted in.

In the swing: Dan Melendez is having another outstanding season for No. 6 Pepperdine and is likely to receive an invitation to try out for the Olympic team.

Melendez, 6-4 and 195 pounds, played for Team USA the last two summers. He is batting .319 with 10 homers and 50 RBIs for the Waves, who are in first place in the West Coast Conference.

Early in the season, Melendez said he pressed in an attempt to improve his power statistics. But Pepperdine Coach Andy Lopez said Melendez’s power will not become evident until he leaves Malibu.

“Dan hits left-handers as well as any left-handed batter I’ve had in my 15 years as a coach,” Lopez said. “People try to knock him for a lack of power numbers, but Pepperdine is not exactly a power-hitter’s park, especially for left-handers.

“I’m sure he would like to have 17 homers right now, but that’s just not going to be a reality at Pepperdine.”

No favorites: With three weeks remaining in the conference schedule, the race for the Pacific 10 Southern Division championship remains wide open.

Five of the six teams in the division are ranked among the nation’s top 25 by Baseball America, including No. 13 Arizona, which is in first place with an 11-8 record. Eleventh-ranked Arizona State and No. 9 Stanford are tied for second at 11-10, followed by No. 23 UCLA (10-11), No. 25 California (9-10) and USC (9-12).

“Cal has made a dramatic turnaround, and that has muddied everyone’s waters,” USC Coach Mike Gillespie said. “Anyone could win the championship, including us.”

Much might be decided this weekend when Arizona travels to Stanford for a three-game series then plays two makeup games at Cal on Monday.

Trivia answer: Pete Incaviglia of the Houston Astros hit 48 home runs in 75 games for Oklahoma State in 1985.

College Baseball Notes

Senior right-hander Ken Kendrena of No. 16 Cal State Northridge (29-7-1) became the school’s all-time strikeout leader when he got 17 during a 6-0 victory over Chapman. Kendrena has 257 strikeouts. . . . Senior outfielder Michael Case of Cal State Long Beach (24-14-1) is batting .333 and had three of the 49ers’ school-record 10 doubles during a 12-7 victory over Chapman.

Derek Wallace of No. 6 Pepperdine (28-10) is expected to start throwing in the bullpen this week after recovering from a leg injury suffered in an automobile accident. The Waves are 18-1 at home and 10-9 on the road. . . . UC Santa Barbara’s Jeff Antoon, who has started at five positions, has one error in 301 chances. Gaucho second baseman David Waco has committed one error in 228 chances.

UCLA outfielder Michael Moore has not played in two weeks because of an injured shoulder. The Bruins will play host to Arizona State this weekend. . . . USC infielder J.P. Roberge is batting .316 for the Trojans, who will play at Cal this weekend.

James Popoff is 8-1 with a 3.30 earned-run average for Cal State Fullerton. Freshman outfielder Dante Powell has seven triples, one shy of the Big West Conference record.