Eggert Finds Comfort in Starring Role : Northridge Left-Hander Seizes Opportunity After Spending a Season as Bit Player

David Eggert never learned how to be a spectator.

He wasn’t one of the guys. He was the guy. The center of attention. The player teammates could depend on.

As a pitcher at Ventura High and Ventura College, he was either the ace among starters or closer out of the bullpen--sometimes both.

But then, two years ago, Eggert accepted an offer to play for Cal State Northridge, an up-and-coming NCAA Division I baseball power, and his assignment changed.

He was, in the words of Coach Bill Kernen, “a multiple-purpose role player.”

Eggert uses another description in summarizing his first season with the Matadors. “I was a nobody,” he said.

But that was a year ago--ancient history as far as Eggert is concerned.

A bit player who was excepted to become a slightly more prominent member of the supporting cast this campaign, the senior left-hander seized an opportunity and has stubbornly refused to relinquish a starring role.

In his first seven games, all as a starter, Eggert was the winning pitcher. And even when his personal streak ended in a 4-0 loss to UCLA on Wednesday, he was impressive, shutting out the Bruins on two hits through 6 2/3 innings.

“He has always had good stuff and ability,” Kernen said. “The difference for him now is that he is using it.

“He seems to like that extra pressure of knowing that if he doesn’t do well we don’t do well. We’ve been counting on him and he has responded.”

After starting the season as a reliever and spot starter, Eggert won the place in Northridge’s starting rotation vacated by right-hander Steven Morales, who is out for the season because of a hairline fracture near the elbow of his pitching arm.

Given regular work with the Matadors for the first time, Eggert has compiled a 7-1 record and a 2.04 earned-run average, lowest among Northridge starters.

Rather than a new pitch or a better fastball, Eggert credits his newfound success to an improved mental outlook.

He marks an intrasquad game shortly before the season as the turning point. Matched against a team of mostly freshmen and reserves, Eggert walked several batters. When he did throw strikes, he was hit hard.

Eggert responded by going on a tirade inside the clubhouse.

“I was screaming and kicking things, just going bananas,” Eggert said. “Then I went home, looked at myself in the mirror and realized I just couldn’t be like that anymore.

“I said, ‘This is your last year and that’s not the way you should be handling yourself.’ ”

It was the same sentiment Kernen previously had voiced.

“He’s an emotional guy, and sometimes that worked against him,” Kernen said. “His problem wasn’t ability, it was consistency. He would get too hyped up and when something didn’t go his way, sometimes he would become part of the problem.

“He would get out of control, then lose his control and walk someone or hit someone and then maybe try to load up and throw a pitch by somebody and (instead) throw right down the middle. Ka-boom. His own worst enemy.”

Said Eggert: “When I’d get out of control, I’d miss by feet, not by inches.”

However, Kernen added, “We’re talking about the guy he was before. Not who he is now.”

Eggert said he has settled down on the mound since allowing himself a margin for error.

“When I played in JC I was always the stopper,” he said. “When something went wrong for me, that usually meant the end of the game. Now, if I give up five runs and we get six, that’s OK. We win. It’s not about me anymore. It’s about winning.”

That he is finally able to focus on one area of specialty also is helping Eggert.

At Ventura High, he was a standout wide receiver and part-time defensive back during the football season. In the spring, he roamed the outfield when he wasn’t pitching.

And even when he decided to drop football and concentrate on baseball at Ventura College, he still rarely sat and watched. When he wasn’t pitching, he played another position.

All of which made last season, Eggert’s first at Northridge, even more disconcerting.

As a pitcher he appeared in nine games, making only two starts. As an outfielder he was in 22 games but had only 28 at-bats.

Most discouraging, his playing time decreased as Northridge made its drive to a playoff berth, then advanced to the championship game in the West Regional II in Fresno.

Sometimes his frustration boiled over. Eggert recalls several instances when his pointed, offhanded comments drew the ire of teammates.

“I rubbed some people the wrong way because I always had something to say, a comment for somebody whenever anything happened,” Eggert said. “Being a nobody was a big problem for me. In high school and JC I was used to being the (main) guy and when I wasn’t it was hard to adjust.

“I always ended up apologizing before things went too far, but I think the guys understood that a lot of what I said came from my own frustration.”

Eggert’s days as a part-time outfielder are over, and so are his wild swings of emotion.

If there is a feeling of helplessness, it comes from opposing batters who are hitting .235 against him. “It’s been a lot of fun this year,” Eggert said. “Now when I look in the mirror I see a smile instead of a frown.”