NCAA SOUTH I REGION NOTEBOOK : Titans Develop a Sense of Team Unity in Time for Playoffs

Cal State Fullerton’s depth has been a blessing and a curse this season--a blessing when you can replace injured first baseman Jim Betzsold with D.C. Olsen and platoon 1991 starter Frank Herman and speedster Chris Powell in center field, but a curse when so many talented players sit on the bench.

That problem nearly tore the Titans apart three weeks ago, players and coaches said Sunday after Fullerton defeated Ohio State, 13-1, for the NCAA South I Region championship. There were some gripes over playing time, and Coach Augie Garrido got so fed up that he called off practice one day.

“We had a situation where we have a lot of talent but only nine can play,” Garrido said. “There were problems with guys wondering why they weren’t playing. I canceled practice because if we weren’t going to play as a team, we weren’t going anywhere.”

The players took it upon themselves to call a team meeting and air their beefs. Rules were set, and the result has been a more unified Titan team, one that is peaking as it enters the College World Series.

“This has really become a players’ team,” Garrido said. “They’ve set their own guidelines, and they, more than any team I’ve ever coached, have done a great job coming together at a time they needed to, despite the fact they hadn’t done that all season.”

Can’t explain: Fullerton second baseman Steve Sisco entered Sunday’s game batting .143 (two for 14) in the regional and said he had “the worst day in batting practice” of any Titan, but you’d have a hard time convincing the Buckeyes of that.

Sisco knocked in one run with a groundout in the second inning, two with a double to center field in the third, two more with a single in the fifth and another with a sacrifice fly in the ninth.

“I have no idea why things turned for me at the plate,” Sisco said. “I’ve been seeing the ball well, I relaxed, and things just started falling into place.”

Hushed puppies: After playing in front of 5,972 fans in Saturday night’s 11-0 victory over Louisiana State--the largest crowd to watch a game in LSU history--Sunday’s game was a bit of a letdown for the Titans.

LSU fans had little desire to watch the two teams that defeated the Tigers in the tournament, and only 891 showed up Sunday, giving the feeling of a midweek, nonconference game to the region championship.

“It was definitely hard getting up for the game after having such a big crowd Saturday night,” Titan third baseman Phil Nevin said. “It was real quiet. But we’ve learned to overcome things this year, and that was just another thing to overcome.”

Deja choo-choo: As the national anthem ended Sunday, a train blew its horn and rumbled down the tracks next to Alex Box Stadium, stirring memories of Amerige Park for the Titans, their downtown Fullerton home for almost two seasons while their on-campus stadium was being completed.

“We’ve been a bunch of nomads and waifs for the past two years, practicing on high school fields and playing off-campus,” Garrido said in response to a Baton Rouge reporter’s question about why the Titans seemed so fired up when they heard the train.

“We’ve been struggling with our identity and pride and played in a park where, every two innings, trains rolled by and nearly blew us off the field. So when we heard the train today, it was like a message, like the whole thing has gone full circle. It was like being at home.”

Quote of the day: From an LSU fan in the bottom of the fifth inning, after Fullerton had taken an 11-0 lead over Ohio State:

“C’mon, Buckeyes, don’t fold your tents. Two touchdowns and you’re right back in it.”