COLLEGE WORLD SERIES : Popoff Gets the Start for Titans

You won’t find James Popoff in the recreation room of Cal State Fullerton’s hotel today before the Titans (45-16) play Miami (55-9) in a College World Series game that will determine one of the participants in Saturday’s national championship game.

The senior pitcher tried to unwind before Sunday’s game against the Hurricanes by shooting a little pool, and he almost wound up on the disabled list.

“A busboy working nearby accidentally knocked over a partition, and it hit me in the right elbow,” said Popoff, who will start today’s (4:30 p.m., PDT) game in Rosenblatt Stadium. “I lost feeling in two fingers, and my arm felt terrible. It went away the next day, but to play it safe, I think I’ll just hang out in my room before today’s game.”

Though Popoff didn’t pitch poorly Sunday--he allowed four runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 4-3 loss--he said he had “the worst stuff I’ve had all year. My fastball was horrible.”

Popoff (12-3) looked a lot better Wednesday, when he pitched the ninth inning and earned a save in Fullerton’s 7-5 victory over top-ranked and top-seeded Miami. So did the Titan offense, which scored seven runs in the first two innings and finished with 10 hits.

But Fullerton will have to contend with Miami’s best pitcher today, senior left-hander Jeff Alkire, who walked nine but allowed only three hits in seven innings in Miami’s victory Sunday.

Alkire is not overpowering--he relies mostly on breaking balls and off-speed pitches--but he was successful because he got the Titans to swing at pitches outside the strike zone.

“We’ve got to be a lot more patient against him,” Fullerton catcher Jason Moler said. “He was all over the place last game, so we’ve got to swing at better pitches. We can’t get overanxious.”

The Titans are coming off a victory, but it’s not as if they will carry loads of momentum into today’s game. After the big first and second innings Wednesday, Fullerton managed only four hits.

Miami cut the deficit with solo home runs by Kevin DiGiacomo (sixth inning) and Donald Robinson (seventh) and three more runs in the eighth and had the tying runs on base when Greg Coleman grounded out to end the inning.

“If it’s any benefit, it’s good that we didn’t get wiped out Wednesday, because then we wouldn’t have had any momentum into (today’s) game,” Miami Coach Ron Fraser said. “Everything is equal now.”

College World Series Notes

Senior right-hander Dan Naulty was the winning pitcher in Fullerton’s 7-5 victory over Miami Wednesday. But had things gone according to plan, Naulty would have been in the Hurricanes’ bullpen, not the Titans’ starting rotation, this week. Naulty, of Ocean View High School, signed a letter of intent with Miami out of Cerritos College two years ago, but two of his physical education credits were not accepted under Miami’s transfer rules, making him ineligible. When then-Cerritos Coach George Horton got the associate head coaching job at Fullerton, Naulty decided to follow. “Beating them wasn’t extra special or anything, but I wanted to show them I picked the right school,” Naulty said. . . . Fullerton pitcher Mike Parisi, who is suffering from mononucleosis and strep throat, said he felt much better Thursday and had no more pain in his throat. . . . Through Wednesday’s games, the Titans had the top three hitters in series play--Phil Nevin (.636), Nate Rodriquez (.583) and Chris Powell (.538). . . . Six of Fullerton’s nine signees have been drafted by professional teams: Huntington Beach High pitcher Jon Ward (sandwich pick between first and second rounds, Mets), San Diego Vista High third baseman Aaron Roundsifer (12th round, Boston), El Dorado catcher Brian Loyd (28th round, Florida), Katella first baseman Kyle Evans (30th round, Dodgers), Fresno Washington High pitcher Manuel Mendez (33rd round, Angels) and Calvert Hall High (Md.) pitcher Andy Weltlinger (45th round, Houston). . . . Series umpire crew chief Dale Williams, a Signal Hill resident, is also a professional football referee who has worked two Super Bowls, including last January’s Washington-Buffalo game. . . . Attendance through seven series sessions was up 3.4%, from 99,670 to 103,012, compared with last year’s, which is good considering Creighton, the hometown school from Omaha, was a big draw in the ’91 series.