Talkin’ Titan Baseball, With Water Wings and Scuba-Diving Gear

Sticky, gooey, thick, brown mud. Rain. Clouds. Floods.

We’re talking baseball here.

Put it this way: It’s enough to make Cal State Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido talk baseball.

Particularly with all the storms that have passed through Southern California in the last week, and especially since the Titans--NCAA runners-up last season--were scheduled to open baseball practice Monday.

“We’re out there among the alligators,” Garrido said. “We don’t know whether to practice, fish or plant rice. The conditions are conducive to fishing and planting rice.”

And the field conditions at the Titan Sports Complex?

“Terrific,” Garrido said. “It certainly holds water well.”

But a Fullerton maintenance crew and Garrido’s assistants waded, raked and sculptured and, somehow, they made the field playable--although that depends on whose definition of “playable” you prefer.

“There are some soft spots,” Garrido said. “There’s some standing water in some places, particularly around the warning track. But the infield is fine.”

Currently, the only drainage on the baseball field is natural drainage. So maintenance workers and coaches sometimes have to help speed up nature’s course.

“We need to re-grade or build a sewer system so the water can drain,” said Ron Andris, Cal State Fullerton’s director of recreation.

But Garrido has had more to worry about than the weather this week--such as lining up a fourth team for Fullerton’s Disney tournament, Feb. 26-28. Waseda, a Japanese university team, backed out because of the death of its coach, and now Garrido is attempting to find a fourth team to play with Fullerton, Florida State and Chapman University.

Even at this late date, though, he doesn’t figure it will be much of a problem. Oklahoma, Seton Hall, Gonzaga, New Hampshire, Azusa Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene have all inquired about playing in the tournament, Garrido said.

The Titans open their season Feb. 5 at home with the first game of a three-game series against Stanford. Although a couple players spent some time on the academic borderline, all the Titans made their grades and Garrido welcomed a full squad to practice Monday afternoon.

And not once did they break out the fishing poles.

Interesting piece in the latest Sports Illustrated on Rollie Massimino and Nevada Las Vegas.

In part, the story reads: “ . . . With the exception of New Mexico State, the Big West conference has its usual lineup of soft teams, which should give UNLV an easy launching pad to the NCAA tournament.”

That giant sucking sound you heard was steam rising from the heads of conference coaches.

“I think the writer (William F. Reed) needs to do more homework and examine our conference closer,” Titan Coach Brad Holland said. “I don’t know of any softies. San Jose State was picked to finish 10th and they beat Stanford, and Pacific beat Oregon.

“If anyone at all is watching our conference closely, they’ll realize there’s a lot of balance and competition--particularly with what Long Beach State accomplished (last) weekend.”

The 49ers slipped past UNLV and then blew out New Mexico State at home over a three-day period last week.

“The conference championship is certainly up for grabs, although I like those three for the championship,” Holland said. “It’s going to be a real interesting conference this year.”

So far, the launching pad has only sent UNLV spinning downward in the national rankings.

Lynn Rogers earned his 200th coaching victory Friday night when the Titan women’s gymnastics team defeated Stanford, 191.75-186.30.

Rogers said he didn’t do anything special in the aftermath.

Perhaps it’s because, since he started the school’s program 18 years ago, each day has had its own rewards.

“I don’t really feel like it’s all mine,” Rogers said. “It doesn’t have that kind of feel to it.”

What he does feel is thankful to his gymnasts.

“The thing I’ll remember most is the kids who helped,” Rogers said. “They’re a good group. I’m proud of them. It was the right group to win No. 200 with.”

For one thing, Rogers is happy with their numbers in the classroom. Eight of his 10 gymnasts made the honor roll (3.0 grade-point average or higher) last semester, four of those eight made the dean’s list (3.5 or higher) and three made straight A’s.

“These are really neat kids,” Rogers said.

Darrius Watson, a first-team All-Big West cornerback, has orally committed to transfer to Louisville, said Gene Murphy, former Fullerton football coach.

And with the recruiting season winding down--Feb. 3 is national prep signing day--the push is on for other Titans to find football programs.

The latest to pick a school since Fullerton announced Dec. 7 that it will suspend its program: wide receiver Kimiko Bandy, Idaho; walk-on linebacker James Schoales, Fullerton College; receiver Andrew Hill, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and walk-on offensive lineman Keelin Boulware, New Mexico State.

Titan Notes

Don Leary, by making 36 three-point baskets in Fullerton’s first eight games, won the AT&T; Long Distance Award for December. Leary will receive a plaque, and AT&T; donates $500 to the NCAA degree-completion program in Leary’s name. . . . The Titans and Channel 56 KDOC in Anaheim are close to a deal in which four home men’s basketball games would be televised: the UC Irvine game, Feb. 13; Cal State Long Beach, Feb. 18; UC Santa Barbara, Feb. 20, and Nevada Las Vegas March 6. All tipoff times would be moved back to 8:30 p.m. if negotiations are completed. . . . The date for the baseball alumni game has been moved again, this time to Sunday, Jan. 24, at 1 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 31, but, whoops, that’s Super Bowl Sunday. So it was moved to Jan. 30, but it was determined the turnout wouldn’t have been as large on a Saturday. . . . Former Fullerton guard Leon Wood, a member of the ’84 U.S. Olympic team who spent parts of six seasons in the NBA, was the third-leading scorer in the professional French League through Dec. 20. Playing for Lyon, he was averaging 22.3 points.