COLLEGE BASEBALL ROUNDUP : After No. 1,000, Garrido Looks Ahead

Although Cal State Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido had just posted his 1,000th victory in collegiate baseball, he wasn’t grinning from ear-to-ear.

“We still have 18 innings left together, and that’s all we can be sure of,” Garrido said quietly.

Sparked by three home runs and a 12-hit attack, Fullerton soundly defeated San Jose State, 12-1, in the first of a three-game Big West Conference series Friday at Titan Field.

Although the milestone was a significant one for Garrido--who become the 10th coach to reach that plateau in Division I baseball--he was happier the Titans (32-15, 15-4 in conference) remained in a first-place tie with Long Beach State (32-17, 15-4). The 49ers defeated Nevada, 15-0, Friday at Blair Field.

If Fullerton ties Long Beach for the conference title, the 49ers will receive the Big West’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament because Long Beach swept a three-game series from Fullerton this season.

In that scenario, the Titans, ranked 11th by Collegiate Baseball, would have to receive an at-large bid to make it to postseason play.

“Coaching baseball has never been, and it never will be, about any personal records,” Garrido said. “Tonight, the team took a step forward. We played without fear, and we were aggressive.”

Fullerton’s offense started aggressively with three stolen bases and three runs in the first inning. With Jeremy Carr on third and Jeff Ferguson on second, Dante Powell hit his 12th home run of the season over the left-center field fence to give Fullerton a 3-1 lead.

Powell finished with a home run two doubles, four runs batted in, and two runs scored, to lead an offense which took advantage of San Jose State’s Jeremy Advincula, who was making his second start this season.

Fullerton’s Mike Parisi didn’t need the offensive windfall, limiting the Spartans (32-18, 10-9) to five hits and one earned run while striking out six and walking two.

San Jose State scored its only run in first. After leading off with a double, David Zuniga scored from third on a ground out to first by Gerad Cawhorn, formerly of Marina High and Golden West College.

Parisi handcuffed Cawhorn, who went hitless in three at-bats with a walk. Cawhorn, one of the conference’s top hitters, entered the game hitting .405 with nine home runs and 54 RBIs in 49 games.

After the Titans took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first, Tony Banks hit a two-run home run, his 12th, in the third to give Fullerton a 5-1 lead.

The Titans blew the game open by scoring four runs in the fourth to knock out Advincula. Back-to-back doubles by Nate Rodriquez and Bret Hemphill helped the Titans make it 11-1 in the fifth, and Jim Betzsold hit his seventh home run in the seventh to cap the scoring for the Titans.

In the Golden State Athletic Conference:

Christ College Irvine 3-6, Westmont 2-2 (first game, 12 innings)--The Eagles (18-24-2, 7-13) finished their season with a sweep at home. Mike Crumrine ended the first game with a sacrifice fly in the 12th. Don Davis relieved Crumrine, the starting pitcher, in the ninth inning and pitched four scoreless innings to pick up the victory.

In the second game, Crumrine had three hits, scored two runs and had two RBIs. Westmont is 17-27, 8-12.

In a nonconference game:

USC 12, Chapman 4--Gabe Alvarez had four hits, including a home run, and two RBIs to lead the host Trojans (26-23).

Garrido’s Record Year by Year

Year School W L T Pct. 1969 San Francisco State 25 14 0 .641 1970 Cal Poly SLO 15 33 0 .313 1971 Cal Poly SLO 39 11 1 .780 1972 Cal Poly SLO 31 18 0 .633 1973 Cal State Fullerton 19 33 1 .365 1974 Cal State Fullerton 37 17 0 .686 1975 Cal State Fullerton 36 16 1 .692 1976 Cal State Fullerton 48 15 0 .762 1977 Cal State Fullerton 44 14 0 .759 1978 Cal State Fullerton 44 13 0 .772 1979 Cal State Fullerton 60 14 1 .811 1980 Cal State Fullerton 49 18 1 .731 1981 Cal State Fullerton 47 18 0 .723 1982 Cal State Fullerton 51 23 0 .689 1983 Cal State Fullerton 50 21 1 .704 1984 Cal State Fullerton 66 20 0 .767 1985 Cal State Fullerton 36 32 1 .529 1986 Cal State Fullerton 36 21 0 .632 1987 Cal State Fullerton 44 17 0 .746 1988 Illinois 26 20 0 .565 1989 Illinois 42 16 0 .724 1990 Illinois 43 21 0 .672 1991 Cal State Fullerton 34 22 0 .607 1992 Cal State Fullerton 46 17 0 .730 1993 Cal State Fullerton 32 15 0 .681 Totals 1,000 448 7 .691 CS Fullerton Totals 779 346 6 .692