Titans Bounced Out of NCAA Tournament

It ended with a lousy bouncer to the pitcher, one hop, two hops, three hops and out. The curtain closed on the Cal State Fullerton baseball season much earlier than the Titans had hoped.

It ended with a 5-2 loss to USC on Sunday, same team and same score for the second night in a row, and the Titans (35-19) bowed out of the 1993 NCAA Central II Regionals after their longest day.

Banished to the losers’ bracket after the loss to USC on Saturday, Fullerton spent Sunday playing 18 innings of baseball, plucking a reliever--Chad Rolish--out of the bullpen and turning him loose in his first Division I start, watching him spin a near-flawless performance in a 2-0 victory over McNeese State, and surviving a storm that delayed the USC game by an hour and brought thunder, lightning and hail the size of whiffle balls.

The temperature dropped from 91 degrees to 70 within five minutes. And when the rain finally stopped, Texas groundskeepers dried the pitching mound and home-plate dirt area with a flamethrower.

Four hours later, at 12:30 a.m., the Titans quietly walked off the field for the final time.

“We really didn’t get anything going,” Coach Augie Garrido said. “We couldn’t sustain anything. They capitalized on our mistakes, they were opportunistic. I think that’s where it went.”

So USC (35-28), a team the Titans defeated twice during the regular season, will play Texas today for a College World Series berth.

In the end, the Titans couldn’t believe it was finished. Senior shortstop Nate Rodriquez stood down the left-field line, staring toward the outfield fence for several minutes, choking back tears. Senior second baseman Jeremy Carr paced in the dugout, voice quivering.

“They were tough,” Carr said. “They were tough this whole series. They were hot. Oh, man. . . .”

Said Rodriquez, barely audible: “I never want it to end, I never want it to end but we gave it our best. We did everything we could do. We gave everything we can give right down to the end.

“The thing I’m going to miss most is putting on the uniform again. And I’ll miss all the guys. This is something special.”

The Titans never could get untracked against Trojan closer Dan Hubbs, who earned the save on Saturday and then “closed” on Sunday by entering in the second and working the final eight innings. He gave up only one run on four hits, and for the life of them, the Titans couldn’t tire him out.

“We were trying,” Carr said. “We were trying to work counts on him, we kept trying. He wouldn’t give up. He’s tough.”

In the end, what the Titans will remember most about this regional is that they never could get their offense into gear. They batted only .130 (seven for 54) for the day Sunday and failed to score more than one run in an inning in any of their final three games here. Center fielder Dante Powell had perhaps the worst time, going one for 11 in the final three games with six strikeouts. He also left five runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, on a night when the Fullerton defense needed to be perfect, it wasn’t. Two of USC’s runs were unearned.

“It’s a difficult loss,” Garrido said. “I think a lot of it is due to lack of experience. I really do believe that. It shows up once you get to this level.”

It was a day that started with such promise, thanks mainly to Rolish, who learned he would start only 20 minutes before the McNeese State game when he approached George Horton, the Titans’ associate head coach.

“I asked Coach Horton if I was on the list and he said, ‘You’re not only on the list, you’re starting.’ ”

So Rolish went out and threw 8 2/3 shutout innings, scattering four hits and not allowing more than one baserunner in an inning until the ninth, when he gave way to Ted Silva.