Things Pan Out With Swanson in Dugout

John Swanson stood in Cal State Long Beach’s on-deck circle Wednesday waiting to bat during the bottom of the eighth inning against Louisiana State.

Long Beach was trailing by two runs and facing elimination from the College World Series when Eric Martins reached base on a fielder’s choice with two out. Swanson, a senior from Oxnard who bats left-handed, had already singled twice, walked and scored two runs for the 49ers.

But with LSU left-hander Mike Sirotka pitching in relief, Coach Dave Snow called Swanson back to the dugout and sent up right-handed batter Eddie Davis.

Davis hit a two-run home run over the center-field wall to tie the score, and Kevin Curtis followed with a homer to right, powering the 49ers to a 10-8 victory. Long Beach, which lost its opener to LSU, will play the Tigers again Friday, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s championship game.

“I was a little bitter because I had faced (Sirotka) three times during our first game and I thought I could hit him,” said Swanson, who is three for 11 in the World Series. “But E.D. has some serious pop in his bat. He strikes out a lot, but this time he showed his pop.

“I’m feeling pretty great about the way things turned out.”

Swanson, a first baseman-outfielder, also is pleased with the way things have gone since he transferred to Long Beach.

Swanson graduated from Rio Mesa High and batted .409 in two seasons at Oxnard College. He transferred to Oklahoma State and batted .350 with four home runs and 12 doubles in 1991 for a Cowboy team that lost to Long Beach in the championship of the Central Regional at Austin, Tex.

Swanson left Oklahoma State and sat out last season because his scholarship was going to be reduced. He transferred to Long Beach in the fall.

“I wanted to go somewhere that had a chance to go to the World Series,” Swanson said. “Long Beach had beat us in the regional. My friends were saying, ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.’ ”

Swanson, who is batting .345, helped Long Beach win 27 of its final 32 games after a 12-12 start. He had only two home runs before being named most valuable player in the East Regional after hitting three in four games.

“I can hit the ball out of the park, but that’s not my role on this team,” Swanson said. “My job is to get on base, move runners and set the table for the guys coming up behind me.”