COLLEGE BASEBALL / GARY KLEIN : Long Beach State Wins Big Despite Losses

Long Beach State lost its top starting pitcher, one of its top relievers and its top recruit before the season began. Nevertheless, the 49ers are winning as usual.

After winning two of three games at Fresno State last weekend, Long Beach began the week with an 11-3 record.

The 49ers, ranked 14th by Baseball America, were not expected to start fast, what with 17-game winner Daniel Choi signing a pro contract in Korea days before school started, and reliever David Goldstein and third baseman Tristan Paul being declared academically ineligible at the end of the fall semester.

Now it appears that Long Beach will challenge second-ranked Cal State Fullerton for the Big West Conference title. The 49ers are hoping to make their second consecutive appearance in the College World Series, which would be their fourth in six seasons under Coach Dave Snow.

Last season, Long Beach started 12-12 before it got untracked.

“We’ve had some good results, but we’re not playing nearly as well as we are capable of playing,” said senior right-hander Mike Fontana, who is 3-0 with a 2.20 earned-run average in 28 2/3 innings. “Still, this is like a breath of fresh air for me. I haven’t played on a team that started out this strong in years.”

Fontana leads a staff that has also received strong performances from sophomore Scott Rivette, who is 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA; and junior Gabe Gonzalez, who has a 1.42 ERA and six saves in eight appearances.

Freshman infielder Jeff Tagliaferri, hitting .447; senior second baseman Eric Martins, .365, and junior outfielder Rolado Avila, .310, have been the main offensive threats.

“We played our first game (on Feb. 11) about a week or two later than we have in the past,” Snow said. “With so many new faces and young guys, that kind of gave us a chance to get prepared.

“We’ve done well, playing seven of our first 10 games against teams from the Six-Pac (Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division.) I think that’s a pretty good statement that this team is establishing an identity.”

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Making a pitch: Long Beach has undertaken an aggressive promotional campaign with hopes of eventually building a fan base large enough to attract an NCAA Regional tournament to Blair Field.

Several corporate sponsors have signed on, and there is a 22-game radio contract. Commercials on local cable television stations are trumpeting family days at the ballpark and promotional-night giveaways of batting helmets, T-shirts, seat cushions, coffee mugs, water bottles and wrist bands.

Long Beach drew 800 to each of its first two home games, more than double the average last season, and figures to steadily increase with the giveaways and home series against Wichita State and Fullerton.

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Trivia time: Who is the only man to have played on and been a head coach for Division I College World Series champions?

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Power rating: Fourth-ranked USC began the week 11-5 overall and 6-3 in the Pacific 10 Southern Division after winning two of three games against California last weekend.

The Trojans will participate in a tournament at Texas A&M; starting Thursday. Junior third baseman Aaron Boone is batting .400 for USC, which plays 14 of its next 17 games on the road and has hit 22 home runs in 16 games.

UCLA, which traditionally boasts several power hitters, has hit only four homers. The 5-12 Bruins lost two of three games in their conference-opening series against Stanford last weekend. UCLA travels to California this weekend for a Pac-10 series.

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Out in front: Loyola Marymount was struggling before its West Coast Conference-opening series against Pepperdine last weekend, but the Lions emerged as a contender for the WCC title by winning two of three against the perennial-champion Waves.

Loyola, which improved to 8-10 overall, has been led by senior Jesse Ibarra, who hit his sixth home run and earned his fourth save as the Lions swept a doubleheader on Saturday. Loyola has also recently improved its defense.

“Some people say we were struggling because we made a long trip to Hawaii,” Loyola Coach Jody Robinson said before the Pepperdine series. “But the doctor has diagnosed it as bad defense.

“We took all the gloves to a boot maker and he has sewn up all the holes, so I think we’ll be OK.”

Loyola travels to Santa Clara for a WCC series this weekend.

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Still hot: Fullerton’s loss to Fresno State last week was only a temporary setback for a team that is 15-3.

Before the loss, Fullerton had defeated Oklahoma, San Diego and previously top-ranked Georgia Tech to win the Anaheim Hilton & Towers tournament at Fullerton.

Mike Parisi and Ted Silva combined for a six-hit, 2-0 victory over Georgia Tech, the first time the Yellow Jackets had been shut out in 152 games. Parisi, a junior right-hander from Arcadia, improved to 4-0.

Georgia Tech catcher Jason Varitek, a senior who was drafted in the first round by the Minnesota Twins in 1993, had one hit in 10 at-bats and struck out four times during the tournament.

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Trivia answer: Arizona Coach Jerry Kindall, who played on Minnesota’s 1956 championship team and has coached Arizona to titles in 1976, ’80 and ’86.