Wells’ Slump Slows Banner Season : Baseball: Despite bad stretch, former Laguna Hills player is a strong pro prospect at North Carolina State.

Mark Wells didn’t expect to hit .396 with 25 homers and 81 runs batted in during his junior season at North Carolina State, but only two weeks ago, he was on a pace to do just that.

His numbers now--.323, 18 home runs, 61 RBIs--are still good enough to write home to Laguna Niguel about, but Wells hasn’t felt like writing, or even calling lately. He has driven in only two runs in the last six games and the slump has him in the dumps.

“I hadn’t talked to anyone back home,” he said, “and my parents finally got hold of me when we were playing at Maryland. They were very supportive, of course. They said that it was bound to happen, that everyone goes through a slump at sometime in the year.

“But so far, this has been my best year in baseball and then, all of a sudden, it hits. And it’s like, ‘Wow, I’m having absolutely no positive impact on the team at all.’ ”

Atlantic Coast Conference pitchers are not making the same mistakes they made to Wells earlier in the season, such as throwing fastballs in the strike zone. They have discovered that their off-speed pitches away from the heart of the plate aren’t nearly as likely to end up in a parking lot.

“I guess I’m getting a little anxious and I’m frustrating myself,” Wells said. “Mainly, I need to be more selective. I’m swinging at the balls in the dirt and really helping the pitchers out. I just need to relax, stay within myself, and keep battling.”

Wells has tried all the seemingly contradictory approaches slumping swingers have made part of baseball lore:

--Take extra batting practice/Take no batting practice.

--Remember the fundamentals/Try not to think so much.

--Be patient/Be aggressive.

“He’s cooled off the last couple of weeks, but let’s be honest, baseball is that kind of game, and he’s already exceeded expectations,” North Carolina State Coach Ray Tanner said. “Now he’s pressing.

“Mark’s not real happy right now, but everyone wants to hit 1.000, right? But I’m not worried. He’ll fight his way out and he’ll be fine. We know what Mark can do.”

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When Jack Hodges got his first glimpse of the skinny little freshman outfielder at Laguna Hills High, he knew he was watching a kid with the right stuff.

“When you first saw him play, you knew he had potential,” said Hodges, now the coach at Saddleback College. “He had a real good arm, he could run and he had good bat speed, even as a youngster.

“He was playing in the outfield, but we needed a middle infielder, so as a sophomore, he came up to the varsity and played second base. Then when he got here to Saddleback, we needed a third baseman, so he played third for us.

“He’s that kind of athlete. He was a good enough player out of high school to get some attention, but he wanted to go somewhere he could play and practice day in and day out, which he realized is so important to a young player’s development. Even as a young kid, he was very focused about improving.”

Wells signed with North Carolina State before his sophomore year at Saddleback because he “wanted to get out of California,” and because he had an uncle who lives near the campus.

“I’m glad I made the decision,” he said. “It’s a good program and Coach Tanner is a great coach. The first month, I was ready to go home, but once I met some friends and settled in, it got better.”

Right before it got worse.

Wells had trouble in one English class and became academically ineligible for last season.

“He was certainly down,” Hodges said. “He was so excited about playing when he got there and he just felt like the forces were working against him. But he began to see that it was beyond his control, that it had happened and he just had to make the best of it.”

Wells managed to rebound from the disappointment and make good use of the extra time. He got squared away academically and took out his frustration in the weight room.

“I think it turned out being a positive experience,” Wells said. “Sitting on the sidelines, watching Coach Tanner coach and seeing the game from a coach’s perspective made me a better player, a smarter player.”

And he came into this season more than just mentally prepared.

“I never did much weight lifting in high school or junior college, but here I really dedicated myself to lifting,” he said. “I think that’s helped tremendously in my development as a power hitter.”

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Wells’ habit of losing baseballs at North Carolina State should be enough to propel him into the professional ranks, where he will get the chance to take some whacks at those supposedly juiced-up balls.

“I’m pretty sure he will be a high enough draft choice this June, that the offer will be lucrative enough, that he won’t be back here,” Tanner said. “We’d love to have him back, but I think the chances are pretty slim.”

Slump or no slump, Hodges also is convinced Wells will be playing professionally this summer.

“I’ve been told by more than a few scouts that he’ll get a good shot in pro ball because he has plus tools in three areas,” Hodges said. “He can run, he has a good arm and he can swing the bat. Plus, he’s a left-handed hitter.”

With the ACC tournament next month and the chance for a berth in the NCAA regionals still alive, Wells knows every swing he takes will be under increasingly close scrutiny from pro scouts.

He also knows he can hit; knows he’ll snap out of it; knows all slumps must end.

But the question haunting him at night before he goes to sleep is when?

Will his dream season end in a nightmare on draft day?

“I’d like to go on to the next level, but I won’t be devastated if I come back here for my senior year,” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of pro scouts and have been sending out the medical reports they ask for. The Pirates, Phillies, Mariners, Reds and White Sox have all already talked to me.

“And that’s not helping the slump, either. In a way, I wish they would leave me alone until the season’s over.”