COLLEGE BASEBALL / GARY KLEIN : NCAA Throws Unexpected Shutout With No Western Regionals

The slap in the face that the NCAA administered to college baseball in the West is still being felt. For the first time, none of the eight playoff regionals that begin next week will be in this part of the nation.

Few question the historic strength of the West. Western schools have won 26 of 47 College World Series. Last year, Long Beach State and Arizona State advanced to Omaha. In 1992, Pepperdine and Cal State Fullerton played for the national championship.

But that history apparently means little to a selection committee that appears to be more concerned with the bottom line than with equal representation.

“Any coach on the West Coast has got to feel a tap on the shoulder that says, ‘Hey, by the way, you guys are not that important anymore,’ ” Pepperdine Coach Andy Lopez said.

The West’s downfall is directly related to the economic success college baseball is enjoying in other parts of the nation, particularly the South, which was awarded regional sites at Miami, Tallahassee, Fla.; Baton Rouge, La.; Knoxville, Tenn., and Clemson, S.C.

Those sites, as well as Stillwater, Okla.; Wichita, Kan., and Austin, Tex., have demonstrated the ability to draw big crowds and turn a profit.

“All of the schools selected have great attendance history and great support,” said Dave Keilitz, chairman of the selection committee. “We also have to consider the teams we know for sure are going to be in (the tournament).”

Of the schools from the West that submitted regional bids, only Arizona State has a history of financial success. And Arizona State’s bid was reportedly about half as much as it usually would be because of anticipated competition for fans from the Phoenix Suns. It would have been very difficult for the committee to ignore Tempe if the Sun Devils had won the perennially powerful Pacific 10 Southern Division title. Arizona State, however, finished second behind Stanford, whose bid fell short because its stadium has no lights, Keilitz said.

Other schools in the West were handicapped by various factors. Fresno State could guarantee the crowds, but if the Bulldogs do not beat Brigham Young in the Western Athletic Conference championship series this week, there is no guarantee that Fresno State will receive one of the 24 at-large berths in the 48-team tournament. Nevada, co-champion of the Big West Conference, has no track record for drawing large crowds, and Long Beach State’s bid never got before the committee because it was inadvertently stapled to the back of another school’s proposal by the NCAA office.

“Let’s just say I’m getting used to getting on planes and traveling to another part of the country on Memorial Day weekend,” Long Beach Coach Dave Snow said. “I think they’re sending out a pretty strong message that, in their opinion, that’s where they’re doing the job of promoting baseball. It’s coming down to money and politics. I’m not sure where fair comes into play.”

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Trivia Time: Which school has been host of the most consecutive NCAA regional tournaments?

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The NCAA will announce the 48-team field for the tournament on Monday afternoon during a program on ESPN.

Eighteen conference champions or conference tournament champions receive automatic berths in the tournament that ends June 3-11 with the College World Series at Omaha. Twelve conferences, including the West Coast Conference, will be involved in play-ins this weekend to determine six other berths. Twenty-four schools will receive at-large berths based on their records and strength of schedule.

Pac-10 Southern Division champion Stanford is assured a spot in the tournament. USC and Arizona State would be certain selections were it not for the NCAA’s arcane method of rating conferences. Pac-10 Southern Division teams and Northern Division teams are regarded as one conference--even though there is not inter-divisional play and the Northern Division schools play weaker schedules.

Despite being ranked among the top 10 for most of the season, USC and Arizona State are on the bubble.

Nevada, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton tied for the Big West Conference championship. Nevada earned the automatic bid, but Fullerton and Long Beach are locks for invitations.

Cal State Northridge finished 25-30 and will miss the playoffs for the first time since moving to Division I in 1991.

Pepperdine could miss the playoffs for the first time since 1990. The Waves finished 33-20 overall and in second place behind Santa Clara in the WCC. The Waves are hoping that the WCC’s improved power rating and record against other conferences will work in their favor. Last year, WCC teams had a 48-70-1 record in nonconference games against Division I opponents. This year, they improved to 59-56.

Lopez is a member of the four-member West Regional Advisory Committee, but he’s not sure how much impact that will have on selections.

“I would feel a lot better about our chances if there was a Western regional site,” Lopez said.

“Now, we have to hope a lot of things happen. Fresno State has to beat BYU and Santa Clara has to spank Jackson State. If they don’t, I don’t think we’re going anywhere.”

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Ila Borders finished her first season as a pitcher for Southern California College with a 2-4 record and 2.92 earned-run average in 49 1/3 innings.

Borders, a freshman left-hander from Whittier, gave up 48 hits, walked 17 and struck out six. She earned a complete-game victory against Claremont-Mudd and limited opponents to a .244 batting average.

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Trivia answer: Texas. The Longhorns will have a record 16th consecutive regional this year.