Titans’ Ferguson, Wagner Earn Conference Honors

Cal State Fullerton second baseman Jeff Ferguson was named Big West Conference player of the year, and teammate Matt Wagner was named pitcher of the year by conference baseball coaches.

Ferguson, a junior who hit .388 with 54 runs batted in and 64 runs scored, was named co-player of the year with Nevada shortstop Mark Lewis. Nevada’s Gary Powers was named conference coach of the year after leading the Wolf Pack to a share of the conference title with Fullerton and Long Beach State.

Wagner, a 6-foot-5 right-hander from Plano, Tex., finished the regular season 12-1 with a 2.15 earned-run average. Opponents hit .212 against Wagner this season.

Fullerton sophomore relief pitcher Ted Silva earned first-team all-conference honors with Ferguson and Wagner. Titan pitcher Mike Parisi, third baseman Jason Gill and outfielder Mark Kotsay earned second-team honors and pitcher Dan Ricabal, catcher Bret Hemphill and outfielder Dante Powell were honorable mention selections.

Nevada’s Neil Garcia, a catcher from Foothill High and Saddleback College, and Justin Drizos, a first baseman from Woodbridge High and Saddleback College, were named to the second team. Long Beach State pitcher Mike Fontana, formerly of Rancho Santiago College, earned honorable mention honors.

The selections:

First team--Matt Wagner, So., starting pitcher, Cal State Fullerton; Scott Rivette, So., starting pitcher, Long Beach State; Dave Sick, Sr., starting pitcher, San Jose State; Ted Silva, So., relief pitcher, Cal State Fullerton; Victor Sanchez, Jr., catcher, Pacific; Tim Vavello, Sr., first baseman, San Jose State; Jeff Ferguson, Jr., second baseman, Cal State Fullerton; Curt Zimmerman, Jr., third baseman, Pacific; Mark Lewis, Sr., shortstop, Nevada; Chip Sell, Sr., outfielder, Pacific; Gus Kennedy, Jr., outfielder, Nevada Las Vegas; Rolando Avila, Jr., outfielder, Long Beach State; Ron Lewis, So., utility, Pacific; Mike Schroeder, So., designated hitter, Nevada.

Second team--Mike Parisi, Jr., starting pitcher, Cal State Fullerton; Kevin Lake, Jr., starting pitcher, Nevada; Bobby Post, Jr., starting pitcher, Nevada; Gabe Gonzales, Jr., relief pitcher, Long Beach State; Neil Garcia, Jr., catcher, Nevada; Justin Drizos, Jr., first baseman, Nevada; Eric Martins, Sr., second baseman, Long Beach State; Jason Gill, Sr., third baseman, Cal State Fullerton; Chris Amos, Sr., shortstop, Pacific; Ryan Miller, Jr., shortstop, Long Beach State; Mark Kotsay, freshman, outfielder, Cal State Fullerton; Paul LaGreca, Jr., outfielder, New Mexico State; Jay Johnson, Jr., outfielder, Nevada; Shane Slayton, So., utility, Nevada; Eric Pitt, Jr., designated hitter, San Jose State.

Honorable mention--Dan Ricabal, Sr., starting pitcher, Cal State Fullerton; Mike Fontana, Sr., starting pitcher, Long Beach State; Danny Miller, Sr., starting pitcher, Pacific; Bret Hemphill, Sr., catcher, Cal State Fullerton; Nick Kuster, Sr., first baseman, Nevada Las Vegas; Dante Powell, Jr., outfielder, Cal State Fullerton; Laverne Thomas, Sr., outfielder, San Jose State; Wynter Phoenix, So., outfielder, UC Santa Barbara; Ryan Plughoff, Jr., outfielder, Nevada Las Vegas; John Coasts, Sr., utility, Nevada Las Vegas.

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Ryan Bailey of Long Beach Millikan has signed a letter of intent to play water polo at UC Irvine, Irvine Coach Ted Newland said.

Bailey, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound two-meter man, was a second-team All-Southern Section selection and is also a member of the U.S. Junior National team.