Another Tournament Double Play on Horizon

Cal State Fullerton fans can start feeling good about the likelihood of the baseball and softball teams reaching the NCAA playoffs for the second consecutive year.

The baseball team remains No. 1 in all three polls, and its record has soared to 33-6 with a three-game weekend sweep of Nevada Las Vegas.

The softball team (29-12) is ranked third after splitting a doubleheader Monday with fifth-ranked UNLV.

The automatic bid in baseball will be decided by the first Big West postseason tournament, May 12-14 at Long Beach, but it seems certain the Titans will get an at-large bid if they’re upset in the conference playoff.

Baseball Coach Augie Garrido shudders a little at that kind of talk, however.

“We’re pleased with where we are, but we still have to be concerned with the challenges ahead of us,” Garrido said. “It’s easy to be misled by other people’s opinions and if we really want to be No. 1, we’re still going to have to continue to improve.

“Just as one example, our bunting game really needs to get better. And for us to continue to grow, we have to improve our baserunning. We need to be able to maximize our opportunities that way.”

Softball Coach Judi Garman acknowledges her team is in good position for a playoff bid, but her main concern is keeping the Titans near the top of the national rankings to assure a good seeding.

“We’re rated No. 1 in our region, with Fresno State second and UNLV third,” Garman said, “and we want to be able to keep that going. If we can stay ranked in the top four in the nation, that will help a lot in terms of how we’ll be seeded too.”

Garman said Fullerton will bid to host a regional tournament, but she’s uncertain about the chances.

“At this point, I’m just excited about the way we’ve been playing,” Garman said. “The nice thing is that it’s been because of a lot of effort by the entire team. It’s not been one or two players hitting well, and not one strong pitcher. We’ve had good balance all season.”

The Titans have five of the Big West’s top 15 hitters. Chris Zboril is fourth at .385. Shannon Dolan is batting .354, Rose Garces .341, Heidi Robertson .333 and Beth Queypo .324. Julie Williams leads the conference in home runs with seven.

*

The baseball team’s Big West-leading performance also is reflected in the conference statistics.

Fullerton is first in team hitting (.338), team pitching (3.36 earned-run average) and team fielding (.970).

The Titans have three of the top six hitters, with Mark Kotsay leading the conference at .425. Freshman C.J. Ankrum is fifth at .394 and Tony Miranda sixth at .393.

Kotsay leads the league in home runs (12), runs batted in (57) and runs scored (51).

Ted Silva (10-1) leads the Big West in victories, and is fourth in earned-run average (2.80).

*

Bob Hawking says he plans to move to Orange County now that he has been selected as the men’s basketball coach after two years as an assistant and a season as interim coach.

Hawking had kept his home in Simi Valley and made the 160-mile round-trip commute five to seven days a week.

“I’m looking forward to not spending all that time on the freeway,” he said.

Hawking and his wife, Jeannie, have three children, two still in school.

Hawking’s top assistant, George Fuller, also will be able to move his family to the area. Fuller took the job at Fullerton just before Brad Holland left for the University of San Diego, but because of the uncertainty of the situation, his wife and young son have remained in Michigan.

*

Heather Killeen, a star in cross-country and track, has been chosen senior of the year by the university’s alumni association.

The honor recognizes her contributions academically and in extra-curricular activities. She also was the school’s Big West female scholar-athlete this year.

Killeen had a good showing in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays last weekend.

Her 35:16 time in the 10,000 meters was under the NCAA provisional qualifying standard.

Coach John Elders also was pleased with Tania Nahale’s personal best of 17:55.41 in the 5,000.

“Tania is returning to good form after having trouble with a stress fracture,” Elders said. “She was actually injured in the track season last spring.

“Her knee problems caused the stress fracture in the cross-country season. She could have been in the top five in the conference meet if it weren’t for that.”

Albert Avila also set a school record in the discus with a throw of 160-1. Elders also was happy with Nathan Heggenberger’s 3:54.08 time in the 1,500.

The Titans will be competing in the Steve Scott/PowerBar Invitational Saturday at UC Irvine.

Titan Notes

Volleyball Coach Mary Ellen Murchison has signed five players for next season. The group includes former Orange County high school players Andrea Bill, Shelly Smith and Stephanie Wichmann. The other recruits are Heather Bassett of Oceanside, Rocky Titen from Redwood Valley Ukiah High. Bill also played at Saddleback College. Bassett is a transfer from San Diego Mesa College, Smith from Northern Arizona and Wichmann from South Florida. . . . Wrestler Can Tran was chosen to the Pac-10 all-academic wrestling team. Tran was the school’s only NCAA meet qualifier this year. Two other wrestlers, Tim Rennick and Richard Jorgensen, were selected to the second team.