Rivette Measuring Season in Lessons : Baseball: Long Beach State pitcher tries to lead by example.

Most who opposed Scott Rivette last season figured his education was complete--at least as far as college baseball was concerned.

Rivette certainly noticed enough of those looks. You know, the blank stares and angry grimaces competitors show when they realize the other guys simply are better and smarter.

He also often encountered the admiration of foes as he cruised through their lineups during his remarkable season for Long Beach State. And the popular belief that Rivette, then a sophomore, had little, if anything, still to learn was reinforced with his selection as an All-American.

However, judgments aren’t always correct, Rivette said. His growth as a pitcher continues daily and in ways he never expected.

The process continues at 7:05 tonight. Rivette starts for the 49ers in the opening game of a pivotal three-game Big West Conference series against Nevada Las Vegas at Blair Field.

“You know, I really don’t have all the answers,” Rivette said. “I know that I have to set the tempo and people look to me as an example, but I’m still learning myself.”

Such are the expectations when you’re almost perfect, which describes Rivette’s record as a sophomore.

It wasn’t really a big deal, mind you, unless you consider a 14-1 record and a 2.50 earned-run average impressive.

“He was great,” Nevada Coach Gary Powers said. “He is one of the most complete pitchers there is in college baseball.”

All of Rivette’s numbers support Powers’ assessment. He had four complete games and three shutouts in 15 starts and one relief appearance.

The right-handed Rivette (6 feet 2 and 200 pounds) possess a sharp slider and gets good movement on his fastball. That helped him lead the conference in strikeouts with 116 in 111 2/3 innings, and opponents only hit .211 against him--low on the 49er staff.

“What happened last year was pretty fantastic and it was great, but it was really kind of a fluke,” Rivette said. “I didn’t expect to have anywhere near that type of year this year.”

This season has provided more lessons than victories.

Rivette, who pitched at Citrus College in Glendora as a freshman, is in his second season at Long Beach. Yet, he is the most accomplished member of the pitching staff. Being the ace of an inexperienced group carries responsibilities Rivette initially wasn’t sure how to handle.

“I was one of the younger guys last year and, honestly, it was kind of tough for me at the beginning of this year,” he said. “I tried not to look at myself as a leader at first.

“I just went out and did the things I always did. I thought by just doing things the right way I would set an example.”

The hands-off approach didn’t work. Many of the 49er pitchers struggled learning their roles during the nonconference schedule and Rivette, in part, blamed himself.

“It’s not my style to yell, and nobody wants to be bossed around,” said Rivette, 21. “I’m not much older than these guys, and I just assumed they would learn by watching.

“But sometimes you need somebody to talk to you when you’re learning. It takes a lot to know how to approach a college baseball game. I thought maybe I should go up and talk to them, but I didn’t want people to think I’m the ‘big honcho.’ I give advice more now.”

What’s more, the 49ers had problems everywhere. A perennial power under Coach Dave Snow, Long Beach has hovered around .500 for much of the season.

“He’s pitched about as well as he did last season, but we weren’t playing the type of defense behind him that we did last season,” Snow said. “Early in the season, we were a lot different from that time last year. We weren’t very good on offense or defense.”

Rivette rebounded from a 2-3 start to be 7-4 with a 3.03 ERA. He has struck out 105 in 101 innings.

The 49ers have righted themselves, too. After a 7-3 conference loss April 21 at UC Santa Barbara dropped Long Beach’s record 21-19-1, 8-5 in conference, the players met to try to salvage the season.

“Everybody was on a selfish plan,” Rivette said. “We talked about taking responsibility for ourselves and supporting teammates. We redefined our goals. That’s when our whole season turned around.”

Long Beach has not lost since, tying its longest winning streak of the season at six games. Long Beach (27-19-1, 13-5) trails first-place Cal State Fullerton by two games.