LONG BEACH STATE NOTEBOOK / JASON REID : 49er Baseball Turnaround Comes in the Nick of Time

The 49er baseball team was in disarray, down and seemingly close to done.

Sympathy? Heck, their Big West Conference opponents couldn’t have been happier.

Such is life when you’ve been one of the best for so long. But just when the situation looked bleak, it turned out the death knell was extremely premature.

Long Beach (31-19-1, 16-5 in the Big West) concluded its conference regular-season schedule with eight consecutive victories, including a sweep of talented Nevada Las Vegas at Blair Field in a three-game series that ended Sunday. Long Beach, winners of nine in a row overall, finished second to Cal State Fullerton and is seeded second in the four-team Big West tournament Friday-Sunday, at Blair Field. Long Beach opens against third-seeded Nevada at 7:05 p.m. Friday.

Considerable accomplishments for a group that has hovered around .500 most of the season.

“We’ve been playing good baseball lately,” Coach Dave Snow said. “The guys are really taking responsibility for themselves and each other.”

That’s nice, but an important word is missing from Snow’s assessment: Finally .

Until recently, like a couple of weeks, team unity wasn’t the 49ers’ rallying cry. Jealousy over playing time and roles created bad attitudes. Nothing nasty, but the clubhouse environment could have been better.

“Our problem was our presence in the dugout,” staff ace Scott Rivette said. “When you do something, good or bad, and you look over in the dugout and guys are just kicking dirt and not really into the game and supporting their teammates, it gets you down.”

The turnaround came April 21; born more out of desperation than sudden inspiration. A 7-3 loss to lowly UC Santa Barbara provided the impetus--as much as the 49ers’ record (21-19-1, 8-5) to that point.

The players discussed their feelings and agreed to make changes.

Long Beach hasn’t lost since.

“That had a big effect on what’s happening now,” Snow said. “A lot of things were said that made the guys think.”

Rivette has noticed a change too.

“Everyone grew up a lot after that,” he said. “There’s no more crying and whining.”

Only a couple of weeks ago, Snow figured the 49ers had to win the Big West tournament, and thereby earn the conference’s automatic berth, to be included in the NCAA regionals. Now, though, Snow believes Long Beach might receive an at-large berth.

“A lot of teams are going to be scrutinized for at-large berths, but we certainly have improved our record,” he said. “We have a chance to improve our record even more, so, yeah, I think we’ve got a shot.”

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Well armed: Pitching has been key during the 49ers’ season-closing run.

Rivette and fellow starters Kyle Wilson and Rocky Biddle (right-handers) have been sensational. No Big West pitcher is hotter than Rivette.

The All-American junior started slowly (he was 2-3 at one point) but has reverted to the form that enabled him to finish 14-1 last season.

He is 6-1 in his last seven decisions, has a staff-low 2.80 earned-run average and leads the staff with 188 strikeouts in 109 1/3 innings. Rivette defeated UNLV, 6-3, on Friday. He struck out 13 and didn’t give up any earned runs in 8 1/3 innings.

This is Wilson’s first season at Long Beach after transferring from Orange Coast College. A graduate of Estancia High, Wilson (10-2, 3.01 ERA) leads the staff in victories after beginning the season in middle relief. Wilson, a junior, gave up only one earned run in seven innings during his 10-2 victory over UNLV on Saturday.

“They’re doing a good job,” Snow said. “They’ve been pretty consistent all season.”

Biddle hasn’t been as consistent as Rivette and Wilson, but Snow is excited about his potential. He knew it would take the freshman a while to become settled.

However, Snow stuck with the hard-throwing youngster through some, ah, rocky starts. His patience is paying off.

Biddle was named conference pitcher of the week (May 1) after he struck out 14 in a 9-2 victory over Pacific on April 30. Biddle was even better in his last start, giving up only one hit and striking out 14 in a 9-0 victory over UNLV en route to his second consecutive pitcher-of-the-week award.

Biddle is 4-1 with a 4.54 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings.

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Big weekend: Long Beach also plays host to the Big West track championships May 12-13 on campus. Thus, school officials dubbed the weekend “Big West Championship Weekend.” Kind of catchy, isn’t it?

49er notes

Closer Gabe Gonzalez has tied his career high, set with 1993, with 13 saves. He also owns the all-time conference record with 39 . . . The Long Beach State Orange County Pyramid Club will conduct a fund-raising event July 12 with opening night of the Summer Pro League at the Pyramid. The group already has raised $200,000 to help complete construction of the facility and is attempting to raise another $50,000. For more information, call Dick Vind, group finance chairman, at (714) 990-3333 or Cameron Meng at (310) 985-2386.