Long Beach State Stays in West; Titans Head to Louisiana State : College baseball: 49ers, second-seeded at Fresno State, open Thursday against Southwest Missouri State.

Long Beach State is back in the NCAA baseball tournament, an accomplishment in any season but especially this one.

That Long Beach earned an at-large berth to the West Regional at Fresno State after a somewhat disappointing season was reason enough for celebration in the baseball office at Blair Field. Add to that being seeded second, and Coach Dave Snow’s pleasant disposition is easy to understand.

“I think for us to get a No. 2 seed is outstanding,” said Snow, who guided Long Beach to its fifth consecutive tournament appearance.

“Obviously, our record wasn’t glowing. But the strength of our schedule and our conference must have helped us.”

Undoubtedly. Long Beach (35-23-1) finished second to top-ranked Cal State Fullerton in the Big West regular season and in the conference tournament.

The 49ers open the six-team regional at 3:30 p.m. Thursday against fifth-seeded Southwest Missouri State (37-19). USC (41-18) is seeded first.

Southwest Missouri, making its first appearance in the tournament since 1987, was third in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears lost to Indiana State in the conference title game. “I know Long Beach has a good club,” Southwest Missouri Coach Keith Guttin said. “Just like a lot of the West Coast schools, they play good defense, they pitch well and they run well.”

Usually, but the 49ers had their problems this season.

Long Beach struggled while Snow tried to find the right combinations. As late as April 21, Long Beach’s record was close to .500 (21-19-1).

However, the 49ers then won consecutive 11 games. Over their last 18 games, they were 14-4.

The late-season success brightened Snow’s outlook--considerably.

“I didn’t really know if we’d make it,” Snow said of the 49ers’ tournament chances earlier in the season. “We were just trying to win a few games to get our record up.

“The guys did a heck of a job and came together. Now, this is a whole new season.”

Yes, and Long Beach must continue its recent play to get past the Southwest Missouri. The Bears have a powerful offense, led by junior first baseman Steve Hacker.

Actually, some of his numbers seem unbelievable. Hacker is batting .412 with a nation-leading 36 home runs and 93 runs batted in.

His slugging percentage is .965 and his on-base percentage is .477. Hacker (6 feet 5 and 233 pounds) is also skilled in the field, as his .988 fielding percentage attest.

Senior shortstop Dave Slemmer is hitting .398 with 14 homers and 63 RBIs. The Bears hit 101 homers--breaking the school record of 79 set in 1986.

The 49ers don’t have such power. Junior third baseman Jeff Liefer leads Long Beach is almost every offensive category. Liefer is batting .346 with nine homers and 48 RBIs.

Long Beach relies more on speed and defense, and it also should have the edge in pitching. The 49er starters are a talented group.

Staff ace Scott Rivette is 9-5 with a 2.93 earned-run average. The All-American junior right-hander struck out 135 in 123 innings.

Junior right-hander Kyle Wilson (11-3, 3.93 ERA) was probably the most consistent 49er pitcher. Hard-throwing freshman right-hander Rocky Biddle (5-1, 3.99 ERA) was extremely strong down the stretch. He had 112 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings.

Closer Gabe Gonzalez (3-6, 2.79 ERA) set a school record with 17 saves. The senior left-hander also holds the all-time Big West record with 43.

Sophomore right-hander Jarrod Mays is the Bears’ top starter. He is 10-0 with a 2.96 ERA and has 99 strikeouts in 85 innings.

Junior right-hander Joe Blasingim is 8-4 with a 3.97 ERA. He has 86 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings. Freshman right-hander Scott Geitz (2-0, 5.26 ERA, three saves) is the closest thing the Bears have to a closer.

“This is a real tough regional,” Snow said, “but they’re all always tough.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

South Regional at Baton Rouge, La.

THURSDAY

Game 1--Cal State Fullerton (49-9) vs. Northeast Louisiana (37-18), 9 a.m. Game 3--Rice (40-17) vs. James Madison (42-15), 1 p.m. Game 2--Louisiana State (45-16) vs. Central Michigan (40-17), 5:30 p.m. FRIDAY

Game 4--Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 9 a.m. Game 5--Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 1 p.m. Game 6--Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 5:30 p.m. SATURDAY

Game 7--Pairings TBD, 9 a.m. Game 8--Pairings TBD, 1 p.m. Game 9--Pairings TBD, 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY

Game 10--Pairings TBD, 11 a.m. Game 11--Pairings TBD, 30 minutes after Game 10, if necessary West Regional at Fresno THURSDAY

Game 1--USC (41-18) vs. Middle Tennessee State (35-24), noon Game 2--Long Beach State (35-23-1) vs. Southwest Missouri State (37-19), 3:30 p.m. Game 3--Fresno State (41-20) vs. Pepperdine (34-17-1), 7 p.m. FRIDAY

Game 4--Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, noon Game 5--Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 3:30 p.m. Game 6--Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m. SATURDAY

Game 7--Pairings TBD, noon Game 8--Pairings TBD, 3:30 p.m. Game 9--Pairings TBD, 7 p.m. SUNDAY

Game 10--Pairings TBD, noon Game 11--Pairings TBD, 3:30 p.m., if necessary All times PDT