NCAA COLLEGE BASEBALL REGIONALS : USC’s Baker Plans to Transfer to Rancho Santiago

USC third baseman Derek Baker said he will transfer to Rancho Santiago College after the Trojans finish the NCAA baseball playoffs.

Baker, a freshman, and a former standout at Tustin High, said academic problems forced him to make the decision.

“The first semester was hard and I was trying to adjust to the school,” Baker said by phone Wednesday from Fresno, where the top-seeded Trojans are competing in the West Regional. “I’m on a contract that [states] I have to get a cumulative 2.0 after the first year and I didn’t do that. Obviously I’m disappointed. But I knew I wasn’t doing well [academically].

“It’s pretty definite I’ll be [at Rancho Santiago]. I’ve made arrangements for classes already. I’m going to start this summer.”

After a slow start and a shoulder injury forced him to miss five games, Baker, who pinch-hit Thursday in the Trojans’ 10-4 victory over Middle Tennessee State, came on in the second half of the regular season. He had an 11-game hitting streak and was batting .281 with three home runs before an ankle injury kept him out of the final 10 games.

Baker, who batted .386 with four home runs and 22 runs batted in as a senior at Tustin, was a Times first-team All-Orange County selection in 1994. He set a Southern Section record last year for walks in a season with 39.