Pitchers Kotsay, Helton Have Similar Styles : College baseball: Both are taking a low-key approach to their World Series duel today.

The best vs. the best?

There hasn’t been much difference in the performances of Cal State Fullerton’s Mark Kotsay and Tennessee’s Todd Helton: They’ve had the type of seasons that college baseball players of the year usually have.

Their teams play today in the second round of the College World Series, a game that will leave only one unbeaten on the lower-bracket road to Saturday’s championship game. The loser of the 12:40 p.m. (PDT) game, scheduled to be televised by ESPN, will face a battle back through the elimination round on Tuesday.

While Helton and Kotsay will be the focus of the game, and Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido thinks they’re both deserving of it, Garrido wouldn’t be surprised if any number of other players figure more prominently in the outcome. “That’s the way it usually happens,” he said.

Both also are low-keying the individual matchup.

“I’m looking forward to playing against Cal State Fullerton,” Helton said. “They’re ranked No. 1, and that will be a great challenge for our team.”

Kotsay’s mindset is not much different.

“I’m just going to take it like it was any other game,” Kotsay said. “I just want to win here.”

Kotsay and Helton shared the player of the year award presented by Collegiate Baseball, but Helton won the one given by Baseball America magazine all alone. Two major awards honoring the college game’s top player, one given by a writers’ group and the other by the coaches association, are still to be handed out.

Both players, strong left-handed hitters and regular position players as well as part-time pitchers, made an imprint on the Series this year in their first game.

Helton did it as the Vols’ starting pitcher Saturday night, giving up only four singles on the way to his fourth consecutive complete-game victory over Clemson, 3-1. Tennessee Coach Rod Delmonico used Helton only as a reliever until some of his other pitchers were slowed by injuries late in the season.

Garrido has continued to use Kotsay only in relief, and Kotsay picked up his 11th save of the season Saturday afternoon in Fullerton’s 6-5 victory over Stanford. Kotsay also was two for four at the plate, with a run scored. Their batting totals have been strikingly similar throughout the season, to the point that they each started the Series with a .413 batting average.

Kotsay is now hitting .414 with 18 home runs and 80 runs batted in. Helton, who was one for five Saturday, is hitting .409 with 19 home runs and 89 RBIs.

Their pitching statistics hadn’t been that much different until Delmonico moved Helton into a starting role. Helton is now 8-2 with 12 saves and a 1.66 earned-run average in 30 appearances. Kotsay is 2-1 with an 0.33 ERA in 10 fewer trips to the mound.

“I do think pitching takes away from my hitting,” said Helton, who normally plays first base. “I have to think more about my pitching then.”

Delmonico says he believes Helton could pitch on the major league level if he weren’t such a strong prospect as a hitter.

“He definitely was spectacular against Clemson, and they’re a good hitting team,” Fullerton pitching coach George Horton said. “He was the difference.”

Helton was the eighth player picked in the amateur draft this week. He turned down a reported $450,000 bonus offered by the San Diego Padres when he was chosen in the second round in 1992 as a Knoxville high school senior. Kotsay, as a sophomore, was not eligible for the draft this year.

Both have an explosive quality to their hitting. Kotsay tied a Series record last year when he batted in seven runs against Florida State. Helton had three home runs in a game against Arkansas this season.

Garrido says he can’t remember any player he’s coached contributing more in one season than what Kotsay has done this year. “It wouldn’t have been possible, though, without the help of his teammates, and he knows that, and that’s one of the reasons he’s the player he is,” Garrido said.

While they’ve never played against each other in college, Kotsay and Helton were in the Cape Cod summer collegiate league last summer.

“We played against each other a couple of times there, but I don’t remember that much about how we did against each other,” Kotsay said. “He was on a good team, though, and as I recall, they beat us every time.”

Today’s game probably will leave both players with a more lasting memory.

Right-hander R.A. Dickey, 14-3 with a 3.88 ERA, is the scheduled starting pitcher today for Tennessee. Fullerton coaches were still uncertain whether right-hander Jon Ward (9-3) or left-hander Tim Dixon (12-0) will start, although Horton was leaning toward Ward.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Kotsay vs. Helton

Offense

Player Avg. AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB Kotsay .414 251 79 104 19 5 18 80 15 Helton .409 247 85 101 27 4 19 89 9

*Pitching

Player ERA Record App. Saves Walks Strikeouts Kotsay 0.33 2-1 20 11 13 25 Helton 1.66 8-1 30 12 15 74