COLLEGE BASEBALL PREVIEW : Unseasonal Greetings

Calling it spring training is pushing the calendar a touch. But the outlook is as bright and invigorating as the unseasonably warm weather for the Cal State Northridge and Pepperdine baseball teams.

Practice begins this week at both schools and not a swaggering opponent is in sight to defeat the optimism of spring or winter or whatever. Just call it the beginning.

Northridge is coming off two consecutive losing seasons, but a new coach with new assistants and a handful of outstanding veterans have everyone upbeat.

The view at Pepperdine, enhanced as it is by the blue Pacific, is even rosier. The Waves were a top-20 team under first-year Coach Pat Harrison last season and return a wealth of pitching and defense.

Only the inevitability of arduous conditioning drills the next couple of weeks can dampen the enthusiasm. Unless of course the rainy season hits, chasing everyone indoors.

Until then, the rhetoric is flying like a line drive over Northridge’s cozy right-field wall.

“I haven’t won a Division I game, and neither have my assistants, but that makes it exciting to us and to the players,” Northridge Coach Mike Batesole said. “It’s a fresh, new beginning for all of us.”

Both first-year assistants were successful junior college head coaches, Dan Cowgill at L.A. City and Chris Stevens at Oxnard. Batesole was Bill Kernen’s assistant two seasons before Kernen resigned after seven seasons.

Kernen posted winning records his first five years but grew frustrated the past two, when the Matadors were a combined 53-59.

A difference with Batesole is a greater willingness to recruit in the area.

“If I can get the kids in this area to come here, we will be a national power,” he said.

Three local players who signed letters of intent with Northridge last fall have already bolted, however. Pitcher Chris Baker (Hart High) and second baseman Kasey Canale (Crescenta Valley) are attending College of the Canyons and catcher Kevin Serr (Kennedy) is at Mission.

None were expected to contribute significantly this season. Northridge is counting most heavily on three seasoned players: shortstop Adam Kennedy, catcher Robert Fick and the versatile Eric Gillespie, who can play third base, the outfield and catcher.

“Offensively we have those three guys who can really swing it, then it drops off pretty hard after that,” Batesole said. “We need some guys to step into key roles the next few weeks.”

Pitching is another concern. Robert Crabtree, last season’s No. 1 starter, returns, as does Juan Velazquez, who set a school record for appearances last season.

Otherwise, the staff is unproven.

“There are a lot of guys with outstanding potential,” Batesole said.

More quality and depth is apparent at Pepperdine, where former El Camino Real High left-hander Randy Wolf heads the staff. Wolf was 9-1 with a 2.16 earned-run average as a freshman last season and probably will be a member of the U.S. Olympic team this summer.

Greg Gregory, a hard-throwing senior left-hander, and Jason LeBlanc, a senior right-hander who mixes a knuckleball with a sinking fastball, combine with Wolf to give the Waves a strong rotation.

Submarine-style right-hander Eric Brubaker, who was 10-2 with a 1.25 ERA last season, is one of the nation’s top closers.

All of which makes first-year pitching coach John Verhoeven, a former major league pitcher, terribly excited.

“Everybody’s pumped up right now, including me,” said Verhoeven, taking a break from helping build a new pitcher’s mound. “They all want to throw a half-hour a day right now and I have to sit on them and hold them to 10 minutes. I’m going to focus on getting their legs in shape for the next week or so.”

Starters return at every infield position except third base, and the outfield is full of fast, athletic newcomers, making Pepperdine a team that will be difficult to score on.

“If our pitchers throw strikes, which they will, our defense will do the rest,” Verhoeven said. “I’ve really been impressed with our gloves.”

This is the time to make impressions. Northridge begins practice Monday and Pepperdine follows suit Wednesday. Both teams open before the end of the month with nonconference games.

Northridge, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, plays host to Cal State L.A. on Jan. 26 and Pepperdine, a member of the West Coast Conference, plays host to Westmont on Jan. 30.