Garrido Pleased With Titans’ Performance

Cal State Fullerton’s season-opening two baseball games with Stanford produced a split, but Coach Augie Garrido says the series provided some positive answers to his questions.

“We might have seen the first sign this season of the team’s good character, based on the way they came back in the second game of the series,” Garrido said.

Garrido liked the way the Titans played aggressively, but under control, in Saturday’s 7-0 victory after being dominated by Stanford’s Kyle Peterson, who pitched a one-hitter Friday to win, 5-0.

“There were several things our players dealt with well in that second game,” Garrido said. “They didn’t let the first game bother them, then when there was the rain on Saturday with the game delayed three hours, they took that all in stride. They were really focused when they came out for the start of the game.”

It was a total reversal of form for Fullerton.

“I said we had some jitters in the first game, and that was the case, but it wasn’t because we were scared or anything like that,” Garrido said. “It was a matter of being overanxious and eager to play, and some of the mistakes we made were because of that.”

Garrido also was pleased with the performances of new starters Steve Chatham in left field, Jerome Alviso at second base and C.J. Ankrum at first. Ankrum was the designated hitter last season.

Garrido especially liked the sharp defensive play Alviso made Saturday. Alviso made a quick throw to third on a ground ball, catching the runner rounding the base. “That was a play of good baseball instincts, and I think Alviso has those kinds of instincts,” Garrido said.

Mike Lamb’s catching gave Garrido assurances of a strong backup for Brian Loyd, whose throwing arm is still not at full strength after an injury. “The nice thing is that Mike can do the same thing at either third base or first base,” Garrido said. “He can play both those positions well too. That really helps.” Garrido said Lamb will stay behind the plate until Loyd is ready. “We don’t want to take any chances of him re-injuring it,” Garrido said.

*

The pitching was “the best we’ve had on an opening weekend” in the last three years, associate head coach George Horton said.

“Don’t forget last year,” Horton said, referring to the fact that Fullerton gave up 23 runs in three games against Stanford, though the Titans won twice.

Sophomore left-hander Brent Billingsley’s seven-hit performance over eight innings Saturday showed he has the potential to be a solid starter.

Billingsley transferred from East Carolina, and was recommended to Horton by Randy Kapano, who runs a baseball academy in West Covina.

“Going to East Carolina in the first place was a last-second thing,” Billingsley said. “I didn’t have a good senior season at Chino [High] and it was just about the only opportunity I had. But I didn’t feel I was progressing there the way I wanted.”

Horton is eager to see some of the other pitchers this week. The Titans play at Pepperdine today and are at home against Fresno State this weekend.

“We’ll probably use five different guys against Pepperdine because we don’t want anymore days to go by without them getting some work,” Horton said.

Horton’s plan is to pitch sophomore Scott Hild the first two innings, then follow with junior Dustin Spencer, junior Matt Wise and senior Mark Chavez for two innings each, with senior Mark Kotsay pitching the ninth. Wise pitched for Pepperdine last season.

Horton says he still believes Chavez is capable of starting this season but is planning to keep him as a middle-inning reliever until he can gauge the strength of some of the other pitchers.

“We have a lot of confidence in Mark in that role,” Horton said. “And we need to develop the same kind of confidence in some of our other pitchers before we take him out of it.”

*

Cal State Fullerton’s 1995 College World Series banner will be unveiled in a ceremony before Friday’s 7 p.m. home opener against Fresno State.

Former players on the 1995 team have been invited for the presentation, and last season’s team captain, D.C. Olsen, will speak on behalf of the team.

The ceremony also will recognize various improvements made on the playing field by the Sports Turf Managers Assn., and construction by the university of new rest rooms and a new temporary press box.

University President Milton Gordon will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Titan Notes

The Titan softball team is tied for first with Nevada Las Vegas in the preseason Big West coaches’ poll. UNLV has won two consecutive conference championships. Fullerton received all eight first-place votes in the baseball poll. . . . The men’s soccer team will play the Mexican under-20 national team in an exhibition game tonight in Titan Stadium after UCLA meets San Diego at 6 p.m. The four teams return Saturday with the Titans playing San Diego at 1 p.m. and the Mexican team meeting UCLA in the second game. . . . The Titan women’s basketball team is 4-16 for the season, and the team’s youth is evident. Freshmen have been getting considerable playing time. Freshman Dee Braxton has moved into the starting center position and is averaging 16.5 points in conference games, 12 points for the season. Shayla Bradshaw, who leads the team in scoring at 17 points, is the team’s only senior. . . . Coach Bob Hawking says the men’s basketball team is staying focused despite four consecutive losses and a 5-14 record. “Our players have been very resilient,” he said. “They’ve been working really hard in practice. Hopefully, we can still finish strong.”