Cal State Fullerton to Get Early Checkup for Postseason

By LON EUBANKS

Feb. 22, 1996 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

FULLERTON —

Cal State Fullerton’s baseball team is 9-1, Mark Kotsay is hitting as though his “dream season” of last year never ended, and the Titans already have shown signs of being a contender for a second consecutive College World Series championship.

But Fullerton, ranked No. 1 in one poll and second in another, will get its first test in a tournament atmosphere when the Titans host the third Anaheim Hilton & Towers Baseball Classic beginning Friday at Titan Field. The Orange County Sports Assn. co-sponsors the event.

The four teams are the type that fans might expect to see in one of the brackets at the championship series in Omaha, instead of during three days of the regular season. USC (8-2), which lost to Fullerton, 11-5, in last year’s title game, joins Florida State (7-0) and Oklahoma (5-1). Florida State and Oklahoma also were among the eight teams in Omaha last season, and Oklahoma won the title in 1994.

Play concludes at 5 p.m. Sunday with Fullerton meeting USC.

Coach Augie Garrido has been pleased with his team’s performance, but says one of the most significant developments has been the support shown by Titan fans. “Our fans have really played a part in our success at home,” Garrido said. “For the first time we’ve had crowds participating as a sort of 10th man.”

Fullerton is averaging 1,770 fans this season at a stadium with 1,500 permanent chair seats. Seating for an additional 200 is available in a small concrete bleacher area. After that, it’s standing room only.

Fullerton has won all six games at home, sweeping series with Fresno State and Arizona. The Titans have won nine in a row since a season-opening loss to Stanford and can match the 12-1 start of the 1994 team with three victories this weekend. A game scheduled with Loyola Marymount Wednesday was postponed because of rain.

Kotsay, college baseball’s player of the year last season, has been a key figure in the fast start. He’s hitting .425, with seven home runs in the last eight games. His 18 runs batted in include three game-winning hits. After the first 10 games last season, he had one home run.

Junior shortstop Jack Jones is hitting a team-leading .478. Jones and outfielder Jeremy Giambi, hitting .406, each have nine RBIs.

Associate head coach George Horton settled on his rotation for the round-robin event Wednesday. Scott Hild (1-0) will start Friday against Florida State, Kirk Irvine (2-1) against Oklahoma Saturday and Brent Billingsley (3-0) against USC Sunday.

Hild, a sophomore who appeared in 13 games last year with 3.23 earned-run average, moves into the three-man rotation ahead of Matt Wise, a Pepperdine transfer who has given up seven earned runs in 10 2/3 innings this season. “It’s more a matter of Scott doing well,” Horton said of the change. “It’s been very close between him and Matt.”

Horton said he will keep Mark Chavez in the No. 1 relief spot this weekend, although he considers him a potential starter this season.

Brian Loyd has returned to the catcher position after being the designated hitter when he was resting his injured throwing arm. “He’s not quite 100% yet, but it’s great to have him back there,” Horton said. “Mike Lamb did a great job when we were resting Brian, but he doesn’t have the experience Brian has at handling pitchers. It’s like getting your quarterback back.”

The other three teams are highly regarded nationally. Florida State is ranked as high as third in one poll, with Oklahoma ninth and USC 10th. USC defeated Oklahoma and Florida State last year in Omaha, then beat Miami twice to reach the title game. Coach Mike Gillespie has six regulars back, including junior outfielder Jacque Jones. Jones, who along with Kotsay is expected to be a starting outfielder on the Olympic team as well as a first-round draft choice, hit .353 with 53 RBIs last season, and is hitting .478 this year. USC’s top returning pitcher is left-hander Ray Flores (2-0), who was 13-3 with a 3.24 ERA last season.

Other top players returning are junior catcher Chad Moeller, who hit .329 with 29 RBIs last season, and first baseman Greg Walbridge, who hit .302 with 47 RBIs. The Trojans also have gotten a boost on offense with the addition of outfielder Jeff Inglin, a transfer from Marin College. Inglin has hit six home runs in USC’s first 10 games.

Florida State has been known for its strong pitching. Two of the pitchers who led the Seminoles to their 18th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance last year, Jonathan Johnson and David Yocum, were picked in the first round of the amateur draft.

Coach Mike Martin’s pitching was more questionable this season, although junior Chuck Howell (3-0) and sophomore Randy Choate (3-0) are off to good starts. The Seminoles have four position players back, including outfielder J.D. Drew, who hit .325 with 17 home runs last season.

Larry Cochell, who coached Fullerton during the three seasons Garrido was away at Illinois, appears to have another potentially strong team at Oklahoma, although the pitching staff has yet to prove itself. The Sooners’ key returning players are junior catcher Javier Flores (.369 and 55 RBIs) and Damon Minor (.344 and 44 RBIs).

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Tournament Schedule

Here’s a look at the matchups for the Anaheim Hilton & Towers Baseball Classic at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Field:

FRIDAY

* USC vs. Oklahoma, 2:30 p.m.

* Florida State vs. Cal State Fullerton, 7

SATURDAY

* Florida State vs. USC, 2:30

* Oklahoma vs. Cal State Fullerton, 7

SUNDAY

* Oklahoma vs. Florida State, 12:30

* USC vs. Cal State Fullerton, 5