Freshman Garner Moves Into Rotation Against Florida State

Michael Garner, the best high school pitcher in Orange County last spring at Fullerton High, is starting to make his presence felt at Cal State Fullerton.

Garner, the only left-hander on the Titan staff, has pitched well enough in relief to earn his first college start this weekend when the Titans play at Florida State.

“He’s shown us what he can do,” pitching coach Dave Serrano said. Garner made his first appearance against Stanford and gave up four hits and struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings. Then Garner came on in relief against Arizona last Friday and held the Wildcats to four hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six of seven during one stretch and retired 11 consecutive, picking up his first victory. Garner also pitched Wednesday for two innings against Cal State Northridge, giving up two hits and no runs.

“Garner is doing several things well,” Serrano said. “He’s throwing strikes early in the count, getting ahead of hitters and changing his speeds well. He’s kept hitters off-balance and has shown a lot of poise for a young pitcher.”

Garner says his curve and changeup are working well.

“The big thing is that I’m starting to get comfortable in the system,” Garner said. “I’m getting a better understanding of what the coaches expect.”

Garner will replace Tennessee transfer John Alkire in the weekend rotation. Matt Wise will pitch the opener today, followed by Garner and Scott Hild.

Alkire was hit hard in his two starts, against Stanford and Arizona, but came back with three shutout innings Wednesday as the starter in Fullerton’s victory over Northridge.

Coach George Horton was pleased by Alkire’s improvement. “We’ll have him ready to go in long relief against Florida State,” Horton said.

The Titans (6-2) scored 51 runs to 28 for Arizona in last weekend’s three-game series, but Coach George Horton knows he can’t count on that much offense consistently. The 5-1 victory over Northridge was more typical of what Horton is seeking defensively.

But the Titans continue hitting well. Fullerton is batting .369 and averaging 10 runs per game. Outfielder Scott Seal was three for four with a three-run homer against Northridge, and is batting .522. Nakia Hill is hitting .481 with two homers. Mike Lamb is at .424 and leads the team in runs batted in with nine.

Fullerton will be without two regulars for the Florida State series. Outfielder Steve Chatham is out with a sprained wrist and shortstop Jerome Alviso has a sprained knee.

*

The Titan track and field team opens its season Saturday in the Long Beach Relays, and Coach John Elders is optimistic the team will be improved.

Elders’ main concern about the men’s team is lack of depth. “I’m excited about our top-level people,” Elders said. “I think we’ll be strong in the sprints, hurdles, the jumps and the middle distances, but we have virtually no throwers and we haven’t shown a lot of strength in the longer distances.”

Among those back from last season is Obi Obadike, who was fourth in the 100 and 200 meters last year at the Big West Conference meet. Elders expects him to be even better this year. “He’s in significantly better shape for this season,” Elders said. “I think he has a good shot at qualifying for the nationals in either one.”

Elders also believes Nate Heggenberger has the potential to qualify for the national meet in the 800 meters. “Nate had the fastest time in the conference all last season, although he finished fourth in the conference meet,” Elders said.

Sophomore Omar Anderson, senior Rufus Richardson and junior Kevin Risse, a transfer from Fullerton College, should be strong in the sprints.

Elders also thinks the men’s team should get a boost from the return of Zaylore Stout, who sat out last year because of what Elders called burnout. Stout should provide strength in the jumps and the hurdles.

The top returning performer on the women’s team is Sarah MacDougall, who was second in the 5,000 in the conference meet last year. “She should be stronger this season,” Elders said. “She didn’t show that much improvement during the cross-country season, but she had a great winter of training, and I expect that to carry over into the spring.”

Senior Erin Remy also is back with the team after missing the cross-country season because of illness. “Erin is battling chronic fatigue syndrome, but she’s back practicing with us and she can be a top distance runner again if she’s healthy,” Elders said.

Elders also hopes that sprinters Crystal Harris, Takisha McNeill and Krissy Parmenter will have good seasons.

Titan Notes

The Titan women’s basketball team ended its slump with two victories last weekend at New Mexico State and North Texas after losing 11 of its previous 12 games. The victories lifted the Titans (8-12, 3-6) to fifth in the Big West’s six-team Western Division. Kristen Sigg scored 47 points (17 of 27 from the field) in the two games and was named conference player of the week. . . . Katy Maty had her career-best all-around score in women’s gymnastics last week against Boise State at 38.775.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Coming Attractions

Here’s a look at key games this week for Cal State Fullerton:

* Men’s basketball at Nevada 7:35 p.m. Saturday.

* Women’s basketball against Pacific 7 tonight, and against Long Beach State 3 p.m. Sunday, both at Titan Gym.

* Men’s and women’s track Saturday at Long Beach Relays.

* Baseball at Florida State today through Sunday.