Seminoles Can Take Lesson From Titans

Florida State Coach Mike Martin has the No. 1-ranked team in college baseball, but that makes him a little uneasy.

Martin remembers what happened to Cal State Fullerton last year when the Titans were ranked No. 1 through much of the season and won 38 of their first 42 games.

Then the bottom fell out.

Fullerton tumbled into a late-season slump, won only seven of its last 19 games and was eliminated in the NCAA Midwest Regional in Wichita, Kan., after winning the College World Series in Omaha the previous year.

Martin sees the same kind of danger signs for his team this season with a veteran team returning after three consecutive appearances in Omaha.

“The same thing that happened to Fullerton could happen to us, but we want to avoid it if we can,” Martin said. “I’ve had good teams before that didn’t make it to Omaha.”

This Florida State team, however, appears to be loaded with potential. The Seminoles are 4-1 going into today’s 10 a.m. (PST) doubleheader at Dick Howser Field against the 10th-ranked Titans (6-2). Heavy rain postponed Friday’s opening game.

Like Fullerton’s 1996 team with Mark Kotsay, the Seminoles have perhaps the nation’s best player in center fielder J.D. Drew, who is being mentioned as the possible first pick in the amateur draft.

Drew batted .386 last season to Kotsay’s .401, but Drew drove in three more runs with 94 and had one more home run than Kotsay with 21.

“I thought Kotsay was great because of all the things he was able to do on the field to help you win, especially defensively,” Martin said. “But J.D. might have a little more power, and that might make him even a little more appealing to the pros.”

Drew, a left-handed hitter, has gained 20 pounds since last season, going from 185 to 205, and has increased his upper body strength. He’s batting .353 with two home runs after five games.

Martin expects Drew to be a marked man this season, much the same way Kotsay was last year.

“I can tell you one thing for sure,” Martin said. “We would never have pitched to Kotsay if we didn’t have a left-hander on the mound. He would have to beat us with his legs. We sure wouldn’t let him do it with his bat.”

Martin hopes Drew can handle that kind of focus as well as Kotsay did. “Fullerton is always so team-oriented, and that’s the way Kotsay was for them,” Martin said. “I want J.D. to be like that.”

Drew already has walked seven times, but has scored on four of those walks.

Florida State, however, has good offensive balance. Left fielder Jeremy Morris was drafted in the ninth round by the Kansas City Royals last year after hitting .371 with 13 homers and 87 RBIs, but he turned down the offer to play his senior year in college. He has a team-leading 12 RBIs and is batting .389 this season.

All four regulars on the infield are back. Shortstop Brooks Badeaux and second baseman Scott Zech were key figures in the Seminoles leading the nation with 87 double plays last season. Catcher Jeremy Salazar also returns.

Pitcher Randy Choate, a junior left-hander, led the nation in victories last season with 15. He is 2-0 with a 2.57 earned-run average this season.

The other Seminole starters for the three-game series are scheduled to be senior Chuck Howell (0-0) and Scott Proctor (2-0, 4.00 ERA). Matt Wise (1-0), Michael Garner (1-0) and Scott Hild (1-1) will start for the Titans.