Cal State Fullerton Starts With Great Expectations

Cal State Fullerton hasn’t reached the College World Series in three seasons. For the Titans’ nationally prominent program, that’s as bad as it gets.

With three national championships and nine College World Series appearances, Fullerton hasn’t gone four years without a trip to Omaha since 1975, when the program gained NCAA Division I status.

Titan Coach George Horton is hoping that won’t happen again this season, which gets under way at 7 p.m. Friday at Titan Field against Stanford.

“There always are a lot of intangibles involved, but we think this team has national potential,” Horton said. “We think it has the ingredients you need. Our team speed is better than a year ago, and our pitching depth should be better.”

Those strengths could become even more important as the college game moves into a new era of less powerful aluminum bats. And if the days of “gorilla ball” really are over, Fullerton might benefit.

Fullerton’s pitching was good last season but not strong enough or deep enough to carry the team to the College World Series against a power-hitting team such as Louisiana State.

The Titan staff had a 4.17 earned-run average last season, but LSU mauled Fullerton pitchers for 27 runs in two games during the South Regional in Baton Rouge.

“Our hitters definitely had the advantage over us in the fall, but the new bats have seemed to make a difference,” pitcher Kirk Saarloos said. “The new bats still have a lot of pop in them, but fly balls aren’t going out of the yard the way they did last season.”

The Titans have been practicing with their new bats, which meet the new NCAA restrictions designed to reduce their power. But Fullerton still hasn’t received the indemnity from its bat company that allows them to be used in a game. The indemnity, required by the NCAA and individual conferences, protects schools against liability if a player is injured by a batted ball. “We’re hoping it will be resolved by Friday,” Horton said.

The Titans will begin the season ranked 14th by Baseball America and 11th by Collegiate Baseball. Long Beach State, their Big West Conference rival, is among the top five in both polls. Stanford, their opponent in the opening series, is ranked seventh in one poll and eighth in the other.

Pitching Coach Dave Serrano said he has been pleased by his staff’s development. The Titans lost seniors Benny Flores and Erasmo Ramirez, who won a combined 23 games last season, but Serrano likes the depth better this season.

“We have a lot more people on this year’s staff capable of contributing to our success,” Serrano said.

The weekend pitching rotation is expected to have right-hander Adam Johnson followed by right-hander Jordan DeJong and left-hander Jon Smith. All are sophomores. However, Smith is being held out of the opening three-game series because of a minor groin injury. Michael Garner (1-0, 6.91 ERA last season) will get the start Sunday.

Smith (2-0, 3.21 ERA) would have been the third starter last season, but arm trouble kept him out for two months. “My arm feels great now,” he said, “and I’m looking forward to being able to pitch an entire season.”

Johnson (1-4, 3.05) was the closer last season. He had a team-high eight saves and struck out 63 in 38 1/3 innings.

DeJong (1-0, 6.75) has improved the most among the pitchers in preseason workouts. “He didn’t make the travel team for the trip to Baton Rouge, so he’s been on a mission ever since then,” Serrano said. “He had a good curveball last year, but he wasn’t as consistent as he needed to be.”

Saarloos (4-2, 5.15) and Marco Hanlon (5-2, 4.58) are expected to be the top relief pitchers. Both will be used in short and long relief, Horton said. Serrano has changed Hanlon’s pitching motion from going overhead to a more sidearm delivery.

The Titans’ hitting is a more proven commodity than their pitching.

Third baseman Ryan Moore batted .336 with 14 home runs and 56 runs batted in last year. Those totals were both second to team leader Aaron Rowand, who signed with the Chicago White Sox.

Horton also expects a good season from Chris Beck, whose .361 average last season is the best among the returning players. Beck has moved to first base from the outfield, and has been impressive defensively, Horton said.

Shortstop Ryan Owens and second-baseman David Bacani also are returning regulars on the infield. Bacani hit .317 last season. Owens batted only .288 with 10 home runs but had a good summer with Team USA.

The outfield appears solid offensively and defensively. Transfer Spencer Oborn, one of the top hitters in the Western Athletic Conference the last two years at Brigham Young, will begin the season in left with returning regular Reed Johnson (.321, 51 RBIs) in center.

Freshman Robert Guzman and sophomore Rod Perry Jr., who transferred from USC, are expected to platoon in right field early in the season. Horton said Guzman, who bats left-handed, reminds him of former Titan Mark Kotsay. “Their hitting styles are very similar,” Horton said. “And he’s starting to play the outfield a lot like Mark did.”

Either Guzman or Perry could be the designated hitter when not in the outfield. First baseman Aaron Rifkin, a transfer from Chapman, also is a possibility at DH, as is catcher Chad Baum.

Horton also has been encouraged by the depth at catcher. Jeff Gates, a transfer from American River College in Sacramento, joins Craig Patterson, who hit .307 while platooning last season.

“Gates has shown an amazing ability to block bad pitches,” Horton said, “and he has been throwing very well.”

Two promising freshmen--catcher-infielder Sean Bischofberger and shortstop Shawn Norris--have been slowed by injuries, but Horton expects both to be in the picture when they recover.