Long and Short of it

Jared Sandler got word the night before.

“Coach [Sam Piraro] gave me a call in my [hotel] room . . . and told me I would get the start,” Sandler said. “He just asked me to compete and take us as deep [in the game] as I could.”

The San Jose State left-hander, a former Calabasas High and Glendale College standout, figured nine innings would do.

So he held Florida to five hits and struck out four in a 3-1 victory in the championship game of the NCAA Waco Regional on May 29, sending the Spartans to a Super Regional best-of-three series against Houston.

What made it more impressive was Sandler, a senior reliever, was making his first start in two years at San Jose State.

“I was pumped,” Sandler said. “Any time you get the chance to get the ball, it’s real exciting.”

The Spartans (41-22) won the series with Houston, two games to one, last weekend and advanced for the first time to the College World Series in Omaha. They face Clemson today in the first round.

Sandler, a 6-footer with a sidearm-submarine delivery, gives the Spartans a reliable arm out of the bullpen. In 18 games, he is 2-3 with a 2.96 earned-run average and six saves, second-most on the team.

Although not a hard thrower, Sandler has 35 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings and opponents are batting .265 against him.

“He does have tremendous movement on the ball,” pitching coach Doug Thurman said. “He’s constantly changing his arm angle and speed, and it’s difficult for the hitters to figure him out.”

Sandler developed his new pitching style by chance. He was doing a double-play drill last season when Thurman noticed Sandler side-arming the ball to second base with accuracy and some pop. Sandler was struggling with his control, so Thurman talked him into altering his delivery.

The transition went smoothly, giving Sandler a sharper slider, his best pitch. Sandler didn’t give up a hit to a left-hander last year.

He used the slider to work out of an eighth-inning, bases-loaded jam against Florida, striking out left-handed-hitting Matt Siegel on a 1-2 slider and retiring the next batter on a fly out to center field.

“I hadn’t really thrown the slider a lot in the game because it was too humid and my hand was wet,” Sandler said. “But I figured, if I was going to get beat, it would be with my best pitch.”

Sandler got beat only once in nine decisions his senior year at Calabasas in 1995. It came against Rialto, 4-0, in the Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals, the Coyotes’ only blemish in a 25-1 season.

He took his 1.27 ERA and Times’ All-Valley credentials to Glendale the next season and played two years for the Vaqueros, sometimes as designated hitter, before transferring to San Jose State.

The Spartans and Rice tied for first place in the Western Athletic Conference this season, but Sandler said he wasn’t sure what to expect for the playoffs. Most of the team gathered at a player’s apartment to watch the pairings announced on TV.

“We were real nervous,” Sandler said. “As each regional came up, we didn’t get in. It was getting a little tense in the apartment. Then they said our name and we went wild. It came down to the wire.”

It came down to Waco, one of 16 four-team sites, this one comprised of the Spartans, Florida, host Baylor and Southwest Texas State. Sandler clinched the regional for San Jose State and is waiting to see what his role is in Omaha.

“It’s up to Coach Piraro,” Sandler said. “I’ll probably work straight out of the pen, but whatever he needs, I’m ready.”

All it takes is a quick phone call.