World Series Not the Sort of Bash USC Remembers

The last time USC visited Rosenblatt Stadium for the College World Series, the Trojans took part in a record-setting slugfest.

There were 62 home runs hit in 1998, including 17 by the Trojans, who slugged a school-record 114 that season.

USC hit a championship game-record five homers and Arizona State launched four in the final as USC won its 12th national title with a 21-14 victory.

Though college baseball is still an explosive offensive game, neither USC Coach Mike Gillespie nor anyone else expects the same kind of fireworks in the 54th series that begins today.

San Jose State (41-22) will play Clemson (50-16) in the opener, and Louisiana-Lafayette (47-18) will play Stanford (47-15) in the second game.

USC will open Saturday against Florida State in a nationally televised game at 9:30 a.m. PST. Louisiana State will play Texas Saturday night.

Teams play a double-elimination format within their brackets. Winners advance to the championship game June 17.

USC’s game against Florida State and the championship game will be televised by CBS. All other games will be shown on ESPN or ESPN2.

Rosenblatt Stadium is still a hitter’s park with its 360-foot power alleys and ever-present wind that sometimes borders on a jet-stream.

But the dimensions and conditions were less of a factor last year because teams were using slimmer and heavier aluminum bats recommended by an NCAA-commissioned research panel to increase safety and reverse the trend of high-scoring games.

The 62 homers hit in 1998 broke the record of 48 set in 1995. Last year, only 35 homers were hit. The cumulative batting average also fell, from .318 in 1998 to .282 in 1999.

Before this season, the NCAA took another step, adopting the research panel’s recommendation to limit the exit speed of metal bats to 97 mph with hopes of making the bats more like wood.

The result: Four of the eight teams in this year’s series--Texas, Clemson, Louisiana-Lafayette and San Jose State--have only one player with 10 or more home runs.

“The true power hitter is still alive and well in college baseball,” Gillespie said. “But many players who were able to put up big numbers in the past are coming back to reality.”

Mike Martin, who has seen the game evolve in his 21 seasons with the Seminoles, said adaptation of the re-engineered bats has changed the philosophy of many coaches.

“It’s definitely gone from an offensive game to more pitching and defense,” Martin said.

Every team in this year’s series has outstanding pitching, though some have more depth than others.

USC, which has a nation-leading 15-game winning streak, features junior right-hander Rik Currier (14-3, 3.22 earned-run average), sophomore right-hander Mark Prior (10-6, 3.47), freshman right-hander Anthony Reyes (6-6, 4-15) and junior left-hander Ronald Flores (6-1, 3.17 with four saves). The Trojans, however, could be in trouble pitching-wise if they have to fight their way through the losers’ bracket as they did in 1998 after dropping their opener against LSU.

Senior third baseman Justin Gemoll leads the Trojans with a .338 batting average, 18 homers and 67 runs batted in.

Florida State, seeking its first championship in its 18th appearance, features sophomore right-hander Blair Varnes (11-2, 3.50), junior right-hander Mike Ziegler (9-4, 3.18), junior right-hander Jon McDonald (11-5, 4.04) and six others who logged significant innings.

Sophomore outfielders Chris Smith and John-Ford Griffin, who is batting .410, lead the offense along with Martin McDougall, who is batting .341 with 13 homers and 65 RBIs. McDougall was the series’ most outstanding player last year when the Seminoles lost to Miami, 6-5, in the final.

Texas Coach Augie Garrido is trying to win his first title with the Longhorns after winning three at Cal State Fullerton. Junior right-hander Beau Hale (12-5, 2.77), senior left-hander D.J. Jones (12-5, 2.89) and junior left-hander Phil Seibel (5-1, 1.91) try to go long enough as starters to get to Charlie Thames (4-2, 2.10, 19 saves).

Jeff Ontiveros, who has 14 homers and 62 RBIs, outfielder Ben Emond (.378) and second baseman Tommy Nicholson (.363) are the key players on offense.

Louisiana State features junior left-hander Brian Tallet (14-3, 3.16), senior right-hander Hunter Gomez (9-1, 4.22) and senior right-hander Ben Saxon (5-0, 4.40) on perhaps its deepest staff since its 1997 championship season. Weylin Guidry (2.72 ERA, seven saves) is the closer.

Senior catcher Brad Cresse is batting .400 with a nation-leading 30 homers and 104 runs batted in. Center fielder Cedrick Harris is batting .379 and second baseman Mike Fontenot has 16 homers and 62 RBIs.

Louisiana-Lafayette is in the series for the first time, but the Ragin’ Cajuns have been a rising force the last few years.

Junior right-hander Scott Dohmann (12-5, 3.25), junior right-hander Justin Gabriel (9-3, 2.99) and freshman left-hander Andy Gros (5-2, 4.27) lead a staff that has a series-best 3.20 ERA. Senior catcher Danny Massiatte has hit a team-high 14 homers.

Stanford is the most experienced team in the series and is making its third appearance in four years. Outfielders Joe Borchard and Edmund Muth each have 18 homers and 72 RBIs.

Pitchers Justin Wayne (14-3, 3.08) and Jason Young (8-1, 3.62) give the Cardinal perhaps the best 1-2 combination in the country. Sophomore Jeff Bruksch, a transfer from USC who played at Beverly Hills High, leads the team with 12 saves.

San Jose State, making its first appearance after upsetting Houston in a super-regional, is led by sophomore outfielder Junior Ruiz, who is batting .360 with 45 RBIs.

Senior left-handers Chris Key (13-3, 2.89), Tim Adinolfi (8-3, 3.21, seven saves) and Jared Sandler (2-3, 2.96, six saves) are key pitchers for the Spartans.

Clemson senior right-handers Ryan Mottl (9-3, 3.44) and Scott Berney (9-4, 3.39), and freshman right-hander Jarrod Schmidt (9-0, 3.69) lead a deep Tiger staff that has a 3.90 ERA. Closer Nick Glaser has a school-record 15 saves and 2.25 ERA.

Sophomore third baseman Khalil Greene is batting .362 with 62 RBIs.

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College World Series

Schedule and times for the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha for the double-elimination tournament:

TODAY

* Game 1--San Jose State (41-22) vs. Clemson (50-16), Noon

* Game 2--La.-Lafayette (47-18) vs. Stanford (47-15), 4 p.m.

SATURDAY

* Game 3--Florida State (51-17) vs. USC (43-18), 9:30 a.m.

* Game 4--LSU (48-17) vs. Texas (46-19), 7 p.m.

SUNDAY

* Game 5--Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Noon

* Game 6--Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 4 p.m.

MONDAY

* Game 7--Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, Noon

* Game 8--Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 4 p.m.

TUESDAY

* Game 9--Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 winner, Noon

* Game 10--Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 winner, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

* Game 11--Game 5 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 4 p.m.

THURSDAY

* Game 12--Game 7 winner vs. Game 10 winner, Noon

JUNE 16

* Game 13--Game 5 winner vs. Game 11 winner, Noon*

* Game 14--Game 7 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 4 p.m.*

JUNE 17

* Game 15--Game 11 or 13 winner vs. Game 12 or 14 winner, 2:30 p.m.

NOTE: Game 13 will be necessary if the winner of Game 9 also wins Game 11. Game 14 will be necessary if the winner of Game 10 also wins Game 12. If only one game on Friday, June 16, is necessary, it will start at 3:30 p.m. If the winners of Games 11 and 12 are undefeated, there will be no games Friday and the national championship game will be Game 13.

All times Pacific; * if necessary