Concordia’s Patterson Is on Record-Breaking Assault

Senior second baseman Derek Patterson, selected NAIA baseball player of the week for the period ending March 18, has been rearranging the record book at Concordia, which has won 14 of its last 18 games.

Patterson leads the Eagles with 12 home runs, a school single-season record. He also has 211 hits in his career, one more than Ben Kindreich (1995-98). And he set another school record recently with his 47th career double.

During one four-game stretch earlier in the month, Patterson hit .538 with three doubles, three home runs and 11 runs batted in.

The surging Lions (22-14) had won seven straight until Sunday’s 9-8 loss to Concordia (Wis.) in the Eagles’ tournament. Patterson was named the most valuable player of the tournament, stroking six hits in 12 at-bats, driving in eight runs and scoring seven. He also had three home runs, a double, a triple and was credited with a pitching victory in an earlier game during the four-day event.

“It’s been a great week and we’re on a roll,” Patterson said.

Teammate Charles Chatman, who hit five home runs in three days, had a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday that helped beat Concordia (Ill.), 4-3.

PROMISING MARKS

It’s still early in Cal State Fullerton’s outdoor track season, but Coach John Elders is encouraged by several performances.

Brandon Campbell cleared 7 feet in the high jump only a week after he finished his season as a starter for the Titan basketball team. Kevin Howard turned in a time of 21.28 seconds in the 200 meters, which isn’t that much off the school record he set last year at 21.23. Freshman Simeon Rogers set a school record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.41 seconds.

“Kevin opened extremely strong,” Elders said. “That time is the best in the Big West, and we expect him to be running under 21 seconds this season.”

The women’s 400 relay team of Yahvoh Totimeh, Carla Battle, Genia Daniels and Kelly Bogan ran 47.44 in the recent Ben Brown Invitational at Fullerton.

“That was only 1/100th of a second off the school record, and we think they’ll be able to run a lot faster,” Elders said.

Battle is leading the conference in the women’s 400 with a time of 56.92 seconds.

SAARLOOS SOLID

Cal State Fullerton relief pitcher Kirk Saarloos has been on a roll recently.

Saarloos gave up one hit in 3 1/3 innings in Saturday’s 11-2 victory at Nevada. He struck out five and walked none.

Saarloos also turned in a strong relief effort in the series finale against Pacific a week ago, holding the Tigers hitless in the final 2 2/3 innings and striking out four of the eight batters he faced in a 9-6 Titan victory.

BOOKED

Chapman hosts a book signing Tuesday from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the student union for author Jim Moore and his first work, “Tales of the Small Time.”

According to the author, the book is broken into theme sections that include anecdotes and stories about small college athletics that Moore collected or experienced during his five years as Chapman’s sports information director.

“It’s intended to be universal to all small colleges in the country,” said Moore, now a freelance writer living in Oregon.

A major portion of the book, according to Moore, who was at Chapman from 1994-99, deals with the school’s decision to drop from Division II to Division III rather than attempt a move up to Division I, as it initially announced it would do.

“Tales” is the third book being published by the college’s own Chapman Press, and the first to deal with sports.

PLUNGING AHEAD

There has been much talk about UC Irvine’s student referendum to increase scholarships and add facilities, and what it has actually accomplished since being passed last May.

Swimming Coach Charlie Schober now has 14 scholarships available for women and 9.9 for men, the maximum allowed for each by the NCAA. Schober, who put the value of a single swim scholarship at about $10,000, said he previously could offer only two scholarships per team.

“Things are changing,” he said. “Instead of taking some of the [students] we already have here on campus and working with them, we’re now out there recruiting with the top schools.”

FORE

The 20th Annual Anteater Invitational golf tournament tees off today and Tuesday at the 6,745-yard, par-72 Coto de Caza North Course. Stanford, ranked 14th in the nation, is the favorite in the 21-team field.

Mike Lavery, a freshman from Irvine High, is UC Irvine’s top golfer after eight tournaments with a stroke average of 75.46.

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Times staff writer Lon Eubanks contributed to this report.