49er Playoff Hopes May Be 86’d

Looking for an unexpected scenario for the final weekend of the regular season in college baseball?

How about Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State playing a three-game series with one of the perennial powers not in contention for the Big West championship?

That’s how it has turned out after Nevada swept the 49ers in a three-game series last weekend in Reno.

Even more grating for the 49ers is the possibility that they might not make the NCAA playoffs for the first time since 1990.

“I think we’re going to need a sweep, and then have someone throw a blessing on us,” Long Beach Coach Dave Snow said of his team’s chances of getting one of the tournament’s at-large berths. “Our overall record isn’t that good.”

The 49ers (29-24, 16-11 in conference) trail first-place Fullerton (35-17, 20-7) by four games. Long Beach is tied for fourth in the conference behind the Titans, Nevada (34-17, 18-9) and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (31-22, 17-10).

Fullerton is assured of a spot in the playoffs after being selected for the first time to host one of 16 regional tournaments next week, but the Titans still need one more victory or a Nevada loss to be assured of a share of the conference championship--their third in four years under Coach George Horton.

But three Fullerton losses at Long Beach and three victories by Nevada at home against a Pacific team that has won only five games all season would give Nevada the undisputed title. Long Beach won two of three games the last time the teams played in Fullerton in April.

“What I’d really hate to see is us blow the conference championship,” Horton said. “If we don’t play well this week, Nevada could reap the benefits.”

The Fullerton-Long Beach series at Blair Field, where play begins Friday night at 7 and continues Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m., also will be important in determining Fullerton’s regional seeding.

“If we do well this weekend, I think we can be seeded No. 1,” Horton said. “And that’s important. We’re going to approach this series like it’s a best-of-three super-regional. I just hope we’re professional enough as a team to take it that way.”

TITLES ON THE LINE

UCLA has a shot at winning the Pacific-10 title this weekend during its three-game series at Stanford.

The Bruins (34-22, 16-5) have a one-game lead over Stanford (39-12, 15-6) and Arizona State (40-12, 15-6). USC (35-18, 13-8) is in fourth.

Arizona State plays at Arizona and USC at Washington this weekend.

Arizona State and Stanford will host regionals next week, and neither USC nor UCLA will be assigned to either site because of the conference association. That might open the door for one of them being sent to Fullerton.

Loyola Marymount (37-17), another team that is on the bubble between being seeded No. 1 or No. 2 in a regional, also could be assigned to Fullerton, depending on the outcome of its series this weekend against Pepperdine, which will determine the West Coast Conference championship.

It’s likely the No. 4-seeded team at Fullerton’s regional will be from outside the West.

A Southland team could also be the No. 1-seeded team in a regional at Louisiana Lafayette, Rutgers, Minnesota or Oklahoma City.

USC Coach Mike Gillespie said he wouldn’t mind if his Trojans hit the road. “I hear New Jersey is very nice this time of the year,” he said.

WALLACH ENJOYS RETURN

Tim Wallach, the first Cal State Fullerton winner of the Golden Spikes award as college baseball’s player of the year in 1979, said he has enjoyed his return to Fullerton as a volunteer assistant coach this season.

“It’s been a lot of fun for me,” Wallach said. “I knew I would enjoy working with the young guys.”

Wallach, a five-time National League all-star who played 17 seasons in the major leagues, was manager of San Bernardino, the Dodgers’ Class-A team in the California League, for a year before joining the Titan staff.

He has coached first base this season and worked with the infielders. “I knew first base and third base from playing them, but it’s also been a learning process for me with the middle infielders,” he said.

Wallach has helped Shawn Murphy adjust to playing third base after his move from shortstop. He also has played a role in Aaron Rifkin’s improved fielding at first. Wallach said he also has been impressed with the development of freshman Mike Martinez at shortstop.

“I enjoy the coaching at first too, because it keeps me in the game,” Wallach said.

Wallach, who lives in Yorba Linda, is keeping the door open to a possible return to professional baseball as a manager, but he said he’s not in any hurry.

“If it happens, it happens,” Wallach said. “But being with my family is the most important thing for me at this point. This has worked out fine for me.”

TOUCHING ALL BASES

An MRI exam revealed no damage in Cal State Fullerton pitcher Matt Sorensen’s pitching elbow, and he is expected to be available for next week’s NCAA regional. Sorensen has been sidelined for three weeks because of stiffness in his elbow. “We had hoped he would be able to throw some this weekend in the Long Beach series, but it doesn’t seem likely he will be ready for that,” Titan pitching coach Dave Serrano said. Sorensen is 5-0 with a 4.93 earned-run average this season. . . .

Titan pitcher Jon Smith was honored as Fullerton’s male scholar-athlete of the year this week. . . .

Texas shortstop Tommy Nicholson, who played at Esperanza High, has had at least one hit in 24 consecutive games and 28 of his last 29. During that time, Nicholson has batted .387, scored 30 runs and driven in 30.

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