Captain Kirk

When Kirk Saarloos came to Cal State Fullerton four years ago to pitch for the Titans, he had no great expectations.

“I was surprised when they offered me a scholarship,” said Saarloos, who had pitched and played shortstop for Cerritos Valley Christian High. “I thought this program was above my talent level when I was in high school. I couldn’t have imagined having the career I’ve had here.”

Saarloos heads into the NCAA regional this weekend at Fullerton as one of the nation’s top college pitchers. He has a 13-2 record, a 2.26 earned-run average and 137 strikeouts. He has given up only 20 walks in 131 1/3 innings, and opponents are batting .184 against him.

He might not match the school-record 18 victories that Ted Silva had in 1995, when the Titans won the national championship, and he might not reach the record 166 strikeouts Adam Johnson had last season, but Saarloos seems certain to be remembered as one of Fullerton’s most effective pitchers.

During one stretch this season, Saarloos had a scoreless streak of 28 consecutive innings. He went 41 innings without giving up a run at home. He pitched complete games in seven consecutive starts, four of them shutouts, and pitched the school’s second nine-inning no-hitter, against Pacific in April.

Saarloos, who was selected Big West Conference pitcher of the year this week and is a leading candidate for several national player of the year honors, has the opportunity to finish with the conference’s best ERA for two consecutive years, this season as a starter and last season as a closer. He also has a chance to become only the fourth pitcher to lead the conference in victories, ERA and strikeouts.

“If you try to look for cracks in his armor, there aren’t any,” Titan Coach George Horton said. “There just isn’t any part of the game that he doesn’t do well. Teams are wasting their time trying to bunt against him because he fields the position so well. Batters try to break his rhythm, but they can’t because he’s beyond that.”

Saarloos has three pitches that can freeze a batter: a lively fastball, a deceptive changeup and a sharp-breaking slider.

“Kirk can throw any pitch on any count and his changeup is exceptional,” Dave Serrano, Titan pitching coach, said. “With him, it’s not about velocity, it’s about movement and location. And it’s hard to tell what pitch he’s throwing.”

Catcher Brett Kay says Saarloos rarely misses his target. “But the thing that I really like about him is his pitching mentality,” Kay said. “He maintains his composure, no matter what the circumstance.”

Saarloos has made a masterful transition this season from closer to starter.

“It’s completely different, based on the way you prepare for it,” Saarloos said. “As a closer, you usually throw only one or two innings, so I had some thoughts about how I’d do when I got to the fifth or sixth inning.

“I decided it was mostly a mental thing, and I try to not even think about what inning it is. If you think about it being the sixth inning, you might think about being a little tired.”

Showing that he could pitch well into the late innings was one of the keys for Saarloos, Serrano said. But durability has always been one of his strengths.

He has made 124 appearances at Fullerton, fourth highest in NCAA history. For part of this season, Saarloos was a closer when he was needed on Fridays, then came back as a starter on Sundays. He earned four saves in six one-inning relief appearances.

“His arm has responded well after every outing,” Serrano said, “and he’s done a great job of maintaining his conditioning.”

Saarloos said starting on Sundays after Jon Smith and Darric Merrell have started the two previous games probably was to his advantage in preparing for opposing batters.

“When I’m not pitching I sit next to coach [Serrano] and go over the book on the hitters when they come to bat,” he said.

Serrano calls Saarloos “the ultimate team guy.”

Second-baseman David Bacani, a teammate of Saarloos for four years, agrees.

“On the days when he’s not pitching, he still brings a lot of energy to the team and is always around encouraging everyone,” Bacani said. “He does everything 100%, and everyone respects him for that.”

Pitching for Team USA last summer turned out to be a big confidence-builder for Saarloos. As the team’s closer, Saarloos was 3-0 with four saves and an 0.34 ERA. He struck out 35 and gave up only 10 hits and seven walks in 26 2/3 innings.

“I think I pitched with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder last summer because I wasn’t drafted,” Saarloos said. “I knew I was better than that. Some teams called me after I wasn’t taken in the first 20 rounds and asked me if I’d sign, but I told them I was going back to school.”

Saarloos said it turned out to be the best thing. He was able to pitch for Team USA, then show what he could do as a starter with the Titans.

“I watched the other pitchers [on Team USA] and tried to learn some things from them,” Saarloos said, “It was good that I got to work with some different coaches, too, even though the Fullerton coaches have been great for me. After last summer, I felt like I really belonged with that club, and I probably was one of the best pitchers coming back to college for this season.”

Serrano said he could tell the difference.

“Team USA helped him a lot,” Serrano said. “He had a different aura. Now when he pitches, we expect to win, and that’s part of the aura. The other teams feel it too.”

Saarloos won’t be ignored in next month’s draft.

“I’ve heard from scouts that he might go anywhere from the second to the fifth round,” Serrano said. “He’s had a great season, and he’s deserving.”

Saarloos said he takes what he hears now about the draft with a grain of salt. He said his focus is trying to help his team in the playoffs.

“I don’t worry about what it says on someone’s radar gun,” he said. “I’m pitching because it’s fun. When we went to the World Series in 1999, it was a great experience. For me, this season has been all about trying to get back to Omaha.”

Saarloos said he wants to leave with a College World Series title.

He smiles when he says he has had only one other disappointment in his college career.

“I haven’t had an at-bat,” Saarloos said. “They put me in the outfield a couple of times, so they could bring me back [to pitch] if they needed me, and once I was in the on-deck circle, but I never got to bat.”

Horton: “We’re saving him for the national championship game.”