Trojans’ Prior Draws Raves as One of the Best

Mark Prior has been so overpowering this season, it is difficult to assess which is delivered more efficiently and with greater impact: a 95-mph fastball from Prior or evaluations about the USC junior right-hander.

“One of the best pitchers in college baseball history,” Cal State Fullerton Coach George Horton said.

“The best college pitcher I’ve ever seen,” said Long Beach State Coach Dave Snow.

“In a word,” USC Coach Mike Gillespie said, “unbelievable.”

Prior, 6 feet 6, 225 pounds, is enjoying one of the most dominating seasons by a pitcher in NCAA history. Baseball America magazine has tabbed him as the top prospect in next month’s major league draft, a player many believe capable of contributing to a big league staff by the end of summer, if not sooner.

The revived but historically penurious Minnesota Twins have the No. 1 pick, so there is speculation that Prior might fall a slot or two as the club explores a pre-draft deal with a less expensive high school player, as the Florida Marlins did last season.

Prior, as poised in interviews as he is on the mound, is not worried.

“It’s a compliment to be regarded as the possible No. 1, and if I was taken as the first pick that would be awesome,” Prior said. “But if you’re in the top five or 10, I don’t think you can complain. You’re being given an opportunity to play professional baseball.

“Right now though, that’s not my main concern. I want to help this team win a national championship.”

The Trojans (39-17), seeded third nationally, begin their quest for a 13th NCAA title today at 3 p.m. against Oral Roberts (48-11) in an NCAA regional at Dedeaux Field. Pepperdine (41-16) will play Fresno State (39-23) at 7.

The four-team, double-elimination tournament is one of 16 being played across the country. Winners advance to eight best-of-three super-regionals next weekend. Super-regional winners will play in the College World Series June 8-16 in Omaha.

Fullerton (41-15) is seeded first nationally and plays Temple (27-29) today in the opening game of a regional at Fullerton that also includes Arizona State (36-18-1) and Texas Tech (40-18-1).

Long Beach State (35-21) plays Texas (34-24) in a regional at Stanford (42-14), which meets Marist (32-19-1) in the other first-round game.

UC Santa Barbara (39-15) plays Florida International (40-18) at South Bend, Ind., in a regional with Notre Dame (46-11-1) and Wisconsin Milwaukee (39-16).

“What I’ve done and what our team has done to this point is over with,” Prior said. “Everyone starts 0-0 in the playoffs.”

Prior, who will start Saturday, presents a rare pitching combination of power and control. He is 13-1 with a 1.49 earned-run average and has thrown five complete games, including three shutouts. He has given up only 73 hits in 114 2/3 innings and has struck out 166 and walked 17 while limiting opponents to a .182 batting average.

“His delivery and mechanics are so good, he’s basically able to stay on a pitch longer than most so it’s like he’s throwing from 58 feet instead of 60 feet 6 inches,” Horton said. “If there is such a thing as a sneaky 95-mph fastball, he has it.”

Prior has worked with innovative pitching guru Tom House since his freshman year at University High in San Diego and has blossomed further under the tutelage of pitching coaches John Savage and Dave Lawn at USC. He abides by a strict conditioning and nutrition regimen that has helped him maintain strength and endurance.

Prior is no stranger to major league scouts.

He was a first-round pick by the New York Yankees, the 43rd player chosen overall, in the 1998 draft after going 10-5 with a 0.93 ERA and batting .410 with 15 home runs his senior year in high school.

Prior said he passed on turning pro because at 17 he was not mature enough to handle the challenges of minor league baseball. Instead, he enrolled at Vanderbilt to experience a different area of the country. He went 4-8 with a 4.59 ERA his freshman season, was named a freshman All-American by Baseball America magazine and pitched for the U.S. national team in the summer of 1999.

But to continue growing as a pitcher, Prior said he needed to make a change. He enrolled at USC, which recruited him out of high school, and went 10-7 with a 3.56 ERA and had 150 strikeouts in 136 innings last season, helping the Trojans reach the World Series.

When Prior came home from Omaha, he was considered one of the nation’s best pitching prospects. By the end of his summer with the U.S. national team, he elevated himself to the top spot on most major league teams’ wish lists.

Prior wowed scouts in a game against the Cape Cod League all-stars and pitched impressively against Japan and Cuba during a tournament in the Netherlands.

The success has carried over this season, during which Prior has struck out more than 10 batters in a game 11 times.

Prior is only one of several outstanding pitchers who will take the mound at Dedeaux Field.

Trojan teammates Rik Currier (10-2, 2.36 ERA), who will start today, and Anthony Reyes (4-3, 3.75 ERA) give the Trojans the nation’s deepest and most experienced rotation.

Pepperdine has two aces in Noah Lowry (14-1, 1.51) and Dan Haren (10-3, 2.39). The Waves are led on offense by Jared Pitney, who is batting .392 with 12 homers and 61 runs batted in, and Danny Garcia, who is hitting .388 with eight homers and 52 RBIs.

Oral Roberts, which won more games than any team except Tulane, features Michael Rogers (14-0, 2.05) and Trevor Leu (8-3, 4.73), who also leads the team with a .423 batting average. Former Anaheim Esperanza standout Mark Colin is batting .364 with 43 RBIs, and first baseman Wilton Reynolds has 11 homers and 43 RBIs for a team that features 10 players from California.

Bob Runyon is 8-1 with a 3.74 ERA for Fresno State.

“It’s tough to shut everybody out and keep them down in the playoffs,” Prior said. “But fortunately I’ve pitched in a regional, super-regional and World Series before, so hopefully that will work to my advantage this year.”

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Complete schedule: D13