Titans Get Firepower From Platoon Players

Cal State Fullerton Coach George Horton got a lot of mileage out of platoon players in Saturday’s 13-3 victory over Arizona State.

Horton started right-handed batter Louie Lamoure in left field against Sun Devil left-hander Jon Switzer, and Lamoure hit a two-run homer and made two diving catches in the outfield.

Then he put left-handed batter Shane Costa into the game when Arizona State changed to right-handed pitcher Andy Torres, and Costa had three hits in three at-bats and scored two runs.

Horton started right-handed batter Mike Martinez at third base despite the fact that Shawn Norris hit a three-run homer Friday against Temple.

Horton switched to Norris, a left-handed batter, in the late innings, and Norris hit another three-run homer in the ninth.

“It says a lot about our players,” Horton said. “It’s nice to have the luxury of having players who come in off the bench and do great things. When they’re not in the lineup, they stay ready for when their number is called.”

Horton said Lamoure is a perfect example of that.

“When we recruited him from Fresno City College,” Horton said, “they said he wasn’t a spectacular player, but he was an up-tempo player and was a great teammate. He’s become one of my favorite players for that reason.”

Titan pitcher Kirk Saarloos, who won his 14th consecutive decision against Arizona State Saturday, has been selected to Collegiate Baseball’s All-American first team.

Saarloos and USC’s Mark Prior were among six pitchers named to the first team. UCLA’s Brian Baron also was a first-team choice. Prior was selected player of the year.

Three players with Orange County ties were selected to the third team. USC pitcher Rik Currier (Capistrano Valley High), Long Beach State shortstop Bobby Crosby (La Quinta High) and Southeast Missouri State outfielder Clemente Bonilla (El Toro High) were selected.

Texas Tech Coach Larry Hays and Arizona State Coach Pat Murphy would like to see the NCAA regional tournament format changed so that teams don’t have to play twice on the same day leading into Sunday’s championship round.

Under the current format, the winner of the first elimination game and the loser of the winner’s bracket game return to play an elimination game later than night.

“We don’t play doubleheaders all year, so why should we do it in a situation this important?” Murphy said.

The tournament would have to begin a day earlier to avoid the extra late game on Saturday.

“A lot of us have talked about it, but it seems like we’re wasting our time,” Hays said.