Titans' Horton Expected Higher Playoff Seeding

L.A. Times Archives

May 27, 2003 12 AM PT

From Staff and Wire Reports

There is no doubt that George Horton was pleased Monday as he watched on television and saw Cal State Fullerton announced among the teams seeded in the NCAA college baseball playoffs.

But the seventh-year coach of the Titans viewed a couple of other choices by the Division I selection committee with a curious eye. After being ranked in the nation’s top five most of the season -- and currently No. 3 by Baseball America -- Fullerton was seeded seventh of eight.

“As I was watching with my team, I congratulated them on earning that regional spot,” Horton said. “Although I thought we might be a few slots higher.”

The Titans (43-13) will play at home Friday night against San Diego (31-28). Arizona (35-21) and Notre Dame (43-16) join them in the regional at Goodwin Field. With a national seeding, Fullerton expects to play host to a best-of-three super-regional if it advances. Super-regional champions advance to the College World Series.

Horton didn’t mince words about the national seeding of Louisiana State and Auburn as No. 2 and No. 4. LSU is ranked 10th; Fullerton was No. 1 as recently as May 4.

“I’m surprised a couple of [Southeastern Conference] teams were put that high, but maybe that’s the influence of [former LSU coach] Skip Bertman being on the committee,” he said. “You look at the top four seeds and they are from the SEC and the ACC. I guess the football power conferences get the most recognition. LSU has never been ranked in the top five all year.”

Long Beach State, playing host to a regional for the first time at Blair Field, will play Pepperdine on Friday. The 49ers (38-18) edged Fullerton for the Big West Conference title. Pepperdine won the Coast Division in the WCC.

Long Beach may have lost a national seeding when it dropped two of three games last week to Miami at home.

Pepperdine (36-23) made the tournament as an at-large team despite losing the WCC championship series to San Diego. The Waves can thank their strong nonconference schedule and victories over several tournament teams for getting a berth after missing out last year.

“Of course there was some uncertainty,” Coach Frank Sanchez said. “If we had won, it would have been a slam dunk and all we would be thinking about is where we’re going to play.”

The Waves split two games with Long Beach this season. UC Riverside (40-15), which finished third in the Big West, earned its first Division I bid and was sent to Palo Alto where it will face Richmond (46-13) and pitcher Tim Stauffer, who is expected to go high in the first round of next week’s amateur draft.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” Riverside Coach Jack Smitheran said, “but I have a lot of confidence in our guys.”

USC will not be in the tournament for the first time since 1992 after finishing 28-28.

-- Eric Stephens

Backed by Jairo Ochoa’s five-hitter, Chapman defeated Anderson (Ind.), 6-2, in an elimination game at Appleton, Wis., and will play Christopher Newport (Va.) for the NCAA Division III World Series championship today.

The Panthers (37-12) must beat the Captains (35-7) twice to win their first Division III title. Christopher Newport eliminated defending champion Eastern Connecticut State, 4-2.

Ochoa, who struck out four and walked none, had pitched five innings Sunday in the Panthers’ 6-5 win over Emory (Ga.).

Amer Delic of Illinois won the NCAA tennis men’s singles championship, defeating Benedikt Dorsch of Baylor, 6-4, 6-3, at Athens, Ga.

Delic is the first player from Illinois to win the title.

Illinois, which won the team title last week, made it a sweep when Brian Wilson and Rajeev Ram defeated Oliver Maiberger and Ryan Redondo of San Diego State, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1, to win the doubles title.

Senior A.J. Shannon scored four goals to help Virginia defeat Johns Hopkins, 9-7, at Baltimore for its third NCAA men’s lacrosse championship and its first since 1999.

Pro Football

Detroit Lion receiver Scotty Anderson and his brother were stabbed in the parking lot of a Houston nightclub after a scuffle with another club patron.

Anderson’s brother, Stevie, once a receiver with the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, was critically wounded and is hospitalized, Houston police said.

Scotty Anderson’s injuries didn’t appear to be life-threatening, police said.

Two men were arrested after fleeing the scene, but police wouldn’t release their identities, and it is not known if charges have been filed against them.

Auto Racing

Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus each received five-year contract extensions from Hendrick Motorsports, a day after winning NASCAR’s rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway at Concord, N.C.

Local Look

College baseball regionals being played in the Southland this weekend (all times Pacific):

At Goodwin Field, Fullerton

FRIDAY

Game 2 -- Arizona (35-21) vs. Notre Dame (43-16), 3 p.m.

Game 1 -- San Diego (31-28) at Cal State Fullerton (43-13), 7 p.m.

SATURDAY

Game 3 -- Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 11 a.m.

Game 4 -- Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 3 p.m.

Game 5 -- Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY

Game 6 -- Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.