Titan Ties Hitters in Knots

In two years at Cal State Fullerton, Jason Windsor has found that victories are much easier to come by than respect.

Windsor has been the Titan baseball team’s best starting pitcher for two seasons, having won plenty of important games.

But he doesn’t put fear into opposing teams and he can’t seem to impress professional scouts.

“You don’t have to strike everyone out to get guys out,” he said.

Windsor has been challenged to prove that time and again since he arrived at Fullerton, even as he pitches tonight in an NCAA regional first-round game against Minnesota at Fullerton’s Goodwin Field.

“He basically talked his way into this program,” Fullerton Coach George Horton said. “We were very skeptical about him. He’s just shoved it down our throats.”

Horton, like many others, is becoming a believer in the 6-foot-2, 220-pound right-hander. Windsor’s latest lesson came earlier this month. Needing one victory against Long Beach State to clinch the Big West Conference title, Horton was planning to juggle his pitching rotation and start senior Mike Martinez against the 49ers’ indomitable Jered Weaver in the opener of a three-game series. His thought was that the team would be better off saving Windsor to pitch against someone other than Long Beach’s ace.

But when he told his team, the coach was met with cold stares. Ultimately, after meetings between the players and the coaching staff, Horton relented.

“It was like talking to a brick wall,” Horton said. “Finally [infielder] Ronnie Prettyman came to us and said, ‘We’ve been thinking about this for three weeks and we think nothing would be more challenging and more fitting than to go [ace against ace] and beat Weaver for the conference championship.’

“My job is to put the team in the best position to win. Logically, it was the right move. Emotionally, it was the wrong one.”

Windsor made it the defining start in his college career. He matched Weaver pitch for pitch, going a career-high 10 innings and striking out a personal-best 12 to defeat Long Beach, 2-1, and clinch the Titans’ first Big West title in three years.

“Sure, I was wondering what was going on,” he said of Horton’s plan. “But I also understood where they were coming from. I’m just glad the team wanted to do it the way we had done it all year long.”

The Titans recruited Windsor three years ago out of West Valley College in Saratoga, a suburb of San Jose. Shortly thereafter, they learned he didn’t have enough transferable units out of high school.

Pitching coach Dave Serrano recommended that he return to West Valley to shore up his academic transcripts with an eye on returning the following season. But Fullerton’s interest waned when Windsor got out of shape and had a poor second year.

“He tried to complete 29 units in that first semester,” Serrano said. “All of his focus was on the academic side and he didn’t pitch well.

“He came back in the summer of 2002 and said, ‘I still want a chance here at Cal State Fullerton.’ Unfortunately, we had used up our scholarship money on other players. He said, ‘It doesn’t matter. I want to come here.’ ”

Windsor began last season as a middle reliever before getting a surprise start against USC after then-ace Wes Littleton was suspended by the team. He pitched into the eighth inning and never left the rotation.

By the end of the season, he was the team’s No. 1 starter. Windsor won three playoff games, including a victory over Louisiana State in the Titans’ College World Series opener.

He finished 11-2 with a 1.98 earned-run average to earn All-America status.

This season, Windsor is 8-4 with a team-leading 2.12 ERA and eight complete games. He had six consecutive complete games in Big West play, including two shutouts.

Horton and Serrano credit Windsor for sparking the turnaround that has seen the Titans win 21 of their last 25 games. Windsor shared Big West pitcher-of-the-year honors with Weaver.

But Windsor, who went undrafted last year, also knows that it will be Weaver, not him, who will be among the first players taken in baseball’s amateur draft Monday.

“Guys throwing 95 miles per hour is what the scouts want,” Windsor said.

Horton said it would be wise not to underestimate Windsor in the future.

“Somebody is going to sign a very good senior,” the coach said. “I would not be surprised if he gets to a level everyone doesn’t think he can, and that’s the major leagues.”

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NCAA Baseball

Today’s opening games for Southland teams in NCAA baseball regionals. There are 16 regional sites, each with four teams and a double-elimination format:

At Cal State Fullerton

* Arizona St. (40-16) vs. Pepperdine (28-30), 3 p.m.

* Minnesota (38-21) vs. CS Fullerton (36-20), 7 p.m.

At Stanford

Long Beach St. (36-19) vs. St. John’s (36-21), 2 p.m.

At South Bend, Ind.

* UC Irvine (34-21-1) vs. Arizona (30-24-1), 4 p.m.

At Oklahoma City

* UCLA (33-27) vs. Oklahoma (37-22), 5 p.m.