COLLEGE WORLD SERIES : For This 49er, It’s All Business

OMAHA —  Rudy Rodriguez is playing in the College World Series again, after spending last season as odd man out.

Rodriguez, Cal State Long Beach’s senior shortstop, started every game for the 49ers in 1991 and helped them advance to the World Series.

Then last season, he was a reluctant redshirt, making way for Chris Gomez, a transfer from Loyola Marymount who was regarded as one of the best shortstops in the nation.

Gomez played well for Long Beach, but the 49ers were eliminated from the Central Regional at Austin, Tex., and Gomez took his glove to professional baseball after last season.

So Rodriguez has helped take Long Beach to its third World Series appearance in five years.

“I was disappointed when I was asked to redshirt, especially after playing well in 1991,” Rodriguez said. “But Chris is a great ballplayer, so I could see why you’d want someone like him on your ballclub.

“In the two years I’ve been on the field for Long Beach, we’ve been in the World Series, so I can’t complain about the way things have worked out.”

Long Beach, which has won three consecutive games after losing its series opener against Louisiana State, plays LSU again today for the right to advance to Saturday’s national championship game against Wichita State.

Rodriguez and outfielder Cobi Cradle are the only players who were part of the 49ers’ 1991 World Series team, which won only one game before it was eliminated.

“In ‘91, we were kind of caught up in the hoopla, which happens to a lot of teams that have players who haven’t been here before,” said Rodriguez, who transferred to Long Beach after batting .354 as a sophomore at American River College in Sacramento. “We totally forgot about what we had to do on the field.

“Me and Cobi told the guys what to expect, and not to get caught up in it.”

Rodriguez, who is batting .289 overall, is two for 12 in the World Series and has not committed an error. He singled home the 49ers’ final run Wednesday in a four-run eighth inning that gave them a 10-8 victory over LSU.

“When a lot of our guys were getting frustrated with some things that happened early against LSU, Rudy kind of kept them together,” Long Beach Coach Dave Snow said. “He was vocal on the field and kept guys under control in the dugout.

“His leadership is invaluable to this ballclub. It’s one of the big reasons we’ve done what we’ve done.”

Rodriguez thought his days were done as a 49er when Gomez transferred to Long Beach. He contacted Texas about transferring and had release papers sent to Snow.

“Me and my father sat down and weighed the pros and cons of both schools,” Rodriguez said. “Texas was a big university and Long Beach was a state college. Long Beach played in front of 200 or 300 fans a game, and Texas played in front of 7,000.

“But I’ve never tucked my tail and run from anything. So I went back to battle for the job.”

When it became clear that Gomez was going to start, Snow asked Rodriguez to take a redshirt season.

‘If (Rodriguez) was a true professional prospect that I knew the scouts had a lot of interest in, I might have handled it a little differently,” Snow said. “I told Rudy it was a situation where he could get another year of college to work toward his degree. I also knew that we would be losing a lot of players from last year’s team and that he could come back this year and be a catalyst. He’s certainly been that this season.”

Rodriguez said Long Beach expects to be playing for its first national championship on Saturday. After he concludes his collegiate career, he will finish work toward his degree in physical education and begin a career in coaching.

“I’ve had some rough times, but I learned a lot about baseball, playing for Snow, and I think I can pass a lot of those things on to young players,” Rodriguez said. “I’d like to get back to Omaha someday with my own team.”