Titans Appear Ready to Make Another Run in Baseball

The hoopla after Cal State Fullerton’s third College World Series championship in June has long since died away, and Coach Augie Garrido and his assistants are back to the business of putting together a new team.

The season opener at Stanford Feb. 2 is slightly more than two weeks away, and Garrido is feeling good about the team’s potential, two weeks into the Titans’ version of spring training.

First baseman D.C. Olsen, left fielder Tony Miranda and second baseman Joe Fraser have moved on to professional baseball, but it appears Fullerton will be solid again at the three positions they vacated.

Sophomore C.J. Ankrum, who was the team’s fourth-leading hitter last season as a part-time outfielder and designated hitter, appears to have made the move to first base successfully.

Jerome Alviso, a transfer who played shortstop at Canada College, has settled into second base, with redshirt freshman Nakia Hill also showing signs of being a strong candidate there.

“It’s going to take some games early in the season for both Ankrum and Alviso to feel really comfortable defensively since both played other positions last year,” Garrido said, “but they should be fine.”

Sophomore Steve Chatham, primarily a late-inning defensive specialist last season, appears set to replace Miranda in left.

“He had an outstanding fall, and he’s done very well since we started [again] in January,” Garrido said. “He’s been one of our best offensive players during that time.”

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Pitching is much more of a question mark. But that’s exactly what the Titan coaches were saying this time a year ago.

“We’ve had a couple of surprises, as well as some disappointments so far,” said associate head coach George Horton, who handles the pitchers. “We still have a long way to go to get to the level of the rest of the team. But we’ve still got some time before the season starts, and we should continue developing after that.”

The most pleasant surprise has been sophomore left-hander Brent Billingsley, a transfer from East Carolina.

“He’s really thrown well so far,” Horton said. “He has a very good curve and a good slider, and he’s getting all four of his pitches over the plate with good quality.”

Billingsley, 6 feet 2 and 220 pounds, has a fastball in the 85-86 mph range, Horton said.

Horton said three other newcomers have shown promise: Kirk Irvine, a junior from Rancho Santiago College; Dustin Spencer, a junior from Cuesta College; and Tim Baron, a freshman from Thousand Oaks. All are right-handers.

Horton said he also has been satisfied with the work of returning pitchers Mark Chavez and Scott Hild.

Center fielder Mark Kotsay, who won the Golden Spikes award as the nation’s top amateur player in 1995, also has pitched well, but he likely will be used only as a closer, as he was last season.

“Our top six pitchers are at a different level right now than everyone else,” Horton said. “There are some others who can still come around. But we feel we can come up with at least three or four capable starters.”

Horton thinks, in fact, the pitching is about where it was a year ago.

“We had just as many questions, but fewer choices,” he said. “This time, we have several more candidates to build a staff.”

The Titans have 17 pitchers on their roster.

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If Garrido had to turn in a lineup card this week, he said he probably would have Chatham leading off, with Ankrum and right fielder Jeremy Giambi hitting either second or fourth. Kotsay would again be in the No. 3 slot.

Catcher Brian Loyd would bat fifth, followed by the designated hitter/third baseman Tony Martinez, shortstop Jack Jones and Alviso. Sophomore Mike Lamb is considered the top designated hitter.

Titan Notes

The Titans will play the Angels in Tempe, Ariz., Feb. 29 on their way to a three-game series against Texas in Austin. . . . Mike Kirby, a volunteer assistant coach for the baseball team last season, has been hired as a full-time assistant coach at Los Angeles City College. Kirby coached first base a year ago. Tony Fusco, who replaced Kirby, will take over those duties. . . . Former Titan third baseman Jason Gill, who has been helping this year as a volunteer coach, was hurt while playing shortstop in a scrimmage Saturday. He collided with freshman outfielder Reed Johnson going for a fly ball. Gill, who suffered a fractured jaw and other facial injuries, is recovering satisfactorily from reconstructive surgery performed Wednesday at UC Irvine Medical Center. . . . Senior Matt Bradbury was chosen to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s soccer all-academic team. . . . Fullerton’s 191.375 score in its victory over UCLA in women’s gymnastics Friday was its second-best season-opening score in the 21-year history of the program and 14th best at the school.