Familiar Opponent for 49ers

AUSTIN, Tex. â€”  Long Beach State and Southwest Missouri State--drawn together by fate, NCAA style--face each other in a regional opener for the second consecutive season. This time, they meet in the Central I Regional at 1 p.m. (PDT) today at Disch-Falk Field.

“It’s kind of interesting seeding, huh?� Long Beach Coach Dave Snow said.

Long Beach defeated Southwest Missouri, 14-11, in the opening game of the 1995 West Regional at Fresno State. Southwest Missouri was ahead, 10-3, in the bottom of the fifth inning. Long Beach is seeded second in the regional and Southwest Missouri fifth.

“I think it’s weird,� Bear Coach Keith Guttin said. “[The selection committee officials] put people where they need to, but it seems kind of funny to be playing them two years in a row.�

Long Beach State (34-24), the Big West Conference champion, has an edge in pitching. Marcus Jones, a right-hander from Esperanza High, is 9-4 with a 2.10 earned-run average and 111 strikeouts in 102 innings. He was selected the Big West pitcher of the year.

Right-hander Rocky Biddle (5-5, 4.17 ERA) struggled this season after being selected a freshman All-American last season, but still throws hard. Right-hander Steve Hueston (6-3, 3.18) has impressed Snow as the No. 3 starter.

Closer Ryan Brannan (Huntington Beach High) leads the nation with 14 saves and is 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA. Long Beach’s team ERA is 3.71.

Southwest Missouri (30-23) finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears have lots of hitting (a .323 team average), but not much pitching (a 5.73 team ERA). Lance Burkhart leads the team with a .371 average, 18 home runs and 62 runs batted in.