Titan Pitchers Ahead of Hitters

FULLERTON —  The measuring stick of success for Cal State Fullerton baseball is whether the Titans reach the College World Series.

In the last two seasons, Fullerton hasn’t made it to Omaha--the last team coached by Augie Garrido and the first under George Horton--after advancing four times in the 1990s.

Horton is hopeful, but cautious about this year’s team, which opens its season Friday night at home, the start of a three-game series against California.

“In 1995 we said we probably weren’t going to be that good, and we won the championship,” said Horton, who was an assistant to Garrido for six years. “The next year, we had a lot of those guys back and we didn’t make it. This year, we think we have a chance to be good, but we probably won’t know until late in the season.”

The Titans were 39-24-1 last year, losing in the NCAA West Regional at Stanford. All three starting pitchers from that team--Matt Wise, Brian Tokarse and Brandon Duckworth--signed pro contracts.

Horton, however, had a potential 20-plus victories fall in his lap when left-handed pitchers Erasmo Ramirez and Benny Flores transferred from Cal State Northridge for their senior year. They won 43 games over the last two seasons for the Matadors.

The question is whether they’ll get the offensive support to match their pitching on a staff that also includes talented freshman starter Jon Smith.

The Titans’ top three hitters from 1997--Jerome Alviso, Mike Lamb and C.J. Ankrum--also signed pro contracts. That leaves outfielders Aaron Rowand and Steve Chatham as the only returning hitters who batted above .320 a year ago. Chatham was second on the team in runs batted in with 51 behind Lamb’s 70.

They will need help from two newcomers: first baseman Kevin Duck, who hit 17 home runs in two seasons at Santa Ana College, and third baseman Ryan Moore, who played last season at Mt. San Antonio.

Horton will fill the designated hitter slot from among several players who don’t play the third outfield position. That group includes sophomores Reed Johnson and Chris Beck, Cypress College transfer Greg Jacobs and senior Pete Fukuhara.

The key to the success of the defense is expected to be freshman shortstop Chad Olszanski, who already is highly regarded by major league scouts.

“We were probably fortunate that he didn’t play his senior year in high school [Escondido San Pasqual] or he would have been drafted a lot higher,” Horton said. Olszanski missed the season because of a broken hand he sustained while playing football.

“He’s progressed a lot as a hitter, and that was our concern,” Horton said.

Sophomore Ryan Owens, who hit .291 as a freshman, appears to have held on to the second-base job, but can’t afford the team-high 18 errors of a year ago or the sub-.300 batting average.

Horton says he plans to start the season with senior David Trentine and sophomore Brian Patterson platooning at catcher.

Trentine, a left-handed hitter, will catch against right-handed pitching and Patterson will catch against left-handers. Trentine batted .308 last season at San Diego State after playing two seasons at Cypress College.

The starting pitching should be solid in a weekend rotation that will begin with Ramirez on Fridays and continue with Smith on Saturdays and Flores on Sundays. Freshmen Kirk Saarloos and Jason Stewart appear to be the leading relief pitchers.

“This staff has a chance to be better than last year’s, primarily because it’s deeper,” pitching coach Dave Serrano said. “Several of our freshmen have shown a maturity level far beyond what I usually expect from first-year pitchers.”