By John Manuel
January 31, 2003

Wes Littleton

When the Big West Conference earns regional bids beyond consistent powers Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State, it's a very good year.

So the 2000 season, when only the Titans and now-departed Nevada got bids, was not a great year. The 2001 and 2002 campaigns saw the league earn three bids apiece, with UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge (which won the league last year) getting to regional play the last two years.

The effort to get more teams to regionals has led Big West clubs to cobble together strong non-conference schedules so as to raise the league's RPI. That effort begins this weekend, when seven of the league's eight teams are in action, with UC Irvine idle until a Tuesday game against Fresno State.

"It helps that the league is geographically compact," said UC Santa Barbara coach Bob Brontsema. "It's been a concerted effort by the rest of the league because Fullerton and Long Beach were already doing it. It helps that we only play 24 league games, because that leaves us some open weekends and you've got to fill them. We've all tried to big some big-name teams that will help the RPI of the league and help us draw some fans."

Brontsema expects good crowds for Friday night's home opener, when the Gauchos play host to San Diego State. It's stop two for the Tony Gwynn Tour, and the Aztecs coach still is searching for his first coaching victory.

"I know everyone I have spoken to is excited about it, and there are going to be people who don't come to many of our games who are going to be there," Brontsema said. "I'm concerned a bit that our players won't be as focused as they need to be because San Diego State is a good team, and they've played three games while we haven't.

"I'm also worried about people coming up to the dugout and making things a hassle for him. I hope people are able to enjoy the game and let Tony do his job. He's just trying to be a coach. When we were all schmoozing around at media day, he was up at the dais sitting down and working on his travel roster."

The Aztecs led eighth-ranked Arizona State in their season opener last Friday and were tied going into the bottom of the ninth Saturday but still got swept. They'll have a challenge against the Gauchos, who won just 22 games last season but return most of those players with a year more experience.

Righthander Matt Vazquez enters his third year in the UCSB rotation and has 10 career victories. Sophomores Chris Malec (.328-8-60) and Matt Wilkerson (.312-16-49), who tied for the league home run lead, return after breakthrough freshman seasons.

"We have some solid pitchers and some good bats back, but the key will be how our new guys--freshmen and junior-college players like (lefthander) Ivan Ramirez--get adjusted and how soon they can contribute," Brontsema said.

The biggest series of the weekend is the traditional opener between host Cal State Fullerton and Stanford. The No. 13 Titans have a big weekend planned, with Saturday being Golden Spikes Day at Goodwin Field. The program's three Golden Spikes Award winners--Tim Wallach (1979), Phil Nevin (1992) and Mark Kotsay (1995)--will be presented with their Cal State Fullerton jerseys in a ceremony before the game. Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State and Florida State are the only schools with three Golden Spikes winners.

This year's Titans have three legitimate candidates in righthanders Wes Littleton and Chad Cordero and outfielder Shane Costa. All three played with Team USA last summer, and all three were named second-team preseason All-Americans. They also have played Stanford the last couple of years to open the season, as the Titans have every year since 1999. They're 3-9 in that span versus the Cardinal and 2-4 the last two years.

"It's a very good and friendly rivalry," Stanford coach Mark Marquess said. "We have a great deal of respect for each other's programs. They're always tough and have great baseball tradition. They are used to winning and this year they are even much more talented and experienced than they have been in the last two or three years."

His veteran stars aside, coach George Horton is wary of how the rest of his Titans will respond. The Titans' pitching staff has been hurt by injuries early, with Darric Merrell slowed by an elbow problem and juco transfer Travis Ingle also hurt. And CSUF could have new starters at the corners in first baseman Jake Mendrin and third baseman Ronnie Prettyman, a sophomore who has one of the best names in college baseball.

"The recruiting class has not disappointed us one bit," Horton said, touting an outstanding group of freshmen led by outfielder Shawn Scobee. "However as we all know with the learning curve for youngsters, three weeks of practice time is pretty short time to get them acclimated and ready to go. So the Titan team you see at the beginning of the year and the Titan team you see at the end of the year may be drastically different."

Stanford's two-game sweep of Santa Clara in its opening series was a good start for the third-ranked Cardinal. Coach Marquess has not picked a starter for Sunday's game, which could be either freshman Mark Romanczuk or sophomore Marc Jecmen.

The other big series this weekend has No. 8 Arizona State, off to a 9-0 start, hitting the road at No. 15 Long Beach State. The 49ers play the toughest schedule in the nation on paper, with their first 15 games coming against Pacific-10 Conference foes before a three-game set with Louisiana State.

"Coach (Dave) Snow told me I could blame him for two years for our schedule," said Dirtbags coach Mike Weathers, who replaced Snow prior to last season. "We had a lot of seniors last year, and this year we only have six kids who have two or more years of experience, and we have a lot of pitching again. We're going to need it with our schedule."

Coach Pat Murphy said he's been pleased with the way his Sun Devils have played so far, especially with the play of sophomores Jeff Larish and Dustin Pedroia. While Larish has the garish numbers (22 RBIs), Pedroia had the key hits and makes all the plays at shortstop. He also has donned goggles to protect against the eye injury that ended his summer tour with Team USA just before the World Championships in Italy.

Also, Cal State Northridge opens the Steve Rousey era against UCLA. Rousey takes over as head coach after the departure of Mike Batesole to Fresno State.

Preseason All-America lefthander/first baseman Wes Whisler will get the start Friday for UCLA. Coach Gary Adams described the recruitment of the Noblesville, Ind., native as almost accidental.

"I saw Whisler at the Area Code Games between his sophomore and junior year, and I wrote down, 'Do not recruit, first-round pick.' And I saw him again the next year and wrote down the same thing," Adams said. "We found out he made a verbal commitment to LSU, and who could blame him.

"We heard a rumor his senior year that LSU somehow had released him from his commitment, that they had changed their mind. So I called a couple of scout friends who said he would not be a first-round pick, and so I called him . . .

"When he came to Los Angeles, the weather was perfect, and there was no smog. We told him it was like that every day. And of course he signed."

The other three Big West teams are at home, with Cal Poly playing Saint Mary's, Nevada at Pacific and UC Riverside facing San Francisco.

Around the rest of the nation:

• No. 4 Florida State opens play in St. Petersburg at Florida Power Park, playing host to Virginia Military of the Southern Conference. The Seminoles look healthy and ready for the season opener with the Keydets, who went just 10-41 last season.

• No. 5 Texas gets its defense of the 2002 national championship underway when it visits San Diego. It's the first time the Longhorns have started their season on the road since 1986, when they traveled to Miami.

The Toreros showed a strong offense last weekend in winning a series against Cal Poly, and will test the Longhorns' revamped rotation. Righthander Danny Muegge, a senior who battled a hand injury last spring but rebounded last summer with a 2.04 ERA in the Northwoods League, will get the Opening Day start. Junior lefty Justin Simmons, whose 16 wins led the nation last spring, will start Saturday, with Sunday's starter still TBA.

• No. 24 Florida Atlantic opens on the road at Bethune-Cookman. The Owls will be without lefthander Travis NeSmith, who has muscle tightness in his back but should miss only one start.

• Arizona opens play this weekend when it plays host to Brigham Young in a series that began Thursday. The Cougars are encouraged by unseasonably warm weather that has allowed them to practice outdoors in January.

"Being outdoors for a full scrimmage in January is a first for me," coach Vance Law said. "We have to play most of our games on the road at the beginning of the season because of weather, but this year has been an exception as far as practice is concerned."

In other games of interest, Nevada-Las Vegas opens at California; Eastern Michigan plays at Florida International in the earliest opener of a Northern team; Santa Clara visits Hawaii-Hilo in a matchup of two teams that have both played; New Mexico visits Texas Tech; Florida A&M travels to Mercer; Prairie View A&M at Nicholls State; Southwest Texas State at UT-Pan American; Texas Southern at Lamar; and Delta State at McNeese State.

Additionally, Brigham Young won its first game of the year, defeating Arizona 6-3 Thursday.