Titan Pitching Gamble Pays Off in Opening Victory

BATON ROUGE, La. — Cal State Fullerton Coach George Horton said he was second-guessing himself and pitching coach Dave Serrano for a while before Thursday’s game against Harvard.

But Horton stayed with the decision to start freshman left-hander Jon Smith, who has been bothered most of the season by arm trouble, instead of senior Erasmo Ramirez (10-5).

“I think I had second thoughts when I thought about them beating UCLA last year in the first round, but it couldn’t have become a more perfect outcome for us,” Horton said.

Horton now has Ramirez ready to go in today’s second-round game against Tulane. “I think I would really be second-guessing myself if we had used Ramirez, and had a 12-0 lead after the seventh inning,” Horton said.

Tulane used its top pitcher, Josh Bobbitt, in an 11-5 first-round victory over Southwestern Louisiana. Bobbitt (13-1) pitched six innings, giving up seven hits and two runs.

But Tulane Coach Rick Jones still has a strong pitcher ready to go against the Titans. Jones said he plans to start left-hander Raul Echeverz, who is 7-0 with a 2.72 earned-run average.

“We know Tulane has a good club,” Horton said. “Their pitching has been good all season, and they have a lot of power.”

Outfielder Jason Sparks has 29 home runs this season after hitting two Thursday against Southwestern Louisiana.

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Paul Day of Long Beach State, Seth Etherton of USC and Eric Valent of UCLA were among players named to Collegiate Baseball’s All-American first team announced Thursday.

Day, who played at Capistrano Valley High and Saddleback College, was a first-team selection at third base. Day, the Big West Conference player of the year, is batting .424 with 13 home runs and 81 runs batted in.

Etherton, who pitched in high school at Dana Hills, was one of three pitchers named to the first team. Etherton is 11-3 with a 2.98 earned-run average. Pitchers Jeff Weaver of Fresno State and Jeff Austin also were selected.

Valent, who played at Canyon High, was a first-team selection in the outfield. Valent hit 30 homers this season.

Titan pitcher Benny Flores was named to the second team. Flores is 12-0 with a 3.29 ERA.

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Dan Gusman, who played in high school for Loara and then for two years at Fullerton College, didn’t attract any interest from the Titans and decided to walk on at Southwestern Louisiana.

“I grew up watching that team [Cal State Fullerton], but when they didn’t contract me, I decided to go down South,” Gusman said. “I’d heard it was a good place to live, and Southwestern was interested in me. I knew they had a quality program.”

Gusman has played in 40 games for the Ragin’ Cajuns this season and was in the lineup as the designated hitter Thursday when Southwestern was beaten by Tulane. Gusman had one hit in five at-bats and is hitting .292 with four home runs and 23 runs batted in.

Gusman, who played first base at Fullerton College, has been used at first and third base as well as at catcher at Southwestern.

“We like his bat in the lineup, but we’ve had trouble finding a position for him,” Southwestern Coach Tony Robichaux said. “We’ve tried him as a catcher, and that might be where he ends up next year. Right now he’s more of a hitter than a position player.”