June 1, 2007

He flings it and swings it

Versatile Josh Romanski has paid off twice for Toreros

By Kirk Kenney
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Had he chosen a different path in life, Josh Romanski now would be riding a bus along the back roads of Middle America to any number of small towns in the minor leagues.
But at least those buses get you where you're going.

The bus carrying the USD baseball team back from Wednesday night's practice at San Diego State made an unscheduled stop at Fashion Valley. There, Romanski got off and ran the roughly two miles – along Friars Road, up the steep hill at Via Las Cumbres and left at Linda Vista Road – back to campus.

Actually, it was a late-night training run in preparation for the No. 4-ranked Toreros' run in postseason play. As an outfielder-pitcher, Romanski can use all the conditioning he can get. Romanski is scheduled to take the mound tonight at 8 when USD (43-16) opens the NCAA Regionals against Fresno State (36-27) at SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium.

“I feel lucky and confident in the fact that they have confidence in me to go out and win Game 1 of the regionals,” said Romanski. “We've got Brian Matusz, who is one of the best pitchers in the nation, arguably the best. I feel honored that they would give me the ball on Friday night.”

USD coach Rich Hill has two talented sophomore left-handers in Romanski and Matusz. In fact, the pair will be playing together this summer for the USA national team. Matusz had been the Toreros' Friday starter throughout the season before Hill threw a change-up into the postseason rotation.

The Bulldogs saw Matusz when the Toreros traveled to Fresno earlier in the season. They have not seen Romanski.

Introductions would not be in order tonight had things worked out differently two years ago when the Padres selected Romanski with a 15th-round pick in the major league draft. But the two sides never reached an agreement.

“The term I used throughout the whole process is that it had to be life-changing money,” said the 6-foot Romanski, who is from Corona. “It had to be enough to where it was worth forgoing the college experience, especially the experience of playing down here in San Diego.”

Negotiations included several counteroffers between Romanski and the Padres, who offered “late second-, early third-round money,” according to Romanski. Based on bonus amounts reported by Baseball America, that equates to roughly $500,000.

In the absence of life-changing money, Romanski embarked on a life-changing experience.

“We made a strong run at him,” Padres scouting director Bill Gayton said at the time. “In the end, he felt like USD was a better option.”

One reason Romanski chose college was the opportunity to be both a hitter and a pitcher. Two-way players are rare in college baseball, but they're virtually nonexistent in the professional game. Romanski has said he wants to hit until someone makes him put the bat away and focus on his pitching.

Romanski arrives for the postseason with a 9-1 record and 3.16 ERA, along with a .336 batting average with three home runs and 30 RBI. Those numbers hide the early-season struggles when Romanski tried unsuccessfully to balance pitching, hitting and playing center field.

“He had to do twice the work of anybody,” said Hill. “So we tried to create a lot of structure and routine in his life. ... He's really grown and flourished in that environment.”

What Hill did was briefly pull Romanski from the weekend rotation. He was given back-to-back midweek starts at UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton, pitching eight shutout innings against the Anteaters and eight innings of one-run ball against the Titans.

“Those boosted my confidence,” said Romanski. “That let me know that I could go out and dominate good teams. That gave me the confidence to propel me in the direction that I went.”

He went on to allow just five earned runs in 68 2/3 innings over a nine-game stretch. It all came to an abrupt end, however, when Romanski was battered for nine hits and nine runs against USF. All in one inning.

As improbable as it seems, USD came back with nine runs in the bottom of the same inning. Romanski capped the comeback, hitting a three-run homer that made it 9-9 in a game the Toreros went on to win by 10 runs.

“I think that was good because it brings you back down to earth,” said Romanski. “It lets you know that no matter how good you think you are, you're human, you're not perfect. ... You take it with a grain of salt and work harder to get better.”

If Romanski works hard enough tonight, maybe he will be rewarded with a win. And a bus ride all the way back to campus.