June 11 , 2007

UCI evokes the best of CSF

RANDY YOUNGMAN

FULLERTON Hours before his team took the field Saturday night to play UCLA, Cal State Fullerton's George Horton tuned in to ESPN2 to watch Big West rival UC Irvine pull out a 1-0 victory against Wichita State in the Wichita, Kan., super regional.

It probably seemed as if Horton were watching himself coach another game thousands of miles away.

That's because UCI coach Dave Serrano, Horton's former pitching coach at Fullerton, managed the game the way Horton always manages it.

Serrano played "little ball," starting runners and ordering bunts exactly when I would have expected Horton to do it, including a safety squeeze attempt late in a scoreless game with runners on first and third. It didn't work, but that's not the point.

Serrano also left in his workhorse No. 1 starter to finish the game, just as Horton likes to do this time of year.
Hours later, Horton also allowed his pitching ace, Wes Roemer, to register a complete game as Cal State Fullerton pounded UCLA, 12-2, in the opener of the best-of-3 super regional at Goodwin Field.

As a result, Serrano's Anteaters and Horton's Titans are one victory from advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

Horton is pulling for his close friend and former colleague, and he's apparently not alone, because the sellout crowd of 3,394 at Goodwin Field actually cheered when UCI's victory Saturday was announced over the public address system.

Put it this way: The CSF crowd wouldn't have cheered if a Long Beach State victory had been announced.

"I hope we can join 'em in Omaha," Horton said. "I hope we get in, and I hope they get in, even though we would have to play in the same bracket (at the College World Series).

"I'm very proud of what Dave's team has accomplished this season, except when they beat us two of three."
Horton was smiling when he said that.

It's not surprising Horton is so supportive, because Serrano was his pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for eight seasons, including the 2004 national championship team, which was the line that stood out on his résumé when UCI called looking for a replacement after John Savage jumped to UCLA that year.

But if their teams meet again in Omaha, the bigger surprise this year would be the Titans (37-23) making it — not the fourth-ranked Anteaters, who are trying to get to the College World Series for the first time in school history.

Granted, the Titans have advanced to Omaha three of the past four years and five of the past eight, but this year has been a roller-coaster ride. After a strong start, the Titans struggled down the stretch, losing their last four Big West series and falling out of the national rankings. They also finished fifth in the Big West.

Some wondered if the Titans might even be left home when the 64-team NCAA tournament field was announced, but Horton's characteristically challenging nonconference schedule, which included series victories against highly ranked Rice and Wichita State, boosted their power rating and enabled them to keep playing.

And now they're making the most of that opportunity, running off four consecutive postseason victories, their first four-game winning streak since April.

"It's a new season," Horton said. "It doesn't matter what we did before."

Obviously. The same CSF team that managed just two runs and five hits against UCLA's Tyson Brummett in a 6-2 loss on Feb. 23 roughed up Brummett for eight hits and nine runs in 4 1/3 innings Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Roemer, who gave up 12 hits in seven innings in that February loss, came back to limit the Bruins to two runs and seven hits in posting his third consecutive complete game.

And now the Titans and Anteaters are one victory away from perhaps taking a charter flight together to Omaha.