University Southern California Trojans
Baseball Faces Another Tough Week
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
February 23, 1999
LOS ANGELES - The No. 19 USC baseball team - coming off its unprecedented 12th NCAA championship last season - is 4-8 overall in 1999. A week after falling to Cal State Fullerton at home, the Trojans visit the No. 10 Titans (8-3) on Wednesday (Feb. 24) at 7 p.m. USC has yet to win on the road this season. Then, the Trojans host Pacific-10 Conference foe and No. 4 Stanford (10-4) this weekend (Feb. 26-28) at Dedeaux Field for three non-conference games. Friday's game is at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday's contests are at 1 p.m.
THE RANKINGS - USC is No. 19 in Baseball America and No. 24 in USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN. In the preseason polls, USC was ranked No. 1 by Baseball America and USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN.
Cal State Fullerton is No. 10 in Collegiate Baseball and USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN and No. 15 in Baseball America.
Stanford is No. 4 in Baseball America and USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN and No. 5 in Collegiate Baseball.
CLOSE CALLS - The Trojans' subpar record could very easily be different. USC's eight losses have been by a total of 12 runs. Nine of USC's 12 games have been decided by two runs or less, but the Trojans are 1-5 in one-run games and 1-2 in two-run games. In three of the losses, USC has had the tying run in scoring position when the final out was made, and in another three losses, the tying run was at the plate.
M.A.S.H. NEWS - Due to injuries, USC has had its starting lineup intact only once (Cal State Fullerton, Feb. 17). Senior CF Brad Ticehurst is the latest casualty, as he has missed the last three games with a pulled groin. Sophomore SS Seth Davidson (broken jaw/pulled quadricep muscle; missed five games) and senior UT Jason Lane (broken thumb; missed eight games) are both back in the lineup.
NOTES - Junior C Eric Munson is No. 4 on USC's career home run list with 36. He'll next pass Morgan Ensberg, who had 40 from 1995-98 ... Munson had a streak of eight games in a row with at least two hits come to an end in the Long Beach State finale ... USC is 0-6 on the road this season ... Sixty-four percent (56 of 88) of USC's runs have come in the fifth inning or later, while 54 percent of the opponent's runs have come in the fourth inning or earlier ... USC's five-game losing streak was its longest since 1988.
VS. CAL STATE FULLERTON - Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series, which began in 1969, 28-24-1. The Titans can sweep the two-game season series for the first time since 1996. Last year, each team won at the other's home field. Last Wednesday, the Titans took a 6-0 lead after 4 1/2 innings at Dedeaux Field, and held off a late rally as USC lost to Cal State Fullerton, 6-5. Justin Lehr hit a ninth-inning, two-run home run for the Trojans and USC had the tying run on second base when the final out was made.
VS. STANFORD - Stanford, under 23rd-year head coach Mark Marquess, had a nine-game winning streak end on Monday in a 3-2, 14-inning loss to California. The Cardinal is led by junior CF Edmund Muth's .316 batting average. Stanford is hitting just .242 as a team, but has an impressive 3.25 team ERA. USC leads the all-time series, which began in 1923, 187-127-3. Last year, the teams split the season series, 3-3. The Cardinal won two of the three games at Dedeaux Field.
TEAM OF THE CENTURY - No other university can match the collegiate baseball tradition of USC, and it showed when Baseball America awarded the Trojans the title of "Greatest Program of the 20th Century" in its Feb. 1, 1999 issue. Troy has captured an unprecedented 12 NCAA championships (no other school has more than five), 36 conference titles and 19 College World Series appearances (second most in the nation). Legendary former coach Rod Dedeaux has been named "Coach of the Century" by both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America. Trojan players have been named All-American first teamers 38 times, and more than 70 former players have gone on to play in the major leagues, including such stars as Tom Seaver, Fred Lynn, Ron Fairly, Randy Johnson, Mark McGwire, Jeff Cirillo and Bret Boone.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES - Junior C Eric Munson was the most honored player in the nation in the preseason. First and foremost, he was named Collegiate Baseball's Preseason Player of the Year. Baseball America also named him to its All-American first team. The team was voted on by 23 major league scouting directors, and Munson was the only unanimous pick. In addition, junior LHP Barry Zito was named a Baseball America preseason All-American second teamer, senior UT Jason Lane was named a Collegiate Baseball preseason All-American second teamer and sophomore RHP Rik Currier was named a Collegiate Baseball preseason All-American third teamer.
WHO'S BACK - An impressive nucleus returns from the team that won the 1998 national championship. Altogether, 13 of 26 letterwinners from last season are back. Five starting position players return - junior C Eric Munson, sophomore SS Seth Davidson, senior 1B/LHP Jason Lane, senior OF Brad Ticehurst and senior OF Greg Hanoian. Several key reserves are back as well, including senior IF Dominic Correa, sophomore UT Josh Persell and junior 1B Carlos Casillas. On the mound, sophomore RHP Rik Currier is the only starter back, but other experienced pitchers such as Lane, senior RHP Steve Immel and sophomore LHP Ronald Flores are also in the mix.
WHO'S NEW - Newcomers make up a large part of the 1999 team. Thus far, seven of the 11 pitchers that USC has used are newcomers, including two weekend starters: junior LHP Barry Zito (UC Santa Barbara and Pierce JC) and senior RHP Justin Lehr (UC Santa Barbara). Lehr has also started at first base. Another transfer, junior Justin Gemoll (UC Santa Barbara), has started at three different infield positions. Freshman 3B Beau Craig has started 10 games, freshman OF Brian Barre has started four times and junior OF Chris Ponchak (Orange Coast CC) has started once.
PAC-10 POWERHOUSE - USC is arguably the most successful Pacific-10 Conference team this decade. Here are the facts:
In the 1990s, USC has the best winning percentage (.665) of any Pac-10 team (entering the 1999 season).
The Trojans are the only Pac-10 team to have won a national championship in the last 10 years.
USC is the only Pac-10 school with seven 40-win seasons this decade, including the last five in a row.
USC is the only Pac-10 school to have finished in the Top 10 national rankings in seven of the last nine years.
The Trojans have reached the NCAA Tournament a league-leading eight times this decade (tied with Stanford), and have advanced to the regional final a Pac-10-best six years in a row.
USC is one of just two Pac-10 teams to reach the College World Series championship game this decade, and is the only one to have done it twice.
COACH'S CORNER - Mike Gillespie, in his 13th season as the Trojans' head coach, has a 487-275-2 (.639) career record and has led USC to the 1998 national championship, three conference titles (1991-95-96), 10 trips to the NCAA Regionals in 12 years (reaching the regional finals eight times), and trips to the 1995 and 1998 College World Series (Troy finished as the nation's runner-up in 1995). He was named the 1998 National Coach of the Year, the Pac-10 Coach of the Year three times (1991-95-96) and the West Region Coach of the Year twice (1996-98). He served as one of the assistant coaches for the 1997 USA Baseball Team.
SILVER ANNIVERSARY - This season marks the 25th anniversary of Dedeaux Field. When USC hosts San Diego State on March 30, it will be 25 years to the day from when the first game was played at Dedeaux Field. It was a special day, as in the first game of a doubleheader, Russ McQueen threw a no-hitter against California.
TOUGH SCHEDULE - USC again plays one of the most difficult schedules in the nation. Of the 56 games, 34 are against 10 teams that appeared in the Collegiate Baseball preseason Top 40 (Arizona, Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Stanford, Texas, Texas Tech, UCLA and Washington).
ROSTER NOTES - Junior IF Kevin Schultz, expected to be the starting second baseman, quit the team in January. Junior C Josh Townsend also left the team early in the season. Junior RHP Peter Krogh was advised by doctors to retire due to the broken arm he suffered over the summer.
NEW-LOOK PAC-10 - From 1979-98, the Pacific-10 Conference operated with two divisions, the Northern and the Southern. But 1999 brings a new look, with a single nine-team conference. Portland State dropped baseball in the offseason, leading to Oregon State, Washington and Washington State joining the South's six teams. Instead of a 30-game schedule, it's now 24 games, with each team playing the other eight three times.
PAC-10 PRESEASON POLL - The Trojans are the favorite to win the 1999 Pac-10 title, according to a preseason poll of the coaches. USC had eight of the nine first-place votes. Stanford, voted No. 2, had the other first-place vote. They're followed by Washington, Arizona State, UCLA, California, Arizona, Oregon State and Washington State.
DRAFT PREVIEW - In the Feb. 15 Baseball America, the magazine printed its annual Early Draft Preview. Eric Munson is projected as the No. 2 overall selection, first among all college players. Other Trojans ranked among the top 100 college prospects are Barry Zito (15th), Brad Ticehurst (65th) and Justin Lehr (93rd). Five of USC's seven fall letter-of-intent signees are ranked among the top 100 high school prospects.
WOOD VS. ALUMINUM - USC was forced to use wood bats in its first two games of the season while the Pacific-10 Conference worked out an indemnification agreement with Louisville Slugger. An agreement was reached on Friday afternoon (Feb. 5) while USC was playing Texas, so the two teams began using aluminum in the second game of the series.
TIME CHANGE - The March 28 contest at Washington State has been changed to a noon start.
1998 RECAP - USC's 12th national championship was won in 1998 thanks to an extraordinary postseason run. The Trojans lost early-round games at both the East Regional and College World Series, but came back to win all eight of the games where they could have been eliminated. After losing the first game of the CWS, 12-10, to two-time defending champion LSU, the Trojans won four games over the next five days, including back-to-back wins over LSU, to reach the final. There they met Pac-10 rival Arizona State, and a slugfest resulted in a 21-14 Trojan win. USC went 49-17 overall and took second place in the Pacific-10 Conference with a 21-9 mark. Among the players not returning in 1999 are RHP Seth Etherton (The Sporting News' Player of the Year), RHP Jack Krawczyk (the NCAA all-time save leader), 3B Morgan Ensberg (USC's first 20 home run/20 stolen base player), 2B Wes Rachels (the College World Series MVP) 1B Robb Gorr, RHP Mike Penney and OF Jeremy Freitas.
USC HITTERS:
ERIC MUNSON (#3, C, Jr., 6-3, 220, San Diego)
- Considered one of the very best players in all of college baseball,
junior catcher Eric Munson is off to a big start in the 1999 season,
batting .477 with seven home runs and 22 RBI. He had a streak of eight
straight games with at least two hits end in the Long Beach State finale
(Feb. 21). He has had nine multiple-hit games overall. In the season opener
against Cal State Dominguez Hills (Feb. 2), he went 3-for-4 with a mammoth
home run and four RBI. Munson hit four home runs in the three-game series
against Texas Tech (Feb. 12-14), two in the finale, including a
ninth-inning solo shot that won the game. For that, and his .615 batting
average and 11 RBI over four games, he was named a National Player of the
Week by Collegiate Baseball on Feb. 15. He went 3-for-5 with two home runs
against Long Beach State (Feb. 20). He was named Collegiate Baseball's
Preseason National Player of the Year and a preseason All-American first
teamer by Baseball America. The Baseball America team was selected by 23
major league scouting directors and Munson was the only unanimous
selection. Baseball America also listed him as the Pac-10's "Best Raw
Power," "Best Defensive Catcher" and "Catcher/Best Arm." In 1998, Munson
missed a third of the season due to injury but still earned All-American
second team honors after batting a team-high .392 with 16 home runs and 56
RBI. Munson is No. 4 on USC's career home run list with 36.
BRAD TICEHURST (#7, CF, Sr., 6-2, 195, Los Alamitos)
- Senior centerfielder Brad Ticehurst, one of the best power hitters
around, is batting .333 with two home runs and seven RBI. He was sidelined
the last three games with a pulled groin. Brad is No. 17 on USC's home run
list with 24 in his career. With another good season, Ticehurst should move
into the top five. He went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI against
Texas Tech (Feb. 12). He was an eighth-round selection of the Texas Rangers
in last spring's professional draft, but he chose to return to USC for his
final season. Last season, he batted .302 with 18 home runs and 54 RBI.
Baseball America lists him as having the best outfield arm in the Pac-10.
GREG HANOIAN (#25, RF, Sr., 5-9, 170, Huntington Beach)
- Senior rightfielder Greg Hanoian, one of USC's most dangerous hitters, is
batting .302 with one home run and five RBI. After hitting safely in the
first eight games of the season, he had a stretch (dating back to last
season) where he hit safely in 23 of 24 games (going hitless only in the
1998 national championship game). He went 3-for-5 with a home run and two
RBI against Cal State Dominguez Hills (Feb. 2) and 3-for-5 against Long
Beach State (Feb. 19). It's important that Hanoian stays healthy, as he was
forced to the bench at times the last two seasons with a variety of
ailments. In his first three seasons, Hanoian batted .364, good for No. 5
on USC's career list.
JASON LANE (#24, UT/LHP, Sr., 6-2, 210, Sebastopol)
- Senior Jason Lane, who put together a fantastic season both as a hitter
and a pitcher in 1998, missed the first eight games recovering from a
broken left thumb, suffered on January 23 during practice. In his first
four games back, he batted .389 with one home run and five RBI. He had
three hits twice against Long Beach State (Feb. 19 & 21). Collegiate
Baseball named him a preseason All-American second teamer. Last year as the
designated hitter, he batted .332 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI. He was one
of the stars at the College World Series, hitting a ninth-inning grand slam
against Arizona State and setting CWS records for hits (15) and total bases
(31).
SETH DAVIDSON (#2, SS, So., 6-0, 175, San Diego)
- Sophomore shortstop Seth Davidson has been slowed by injury in 1999, but
is now back in the lineup. He is batting .346 with four RBI. Seth was
sidelined for four weeks due to a broken jaw suffered during a practice on
January 8 and missed only the first game of the season with that injury.
But he pulled a quadricep muscle in the Texas finale (Feb. 7) and missed
the next four games. He had a career-high four hits against the Longhorns
(Feb. 6). As a precaution against re-injury to the jaw, he'll wear a chin
strap-type of device in the field and a batting helmet with a football-like
facemask at bat. One of the best defensive shortstops in college, Davidson
also had a strong freshman season in 1998 with the bat and made Freshman
All-American and All-Pac-10 team honors. He batted .333 last season and hit
a team-high .387 in Six-Pac play.
DOMINIC CORREA (#6, IF/OF, Sr., 5-11, 185, Sacramento)
- Senior Dominic Correa has been one of USC's best hitters thus far,
batting .380 with two home runs and four RBI. He had three hits in a game
in four of USC's first five games. A month ago, he didn't figure to be a
starter, but injuries and one player leaving moved him into a starting
position. That position could either be left field or various infield
positions. He batted .278 as a reserve last season.
JUSTIN GEMOLL (#16, IF, Jr., 6-2, 200, San Jose)
- Junior Justin Gemoll's versatility has been useful during the early
season. He has started at third base, shortstop and second base. He is
batting .282 with two home runs and seven RBI. He went 3-for-4 with five
RBI against Long Beach State (Feb. 20). Gemoll transferred from UC Santa
Barbara and was one of the Gauchos' top hitters the last two years. He was
the team MVP last season after batting .351 with nine home runs and a
team-high 57 RBI.
BEAU CRAIG (#9, 3B, Fr., 5-10, 170, Santee)
- One of the top freshmen in the country, Beau Craig earned a starting job
immediately and took over the third base duties. He is batting .194 and
opened the season with a five-game hitting streak. Baseball America named
him a preseason Freshman All-American first teamer. Craig was a prep
All-American last season at Grossmont High in La Mesa, Calif. He was a
third-round pick of the San Diego Padres last summer but chose to come to USC.
ADDITIONAL HITTERS - Junior Carlos Casillas has fared well as a first baseman or designated hitter, batting .381 with three home runs and four RBI ... Sophomore UT Josh Self started three times against Long Beach State (Feb. 19-21) in center field in place of the injured Brad Ticehurst, and is batting .444 (4-for-9) with two RBI ... Freshman OF Brian Barre has started four times and is batting .308 ... Sophomore UT Josh Persell has started six times and is batting .273.
USC PITCHERS:
BARRY ZITO (#34, LHP, Jr., 6-4, 205, El Cajon)
- Junior LHP Barry Zito, who joined USC in January, is expected to be one
of the nation's top pitchers. He is 1-2 with a 4.12 ERA. He has 17
strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings. Baseball America named him a preseason
All-American second teamer and the top newcomer in the Pac-10. He pitched
at Los Angeles Pierce JC in last season (where he was all-state) and at UC
Santa Barbara in 1997 (he was a Freshman All-American). He was a
third-round draft pick of the Texas Rangers in 1998 but elected to transfer
to USC.
RIK CURRIER (#8, RHP, So., 5-10, 175, Dana Point)
- Sophomore RHP Rik Currier, after a terrific freshman season, is looking
for similar success with the Trojans in 1999. He is 1-1 with a 6.57 ERA. He
has 10 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings pitched. Collegiate Baseball named
Currier a preseason All-American third teamer and Baseball America lists
him as having the best breaking ball in the Pac-10. Currier moved into the
starting rotation midway through the season in 1998 and earned Freshman
All-American honors with a 6-1 record and a 5.30 ERA. He placed second
nationally and set a school record with an average of 12.62 strikeouts per
nine innings (100 K's in 71 1/3 IP).
JUSTIN LEHR (#14, RHP, Sr., 6-1, 200, West Covina)
- Senior RHP Justin Lehr will be another two-way player for USC this season
after transferring from UC Santa Barbara. At least initially, he is USC's
No. 3 starting pitcher. He is 0-1 with a 5.32 ERA. He has 20 strikeouts in
23 2/3 innings pitched. Lehr pitched six no-hit innings against Texas Tech
(Feb. 14) but eventually got a no-decision. He has also started at first
base and is batting .324 with two home runs and seven RBI. When he comes to
the plate as the pitcher, Justin is batting .500 (5-for-10). A three-year
player for the Gauchos, Lehr was primarily a catcher and occasional relief
pitcher (1-3 with five saves and a 7.69 ERA in three seasons).
JASON LANE (#24, LHP/UT, Sr., 6-2, 210, Sebastopol)
- Junior LHP Jason Lane, an enormous addition in 1998, has yet to pitch in
1999 as he recovers from a broken left thumb suffered on January 23 during
practice. When he begins pitching, he should again see a great deal of time
as a relief pitcher. His nine wins ranked second on USC's staff last
season. When he's not pitching, Lane will also have a starting job in the
field.
ADDITIONAL PITCHERS - Veteran RHP Steve Immel (0-1, 7.04 ERA), a senior, saw a great deal of work as both a starter and a reliever his first three seasons and will do so again ... Sophomore LHP Ronald Flores (0-0, 2.25) is the younger brother of USC's all-time winningest pitcher, Randy Flores ... Sophomore LHP Steve Smyth (2-2, 5.40, one save), a transfer from Cypress JC, has been USC's busiest pitcher, appearing in seven games ... A few freshmen may make contributions this season, including RHP Jeff Bruksch (0-0, 2.70) of Beverly Hills HS, RHP Pete Montrenes (0-0, 9.39) of Ocean View HS and RHP Tim Petke (0-0, 4.91) of Portland Lutheran HS.
