University Southern California Trojans
Baseball Prepares for Two Ranked Teams
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
February 16, 1999
LOS ANGELES - The No. 6 USC baseball team - coming off its unprecedented 12th NCAA championship last season - is 3-5 overall in 1999. After taking two of three from then-No. 13 Texas Tech, the Trojans host No. 14 Cal State Fullerton (4-3) on Wednesday (Feb. 17) at 7 p.m. at Dedeaux Field. Then, the Trojans battle the third-place team from the 1998 College World Series, No. 7 Long Beach State (3-3), for three games (Feb. 19-21). The matchups are Friday at Blair Field in Long Beach at 7 p.m., Saturday at Dedeaux Field at 1 p.m. and Sunday at Blair Field at 1 p.m.
THE RANKINGS - USC is No. 6 in Baseball America, No. 11 in USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN and No. 12 in Collegiate Baseball. In the preseason polls, USC was ranked No. 1 by Baseball America and USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN. Cal State Fullerton is No. 14 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 15 in USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN and No. 16 in Baseball America. Long Beach State is No. 7 in Baseball America, No. 10 in Collegiate Baseball and No. 14 in USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN.
SCOUTING THE TITANS - Cal State Fullerton, under third-year head coach George Horton, swept Fresno State in a three-game series last weekend. Junior 1B Chris Beck is off to a hot start, hitting .583 with one home run and 10 RBI. Sophomore RF Rod Perry (.400) played for USC last season. The Titans are hitting .331 as a team and have an ERA of 5.08.
THE SERIES - Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series, which began in 1969, 27-24-1. The two teams split last year's two games, with each winning one on the road.
STARTING PITCHERS - USC will put sophomore LHP Steve Smyth (1-1, 4.00) on the mound, while Cal State Fullerton is expected to go with sophomore LHP Jon Smith (0-0, 6.75).
SCOUTING THE 49ERS - Long Beach State, under 11th-year head coach Dave Snow, routed California, 24-4, in the first of three games last weekend, but then lost the next two. Junior 3B Greg Dobbs is batting .364 with two home runs and seven RBI and junior 1B Jaeme Leal has a team-high four home runs. The 49ers are batting .305 with a team ERA of 4.00.
THE SERIES - USC leads the all-time series, which began in 1960, 60-21. The Trojans swept last year's three-game series and have won 12 of the last 14 games.
PITCHING ROTATION - The Trojans' expected rotation is junior LHP Barry Zito (1-1, 2.40), sophomore RHP Rik Currier (1-1, 7.20) and senior RHP Justin Lehr (0-1, 4.76). The 49ers will pitch senior LHP Mike Gallo (1-0, 2.19), junior RHP Jeremy Ward (0-0, 4.09) and sophomore RHP Jason Berni (0-0, 3.00).
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 1B/LHP 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.
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.
NOTES - Eric Munson was named a National Player of the Week on Monday (Feb. 15) by Collegiate Baseball after batting .615 with four home runs and 11 RBI last week ... USC's five losses are by a total of eight runs ... Four of the eight games have been decided by one run and six of the eight by two runs or fewer ... USC's five-game losing streak was its longest since 1988.
WHO'S BACK - An outstanding 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, junior C Josh Townsend, 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, six of the nine 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 taken over a starting infield position. Freshman 3B Beau Craig has started all eight 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 486-272-2 (.641) 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 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.
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 .519 with five home runs and 17 RBI. In the season opener against Cal State Dominguez Hills (Feb. 2), he went 3-for-4 with a mammoth home run and four RBI. He 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. Munson has drawn 10 walks (at least one in every game) and seems likely to break the school single-season record of 60. He has been 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 34.
BRAD TICEHURST (#7, CF, Sr., 6-2, 195, Los Alamitos) - Senior centerfielder Brad Ticehurst, one of the best power hitters around, is batting .323 with two home runs and seven RBI. He 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 will look to stay healthy this season, as he is one of USC's most dangerous hitters. He was forced to the bench at times the last two seasons with a variety of ailments. He is batting .289 with one home run and three RBI and has hit safely in all eight games this season. Dating back to last season, he has hit safely in 23 of the last 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). In his first three seasons, Hanoian batted .364, good for No. 5 on USC's career list.
DOMINIC CORREA (#6, IF/OF, Sr., 5-11, 185, Sacramento) - Senior Dominic Correa has been one of USC's best hitters thus far, going 14-for-34 (.412) with two home runs and three RBI. He has had three hits in a game four times. 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.
BEAU CRAIG (#9, 3B, Fr., 5-10, 170, Santee) - One of the top freshmen in the country, Beau Craig has earned a starting job immediately, taking over the third base duties. He is batting .207 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.
JUSTIN GEMOLL (#16, IF, Jr., 6-2, 200, San Jose) - Junior Justin Gemoll, originally slated to start at third base, has been playing both shortstop (while Seth Davidson is out) and second base. He is batting .233 with one home run and two RBI and hit safely in each of the first four games of the season. 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.
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, has missed the start of this season as he recovers from a broken left thumb, suffered on January 23 during practice. He was supposed to start practicing at the beginning of this week and could return soon. 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 missed five games this season due to injury. He 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 has missed the last four games. Seth has done well at the plate when he's had the chance, batting .500 (6-for-12). 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.
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 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA. 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 7.20 ERA. He has eight strikeouts in 10 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 4.76 ERA. He pitched six no-hit innings against Texas Tech (Feb. 14) but eventually got a no-decision. He has also played first base and designated hitter and is batting .333 (7-for-21) with one home run and five RBI. When he comes to the plate as the pitcher, Justin is batting .625 (5-for-8). 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 missed the start of the 1999 season recovering from a broken left thumb suffered on January 23 during practice. When he returns, 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, 7.71 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, 2.45) is the younger brother of USC's all-time winningest pitcher, Randy Flores ... Sophomore LHP Steve Smyth (1-1, 4.00), a transfer from Cypress JC, should be a key member of the staff, either as a starter or in long relief ... A few freshmen may make contributions this season, including RHP Jeff Bruksch (0-0, 3.00) of Beverly Hills HS, RHP Pete Montrenes (0-0, 7.20) of Ocean View HS and RHP Tim Petke (0-0, 0.00) of Portland Lutheran HS.
