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Dirtbags Aiming For Omaha

Omaha beckons for 49ers

Long Beach State, rival Cal State Fullerton remain the class of the Big West Conference.

By Chris Jackson
Daily Breeze

There may not be a worse feeling in sports than for a team to have its season end on its home field.

That was the situation Long Beach State found itself in last season when Arizona stunned the 49ers, 4-3, in a grueling, 11-inning marathon in the third and decisive game of an NCAA Super Regional at Blair Field on June 13.

The win snuffed out an otherwise stellar season for Long Beach, which won 40 games for the second year in a row for the first time in school history. The 49ers boasted the consensus college player of the year in junior right-hander Jered Weaver. They spent almost the entire season ranked in the top 10.

But in the end, it meant nothing without a trip to Omaha, Neb. for the College World Series, and that's something that neither the Long Beach coaches nor players intend to forget.

"Last year, when we walked off that field on Sunday, the coaches wanted us to remember that moment, to know that Arizona was moving on and we were packing up and going home," said junior shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, one of the 49ers' top returning players. "We've talked about it a lot. We don't want that feeling again. We've been close too many times. It's about time for us to get there (Omaha)."

As if enough salt hadn't been poured on the wound already, the Long Beach players had to watch rival Cal State Fullerton walk off the field in Omaha holding the national championship trophy.

"We play them six times a year (and) we can beat them or be as good as them, if not better," senior closer Neil Jamison said of the Titans. "But it was their year. They made a run, we were unable to, so hats off to them."

This season Big West coaches and the national media have tabbed the 49ers for second place in the conference, once again trailing Fullerton. Long Beach was ranked No. 22 by Baseball America, while Fullerton started out at No. 3....

Long Beach ... lost several key players to the pro ranks, including Weaver, pitcher/designated hitter Jason Vargas, first baseman Mike Hofius, catcher Brad Davis and left fielder John Bowker.

"I think we had great players, and I think you can talk about losing (them), but I'm not sure we had great leadership," said Long Beach coach Mike Weathers. "The thing going into this season that I'm really impressed with -- the kind of guys we've got are on a mission.

"They've sat down and we have had a lot of discussions about what went wrong last year. On paper it was a great year, but there was something missing. This year I think we've found that. I don't think we're as talented, we're obviously not as good as last year (after) losing the pitching we did. I think we have capable replacements but I don't know if they're challenged yet enough to make us as good as last year."

The 49ers do retain three-quarters of their infield, anchored by Tulowitzki (.317, 7 HRs, 44 RBIs), a preseason All-American.

Junior second baseman Chuck Sindlinger (.257) will be looking to stay healthier this season after appearing in just 38 of the 49ers' 61 games last year.

"Chuck's a solid second baseman," Tulowitzki said. "I love playing up the middle with him, he's an awesome guy."

Senior third baseman Danny Mocny (.318) got off to a slow start last season, but finished strong.

First base will fall to either junior Scott Bradley (.308), a backup last year, or redshirt freshman Brandon Godfrey.

Returning to the outfield is junior Sean Boatright (.330), who's been plagued by injuries in the past. He'll move from right to center, while senior Steve Velazco (.238), a former walk-on, will start in right.

Left field will fall to junior Jamie Huizar, a transfer from Sacramento City College.

Another JC transfer, sophomore Evan Longoria from Rio Hondo, will serve as designated hitter and back up Mocny and Tulowitzki.

The pitching staff will feature the most new faces, with junior left-hander Cesar Ramos (12-4, 2.29 ERA) assuming the No. 1 spot.

"He's been hanging back here for two years. Now he's going to take it," said former Long Beach ace Abe Alvarez, who's now one of the top pitching prospects in the Red Sox organization. "It gets handed down. I was there on Fridays (in 2003), Jered stepped in on Friday (last year) and now Cesar steps in. I think he'll be fine with it. He's seen what we did with it, he'll do the same thing."

Joining Ramos in the rotation will be a pair of JC transfers, junior right-handers Cody Evans from Golden West and Marco Estrada from Glendale.

Ramos said he's been impressed with the newcomers and "just how quickly they caught on to everything. They want to be a part of what we want to do."

Jamison (12 saves), an eighth-round pick of the Mets, opted to return to Long Beach and will again close for the 49ers.

"Most of all was this atmosphere, the chance to go to the College World Series, something we weren't fortunate enough to do the first three years I was here," Jamison said were his primary reasons to return.

Long Beach opened its season last week, winning two of three games at No. 9 Arizona State. The 49ers begin their first home series tonight at 6 against Saint Mary's, followed by a 2 p.m. start Saturday and a 1 p.m. game Sunday....