Fullerton inspired by Wilhite’s appearance at super regional

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Cal State Fullerton Coach Dave Serrano was thrilled that his team advanced to the College World Series by defeating Louisville in an NCAA Super Regional.

But he said he was even happier that the Titans did it with former Fullerton catcher Jon Wilhite in attendance at Goodwin Field.

Wilhite is recovering from injuries suffered in an April automobile accident that claimed the lives of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, Fullerton student Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson, a former teammate of Wilhite’s at Manhattan Beach Mira Costa High.

Clinching a World Series berth is “always the greatest dayof the year,” Serrano said. “But it was even climaxed for me even more that Jon Wilhite was here today in person.

“The team was surprised by that 20 minutes before we took [batting practice]. That had to pump some adrenaline into all of our players to see one of our warriors that is fighting his way back to normalcy, and that made the day complete for me.”

--Gary Klein