Cal State Fullerton Notebook : Titans Get Chance to Put a Stop to Fresno’s Streak

The Fresno State baseball team heads into Orange County for a weekend Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. series against Cal State Fullerton. The Bulldogs, Division I’s hottest team, are averaging 10.1 runs a game and have a pitching staff with a combined earned-run average of 2.78.

For those of you scoring at home, that means Fresno is usually winning by large margins . . . and lately, the Bulldogs are always winning.

Fresno has won 29 straight games. The NCAA Division I record of 34 consecutive victories was set by Texas in 1977. Fresno (46-6 overall, 15-0 in conference) is three games ahead of second-place Fullerton (35-11, 12-3) in the PCAA.

During the streak, Fresno has beaten eight nationally ranked teams and moved up to second in the Baseball America national poll. The team and individual accomplishments are both staggering and ridiculous.

Senior first baseman Lance Shebelut has hit 26 home runs--a PCAA record--to lead the nation. Shebelut has driven in 71 runs and is hitting .396.

In fact, every member of Fresno’s starting lineup is hitting .313 or better, and five are hitting .364 or above. The team batting average is .350. In conference, Fresno State has outscored its competition, 150-24, and has hit 81 home runs to its opponents’ 15.

Center fielder Tom Goodwin, who led the PCAA in steals last season with 41, has stolen 52 bases in 57 attempts this season.

Fresno’s three-man starting pitching staff is 36-2. Rich Crane is 14-1 with a 2.35 ERA, John Salles is 12-0 with a 2.50 ERA and 124 strikeouts and Erik Schullstrom is 10-1 with a 1.46 ERA.

Lest you think this is a passing phenomenon, consider that most of Fresno’s players are underclassmen. Goodwin is a sophomore, as is shortstop Eddie Zosky (.313, 21 doubles, 61 RBIs), who was drafted out of high school in the fifth round by the New York Mets. Right fielder Steve Hosey (.384, 11 homers, 22 doubles) and Crane also are sophomores. Schullstrom is a freshman, and Salles is a junior.

Games will be at 7 tonight and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Fresno’s exceptional success has meant that attendance at home games has increased from an already meaty 2,000--the team sold 1,800 season tickets--to nearly 3,000 a game as the streak has increased.

The Titans sent 600 tickets to Fresno for the series, and all of them have been sold. Steve DiTolla, Fullerton associate athletic director, said he’s expecting anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 spectators for each game. Titan Stadium seats only 1,000.

To accommodate the Fresno crush, areas along the foul lines will be open for ground-level seating.

Does this sound familiar? The Fullerton softball team (21-7) is second in the PCAA. Fullerton trails Fresno State (21-3), which is No. 2 in the nation.

The Titans, ranked seventh in the nation, will play a doubleheader Saturday at Cal Poly Pomona (41-14), which is ranked 13th.

Fullerton (48-14) has won 14 of its last 17 and is led by sophomore right fielder Carey Hess, whose 15-game hitting streak ended Thursday. Hess, formerly of Loara High, is hitting .379 and has stolen 9 bases.

The 1987 Fullerton football team, which trekked across the nation for a 6-6 record, had as many players taken in the National Football League draft as USC, a perennial national power.

OK, so it was only two players each.

USC offensive lineman Dave Cadigan (New York Jets) was the draft’s sixth pick and linebacker Marcus Cotton (Atlanta) was the 29th pick. Fullerton’s time came a bit later. Tight end Jim Thornton (Chicago) was taken in the fourth round and wide receiver Todd White (Philadelphia) in the seventh.

By Tuesday, Thornton and White--roommates and All-PCAA first-team selections--had altered their phone answering machine messages to include information on their round selections, new teams and training regimens. White, who owns Fullerton career records for receptions (98) and reception yardage (1,504), took off Tuesday to meet with Philadelphia officials and participate in workouts. Thornton is still digesting.

“Before the draft, I was too nervous to watch it on TV or eat,” Thornton said. “But after I found out I was drafted, I started to stuff my face.”

Relief was a little longer coming for Fullerton offensive tackle Ed Gillies and linebacker Bryan Riggs. Each of them sat through the two days of the draft waiting for something that never came.

“Sunday I watched the thing on television,” Gillies said. “By Monday I was just waiting by the phone for someone to call. My agent was the only one to call and he kept telling me the bad news, that no one had picked me. After a while the bad news was that the draft was over.”

Gillies, a first-team All-PCAA selection, and Riggs had each been in touch with several NFL teams, all of whom seemed very interested in drafting them.

Riggs suspects that teams shied away from him because of his knee surgery in 1986 that caused him to miss most of that season.

“They hear knee reconstruction and they go, ‘Whoa,’ ” he said.

Riggs, the PCAA’s comeback player of the year in 1987, did work out for several clubs.

“I said, ‘Come out and test me, see for yourself,’ ” he said.

He thought he had made his point, but each round came and went without Riggs’ name being called.

“It was very tense around the house,” said Riggs, who lives about a mile away from the Fullerton campus.

But when the draft was over, Riggs received a call from the Denver Broncos, who said they would sign him as a free agent. Riggs said he couldn’t be happier about going to Denver. He pointed out that last season’s Bronco team carried 15 free agents. He’ll attend the Broncos’ rookie minicamp the second week in May.

Gillies was told there was a good chance he would go in the middle rounds. When it didn’t happen, according to Riggs, Gillies became “pretty bummed out.”

But the phone also rang for him. His call came from the Dallas Cowboys, who signed him as a free agent.

“Things seemed to get rolling when I was at my lowest point,” Gillies said. “The way I look at it, I have as much of a chance as anyone that goes to camp. I’ve got my foot in the door.”

Kirk Harmon, who had been Fullerton’s inside linebacker coach, has been appointed defensive coordinator for the 1988 season. Harmon is in his third season at Fullerton. He started his coaching career at the University of the Pacific, where he was defensive coordinator in 1985.

Harmon, 30, takes over for Steve Hall, who retired in March.

Gary Spielbuehler, who has coached at Glendale College the past 11 years, has been hired as defensive line coach. He replaces Dave Tipton, who moved on to Oregon State.

Spielbuehler, 37, worked with the defensive line and linebackers and served as strength coach at Glendale.