CAL STATE FULLERTON NOTEBOOK / MIKE DiGIOVANNA : Road to an NCAA Berth Runs Only One Way

A sweep of Cal State Long Beach would have given the Cal State Fullerton baseball team a share of first place in the Big West Conference, but it wouldn’t have changed Titan Coach Augie Garrido’s outlook on the race.

“We still would have had the same responsibility to do exactly the same thing the rest of the way,” said Garrido, whose team won two of three from the 49ers and remains a game behind first-place Fresno State. “I’d like to be tied for first, but it isn’t going to change anything.”

Garrido believes if the Titans (32-13, 13-5) take care of their own business--that is, win their remaining conference games against UC Irvine (three) and San Jose State (three)--things will work out.

Fresno State must travel to Nevada Las Vegas this weekend and close the season at home against Long Beach--not the easiest road to a 6-0 finish.

And if Fullerton ties either Fresno State or Long Beach for the title, the Titans have a major trump card--they won two of three games from both the Bulldogs and 49ers and would gain the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

As Fullerton learned last season, when the Titans tied Fresno State for the championship but did not receive an NCAA at-large bid, an automatic berth is a good thing to have.

“As long as we don’t fall flat on our faces, we should have a good chance to go,” said George Horton, Titan associate head coach. “If we handle our job, things should work out.”

Add Baseball: Fullerton’s “job,” as Horton calls it, will not be easy. Though Irvine has been sporadic during a 20-22 season, the Anteaters are coming off a three-game sweep of San Jose State (27-19).

The Titans are also having some problems. Pitcher Dan Naulty, who didn’t make it out of the first inning in Sunday’s 10-6 loss, and first baseman Jim Betzsold have been suffering from stomach flu. And third baseman Phil Nevin, who was leading the conference in almost every offensive category, fell into a slump, going one for 16 against Long Beach, including 0 for 7 in a 22-9 victory Saturday. His average fell from .428 to .394.

“He’s been overswinging and he’s been a little more impatient, which comes from being walked so many times,” Garrido said of Nevin, who leads the team with 46 walks. “But mentally, he’s fine. He’ll come out of it. Everyone on the team has gone through this except him. It’s just his turn.”

Legal Volleys: Attorneys for the university and the Titan women’s volleyball team will attempt to resolve their legal dispute during a settlement hearing May 8.

The school had dropped the sport in January, but the team filed a lawsuit and won a preliminary injunction, which temporarily reinstated the program in March.

Kirk Boyd, who is representing the team, said the school has made some overtures toward settlement but no serious offers yet.

“There’s going to be a women’s volleyball team or there’s no settlement, it’s that simple,” Boyd said. “But the team is willing to accept some cutbacks considering there are budget restraints. Those cuts should be absorbed by all the teams, though.”

If the two sides cannot come to a settlement, a permanent injunction hearing, scheduled for June 4 before Judge Floyd H. Schenk in Westminster, will decide the final outcome of the case. Schenk will preside over the settlement hearing.

No Flop: Titan freshman Wendy Minch placed 23rd with a score of 37.975 and sophomore Celeste Delia placed 25th (37.875) in the all-around competition during the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships in St. Paul, Minn., last weekend.

Minch scored a 9.825 on the uneven bars, which was good for ninth place and second-team, All-American honors. Delia fell off the balance beam in her first event, scoring an 8.9 after averaging 9.5 on the apparatus this season, but she came back strong.

“Celeste had a little bad luck,” Titan Coach Lynn Rogers said. “She started off on the beam rotating with the Alabama team, and three of their six girls fell. That sort of set the tone, the momentum, and Celeste fell on a move that she’s never fallen on, a flip-flop layout. It was a fluke thing.”

Titan Notes

Wednesday’s nonconference baseball game between Fullerton and Chapman, originally scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Hart Park in Orange, has been moved to the Titan Sports Complex and will begin at 7 p.m. . . . Titan catcher Jason Moler, who went eight for 15 (.533) with two doubles, a home run, six RBIs and four runs in three games against Long Beach, was named Big West Conference field player of the week Monday. . . . Tiffany Boyd, who went 5-0 with 41 strikeouts in five games, was named Big West softball co-pitcher of the week with Fresno State’s Terry Carpenter. Catcher Kim Powers, who went 10 for 28 (.357) with three RBIs and two game-winning hits, was named conference softball field player of the week. . . . Casie Lozano, a Sonora High School sprinter who placed third in the 100- and 200-meter races and anchored the winning 1,600-meter relay team at the Orange County Championships last weekend, has signed a letter of intent to run track at Fullerton.