Arizona Tradition Lures Former Valley Players : Halcovich Makes His Pitch, Wants to Hit It, Too

TUCSON — On the mound stands a right-hander who has won 17 of his past 19 decisions. He has a wicked slider and a nasty disposition.

At the plate is a .400 hitter with power to all fields who would like nothing better than to crank a ground-rule double off the pitcher’s forehead.

Frank Halcovich the pitcher vs. Frank Halcovich the hitter. What a matchup it would be.

Pete Kuld, who caught Halcovich when both played for College of the Canyons last season, took a guess at what might happen if the impossible could take place.

“It would probably go to a 3-2 count,” Kuld said, “then he’d foul balls off until it was dark.”

Halcovich’s talent as a pitcher and a hitter caused an intense recruiting scramble last year when his two seasons at Canyons were over.

The list of schools submitting scholarship offers to him read like a West Coast Who’s Who of collegiate baseball. He also could have signed with the Kansas City Royals organization, which drafted him on the 11th round.

Arizona, the defending national champion, won. The Wildcats were close--but not too close--to home. They also had tradition and, most important, an open spot in their pitching rotation.

Halcovich will be Arizona’s starter today when the Wildcats (18-8) take on USC in a Pac-10 game at Dedeaux Field. In the opposing dugout will be his former coach at Canyons, Mike Gillespie, who is in his first season as coach of the Trojans.

Gillespie, who was hired by USC almost two months after Halcovich signed with Arizona, says he has mixed emotions about seeing his former ace wearing another team’s colors.

“I’ve thought about it a lot,” Gillespie said. “It’s a unique situation. I want to win the ballgame, of course, but it would also make me happy to see Frank do well.”

Halcovich wasn’t as sentimental. “He’s a great coach and a great competitor,” he said of Gillespie, “but I’m looking forward to beating him.”

By the time the series ends on Sunday, Halcovich might also get an opportunity to have an impact as a hitter.

When he’s not pitching, Halcovich is one of the team’s top pinch-hitters. He has 6 hits in 15 at bats, 1 home run and 6 runs batted in. He is considered the team’s No. 1 designated hitter against left-handers, but his hitting opportunities have been and will continue to be limited since there is only one left-handed starter in the Southern Division of the Pac-10.

Darryl Stroh, who coached Halcovich at Granada Hills High, considers him a natural hitter.

“I told him a long time ago that he should learn how to handle a first baseman’s glove because he could hit,” Stroh said. “He survives as a pitcher on heart, guts and competitiveness.”

Halcovich would like to both pitch and hit.

“It’s tough not being in the lineup every day,” Halcovich said after finishing practice recently. “I know I can hit. I’m just not getting that many chances.”

Gary Alexander, Halcovich’s roommate, is the only pitcher in the starting lineup (left field) when Alexander is not pitching.

“Frank gets a little frustrated because he’d like to hit, too, but he doesn’t let it show out on the mound,” Alexander said.

Alexander, the winning pitcher in the national championship game last season, is able to play every day because he has enough speed to play the outfield. Halcovich does not.

“He’s itching to hit, and we’re itching to have him hit,” Arizona Coach Jerry Kindall said, “but he’s a hitter without a position right now.”

At Canyons, Halcovich used to challenge himself to see if he could get more hits than he allowed the opposing team. But for now, those kind of games are a thing of the past. He will have to concentrate on pitching, which is his first love.

“I like the challenge of pitching against nine great hitters,” Halcovich said. “Of course, I like hitting against a great pitcher, too, but my future is probably pitching.”

Halcovich, 6-2, 195, doesn’t have an overpowering fastball. He throws in the low to mid-80s but has a good slider and, usually, pinpoint control.

He enters today’s game with a 2-2 record, a 5.30 earned-run average and an uncharacteristic 27 walks in 37 innings.

In his last outing a week ago, Halcovich lost a 10-6 decision to Stanford but pitched a complete game, giving up five earned runs.

“He pitched pretty well. We just didn’t play well behind him,” Kindall said.

Arizona is ranked 14th in the nation, but the Wildcats have struggled to a 4-5 record through their first three series against Pac-10 opponents.

Losing once in a while has been another adjustment for Halcovich. Last year, he was 15-0 in leading Canyons to the state community college championship.

Tasting defeat hasn’t tempered Halcovich’s personality, however. At Canyons, he was known as a free spirit. That reputation has now spread to the Arizona desert.

“Frank likes to have fun and party some, but he knows when to turn it off,” Alexander said. “He’s all business when he steps between the lines.”

Gillespie, who once described his former player as a combination of Joan Rivers, Don Rickles and Richard Pryor, said Halcovich kept his “independence” in check as a freshman but “became a walking show” as a sophomore.

“We had more than one conversation about it, but it never got to the point where we discussed saying adios,” Gillespie said.