Out fielder Martin Is Happy at Chapman

Dusty Martin has been waiting for this kind of college baseball season. Finally he’s on a team playing in the postseason.

Given how well Martin has played this year, it’s no surprise Chapman has qualified for the NCAA Division III West Regional. Given Martin’s struggles during his two years at Golden West, it’s easy to see why he’s enjoying himself so much.

Martin, a two-time All-Orange League player at Magnolia High, played every game for Golden West in 1994 and ‘95, but had little to show for it.

He batted .260 as a freshman playing mostly center field for the 16-21 Rustlers. His sophomore season was even more painful. Moved to the infield, he had a tough time fielding, committing a team-high 29 errors, including 20 in 18 games at shortstop.

Meanwhile, his troubles at the plate intensified: He batted .218. The Rustlers won only three conference games.

Martin said he was letting his life off the field interfere with his performance. The summer before his sophomore year he got married. Several months before the season his wife, Philomenae, gave birth to their son, Austin.

“I really didn’t think it was affecting me all that much,” Martin said, “but I didn’t have full concentration on playing baseball.

“I’m more mature now. It’s been two years since that time.”

Since then Martin has come to Chapman and had to overcome another setback, a shoulder injury that sidelined him last season.

The long layoff contributed to a slow start this season, but when Martin got rolling, he did it with flair.

Martin’s batting tear was like none Chapman Coach Rex Peters had seen. “For a while there, nobody could get him out,” Peters said. “He went four for four, three for four and five for five for about three weeks.”

Martin raised his batting average from .191 to .411 during that span. He finished the regular season with a team-high .419 average and also drove in 34 runs, third on the team despite batting second in the order.

He also excelled in the field, handling 75 chances without an error in center field.

“I’ve finally got to the point now where I feel strong,” Martin said. “And everything seemed to come together for me. I’m dealing with the stuff at home better and I’m finally healthy.”

Chapman has reaped the benefits. The Panthers also started slowly as a team, going 7-8 in their first 15 games. Martin helped trigger the team’s surge.

“Everything came together for him,” Peters said. “When that happened, our offense kind of took off.”

The Panthers got on a roll and stayed there. They have won five in a row and 19 of their last 22 going into the five-game playoff series with Cal Lutheran starting today at Moorpark College.