Chatham Is Titans’ Power in Reserve

It hasn’t been easy for Steve Chatham to go from playing regularly in the Cal State Fullerton outfield as a sophomore and junior to sharing playing time this season.

But he has made the best of that role.

“Nobody likes it when they’re not playing,” Chatham said. “The coaches don’t expect you to like it. But it’s something you have to deal with. I got frustrated at first, but now I just try to take advantage of the situation when I do get in.”

Chatham has been taking advantage of those opportunities quite a bit lately.

He had one of his best days of the season Sunday, going three for three with three stolen bases, four runs scored and a two-run homer.

In the last two weeks, Chatham has batted .429 and driven in five runs and scored seven in only 14 at-bats. He’s batting .400 since March 1. But Pete Fukuhara, who has been playing ahead of him most of the time in left field, is hitting .480 with 16 RBIs during the same eight-game period and is hitting .470 in the last 21 games. Both bat right-handed.

Chatham’s recent surge has created a problem for Coach George Horton.

The outfielder who hasn’t kept pace with the others at the plate recently is center fielder Reed Johnson, but his speed and strength on defense are assets that make up for the times he’s not hitting well.

Chatham has an edge on defense in left field over Fukuhara, but Horton can’t afford to move Fukuhara to designated hitter regularly because Greg Jacobs, who bats left-handed, has been hitting so well in that spot. Fukuhara is batting a team-leading .400 for the season; Jacobs .391.

“One of the things I like about Steve is that he’s an excellent hitter with two strikes,” Horton said. “He’s very selective, and he has that ability to foul off two-strike pitches until he gets one he wants.”

The depth gives Horton flexibility for matching his outfield and designated hitter to the opposing team’s pitchers at any time in a game, and he says he plans to continue that approach.

And Chatham? “I’ll just continue to do what I do when I get the chance to do it,” he said. “It’s not like I’m looking over my shoulder all the time now.”

Sophomore shortstop Ryan Owens pointed out that Chatham contributes with his leadership when he’s not in the lineup.

“He’s been one of the best team leaders I’ve been around,” Owens said. “He never gets down and never complains when he’s not playing. And when he’s called on, he’s always ready.”

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George Fuller has resigned as an assistant men’s basketball coach to take a position in the university’s financial aid office, Titan Coach Bob Hawking said.

“He’s worked in that area in the past, and when the job came open he applied for it,” Hawking said. Hawking said Fuller will move to the new position May 15.

Fuller has been an assistant for Hawking for four seasons. He previously worked as an assistant for 10 years at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich.

Fuller is the second assistant to resign this spring. Ronnie Dean quit to take an assistant coach position at the University of New Orleans.

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The Titan softball team swept doubleheaders last weekend against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to improve its record to 31-28, but the Titans still appear to be a longshot for a berth in the NCAA tournament.

“I don’t know why we waited so long to start playing well,” Coach Judi Garman said. “We’re hitting the ball unbelievably well lately.”

The Titans scored 28 runs in the last four games.

Infielder Kristy Osborne is 12 for 23 (.522) in the last seven games and shared Big West player of the week honors this week.

Instead of practicing Friday, Garman decided to have a team meeting, and she hopes it helped.

“When you’re losing, it’s easy to complain about things,” Garman said. “I felt some of that needed to be addressed. It wasn’t anything major, but when you’re used to winning, it can be frustrating when you lose.”

Shortstop Christa Saindon was suspended for the Pacific series after she walked out of the dugout last week after being removed from the lineup during a game against Fresno State. She later was suspended for the remainder of the season because she had missed classes, Garman said.

The Titans play their final regular-season doubleheader today at home against Long Beach State.

Titan Notes

TraShawn Banford set a school record in the triple jump at 37 feet 11 1/4 inches in the Steve Scott Invitational last weekend at UC Irvine. She also had a personal best of 17-5 in the long jump. Jason Pfaff had a personal best in the javelin at 173-1. . . . The Titan baseball team is ranked No. 8 this week by Collegiate Baseball and 13th by Baseball America. The team’s current 14-game winning streak ties for the seventh longest at the school. The record is 19 in a row in 1978.

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Coming Attractions

Key upcoming events for Cal State Fullerton:

* Softball against Long Beach State 5 p.m. today , Titan Softball Complex.

* Baseball at UC Santa Barbara, 2 p.m. Friday, and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

* Men’s and women’s track and field at Occidental Invitational, 4 p.m. Saturday.