Taipei Hitters Find Titans’ Saarloos Is a Type-A Pitcher

It was a game Cal State Fullerton pitcher Kirk Saarloos won’t forget.

Saarloos came in to pitch for Team USA in the 11th inning against Chinese Taipei in Portland, Ore., recently on the Red, White and Blue tour. With the score tied, 2-2, Saarloos held Taipei scoreless the next five innings and was the winning pitcher after Georgia Tech’s Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer in the 15th inning, giving the U.S. a 4-2 victory. Saarloos gave up two hits, one walk and struck out 12.

“I’ve never struck out that many batters in five innings before,” Saarloos said. “It was one of those nights where everything I threw went right where I wanted it to go.”

Saarloos, a closer for the U.S. team, as he was last season for the Titans, has been effective throughout the tour. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in 14 1/3 innings in 10 appearances. He has given up seven hits and three walks, striking out 21, and leads the team with two saves.

“My arm was a little tender during the first part of the tour, but it feels good now and I’m pitching well,” Saarloos said. “We’ve used wood bats the whole time, so that’s probably been to the pitchers’ advantage.”

Long Beach State shortstop Bobby Crosby, who played at La Quinta High, also has been a standout. Crosby ranks third on the team in batting with a .367 average and third in runs batted in with 13.

Team USA has a 17-3 record, and is 6-0 against Taipei, 4-0 against Mexico, 4-1 against Korea and 3-2 against Japan. The U.S. has four games remaining on the East Coast before leaving for an international tournament Aug. 4-14 in the Netherlands.

“The Cuban national team is supposed to be there along with some of the other teams that will be going to the Olympics, so that should be fun,” Saarloos said.

This year, for the first time, the national team will not represent the United States in the Olympics. The U.S. Olympic team, to be managed by Tom Lasorda, is expected to be made up primarily of minor leaguers.

“It would have been nice for us to play in Sydney, but we all knew going in that it wouldn’t be the case this time,” Saarloos said.

Saarloos, a junior who was not drafted in June, said he plans to return to Fullerton for his senior season. Crosby, a sophomore last season, was not eligible for the draft this year but is expected to be rated highly by professional scouts going into next year’s draft.

SEIBEL UNDECIDED

Texas pitcher Phil Seibel said he hasn’t decided whether he will sign a pro contract or return for his senior season with the Longhorns.

Seibel, who pitched for Cypress High, said he’s involved in contract discussions with the Montreal Expos, who drafted him in the eighth round.

“I’d like to see it work out so I could start my professional career this year, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to get the dollar figure right. But it’s going to be a difficult choice.”

Seibel said he was disappointed he wasn’t drafted higher.

“I think my injury had something to do with that,” he said. “I felt a little shortchanged by having to miss as much of the season as I did. But I thought it went well when I was healthy and able to pitch.”

Seibel, a left-hander, won his first four decisions of the season but was sidelined for 19 games because of a strained tendon in his pitching elbow.

He returned to help Texas advance to the College World Series and finished with a 5-2 record and 2.42 earned-run average.

Former Esperanza player Tommy Nicholson, a junior who started at second base for three seasons at Texas, signed with the Chicago White Sox and is playing for Class-A Burlington, Iowa.

TITANS SIGN GYMNAST

Everyone who competed last season for the Cal State Fullerton women’s gymnastics team is expected to return, so Coach Julie Knight wasn’t planning on a big recruiting class.

Knight signed one high school gymnast, Sharon Snell of Framingham, Mass., who will compete in the all-around.

Knight said Katie Antolin of Huntington Beach had off-season shoulder surgery but is expected to be ready in time for the start of the season. “She had a small tear in her rotator cuff, but the doctors expect a full recovery,” Knight said.

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