Baldwin grad Suzuki delivers in clutch for Fullerton

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Kurt Suzuki was in the bullpen, waiting for his usual call as a defensive replacement for Cal-State Fullerton's starting catcher Friday night.

SUZUKI

"My adrenaline was flowing," Suzuki said yesterday. "I was nervous and excited.

"I tried to relax, go out and have fun and swing the bat like I knew I could."

Suzuki, a 2001 graduate of Baldwin High, drilled a double to the left-field corner to drive in both runners and lift fifth-ranked Fullerton to a 2-1 victory over No. 21 Tulane.

"That was one of the greatest feelings of my life," Suzuki said yesterday. "It was my first real big hit in college."

Suzuki, a sophomore who was the Titans' starting catcher until he was injured early last season, has caught the middle game of all of Fullerton's three-game series so far this spring. He is batting .310 (9 for 29) in 10 games.

Fullerton is 15-1 and moved to No. 2 in two rankings yesterday.

Friday's heroics notwithstanding, Suzuki's main job this season will still be defense. He has a 1.000 career fielding percentage — 50 chances so far this year and 139 last year without an error.

Suzuki, who said he was never hurt playing baseball until his hip injury last season, had surgery on his left (non-throwing) wrist for a torn tendon sheath during the summer.

• Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)

Sophomore Micah Furtado (Kapa'a '00), one of the stars of last year's NAIA championship team, has a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder, making the likelihood he will play this season a 50-50 proposition, Warrior coach Ed Cheff said.

Furtado injured his non-throwing shoulder while sliding head-first in a preseason scrimmage.

Furtado hit .393 last season with 12 home runs and led the team with 72 runs scored as its leadoff hitter.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

• Fresno State

Arrita Lane ('Aiea '01) got all of her 16 points and five rebounds in the second half Saturday as the Bulldogs beat Nevada, 77-65, in Reno for their fourth straight victory and seventh win in eight games.

Fresno State is tied for second in the Western Athletic Conference entering a regular season-ending trip to Tulsa and Rice this weekend.

Nevada coach Ada Gee said Lane's offensive rebounding was a key to the outcome and called the 6-foot sophomore "a very strong banger and won't back away from anyone."

Lane, who was WAC co-Freshman of the Year last season, has started only eight games this season, and her rebounding has been nearly halved, from 8.2 per game to 4.3. But her impact has been increasing during Fresno State's stretch drive toward what could be its first 17-win season and first post-season berth since 1990.

• Cal State-Los Angeles

Sophomore Monica Tokoro's 90-point weekend (41 against Cal State-Bakersfield Friday and 49 against Cal State-Stanilaus Saturday) earned the 2001 Iolani graduate from 'Aiea the Rawlings/California Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week award for the third time this season.

Her 49 points broke the conference record for a single game. She has scored 1,014 points in her career with two games left this season, and two years after this one.

On Saturday, she scored Cal State-L.A.'s first 14 points and a school-record 28 in the first half.

For the weekend, Tokoro made 34 of 67 field-goal attempts (50.8 percent), 21 of 23 free throws (91.3 percent), controlled 10 rebounds (she is 5 feet 3), dished 13 assists and made seven turnovers.

She played all 40 minutes in both games — giving her six straight 40-minute games and a school season record of 929 minutes played.

Tokoro remained No. 2 in NCAA Division II scoring with a 25.4 average. Senior guard Tysell Bozeman of Felician (N.J.) is averaging 37.7 points per game.

• Utah Valley State (JC)

Sophomore forward Lindsey Williams (Kahuku '01) has been called upon about nine minutes a game, "mainly for her toughness on defense and rebounds," coach Chris Boettcher said.

Utah Valley State (24-6), ranked 18th in the National Junior College Athletic Association, will play in a regional this week.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

• Los Angeles City (J.C.)

No. 1 seed L.A. City (32-2) is host to Cuesta tonight in the second round of the Southern California championship tournament.

Former Kalaheo star Julian Sensley's key statistics for the regular season were 13.2 points per game, 52.7 percent field-goal shooting (134 of 254), 69 percent free-throw shooting (67 of 97) and 7.3 rebounds per game. He had 44 assists, 62 turnovers, 20 blocks and 20 steals in 26 games.

• Hartnell (Calif.) JC

Sophomore Austin Souza (Honoka'a '01) repeated as second-team All-Coast Conference Southern Division. Souza, listed at 5 feet 5, played about half the time, mainly as a designated 3-point shooter.

"He is a crowd favorite, very fiery, who gets everybody pumped up — a typical Hawaiian kid," said assistant coach Paul Alioto, a former UH-Hilo assistant.

Souza's key statistics were 9.0 points per game, 42 percent 3-point shooting (68 of 162) and 80 percent free-throw shooting, Alioto said. He had four assists per game.

"He comes in for offense; he can't guard you or me," Alioto said.

Hartnell (22-11) is seeded fourth in Northern California and plays Yuba tonight in a second-round game.

TRACK & FIELD

• Michigan

Junior Vera Simms (Mililani '00) placed second in the Big Ten indoor championship 400-meter run in a career-best 55.98 seconds that she said "was not very satisfactory for me."

"The most fun I had," she said, "was running the anchor of the 4x400 with a makeshift team and beating Indiana for eighth place. They are s-o-o serious, it never looks like they're having any fun.

"The meet was at Indiana and there were billboards and posters all over town and the crowd was chanting 'IU IU' before we clinched the team championship."

Simms runs the 400 on the distance medley relay team, which has qualified for the NCAA indoor championships next weekend in Little Rock, Ark.

She is the defending Big Ten outdoor 400 hurdle champion.

• Oregon

Senior Eri Macdonald (Punahou '99 of Kailua) qualified for the Pac-10 championships in her first outdoor meet, winning the 1,500 meters in 4:37.66 Saturday in a six-way meet at Salem, Ore.

• Cal State-Fullerton

Freshman Kelly Figueira (Sacred Hearts '02 of Kaimuki) long jumped 18 feet, 10fl inches — her longest since her state-best 19-3¥ two years ago — in a four-way meet Saturday at UCLA. She placed third.

• Washington

Freshman Lauran Dignam (Iolani '02 of 'Aina Haina) placed fifth in the 200 in 25.63 at the Pac-10 Invitational in Seattle. She also ran on a 4x100 relay team that was third.