It isn't unusual for a junior college transfer going to a Division I program to have a less than a smooth transition. That's how it was for San Jose State senior outfielder Chris Balatico.

The 2003 Mililani High graduate arrived home today with the Spartans' baseball team that will play Hawai'i in a three-game Western Athletic Conference series at Les Murakami Stadium starting Friday. Joining him is freshman infielder Brett Hasegawa, who graduated from 'Iolani School last spring. This will be Balatico's second trip here as a Spartan. He also played here last year, when UH won 2 of 3 here.

After transferring from Hartnell JC in Salinas, Calif., Balatico struggled at the plate, batting .197 and starting in only 13 games. The left-hander also pitched, going 1-0 with a 7.11 ERA.

Batting leadoff this season, his .333 batting average is second-highest on the squad entering last night's game. With his 12 walks and three hit batsmen, his on-base percentage is .440.

The difference?

"Probably buying into the system and figuring out what the philosophies are around here and getting the job done the way they want it here," said Balatico in a telephone interview.

San Jose State coach Sam Piraro said he wanted Balatico to work on getting on base. He knew of Balatico's speed, which couldn't be utilized fully if he couldn't get on base. Balatico tied for the WAC lead with five other players with three triples (in conference play only) in 2006. Not bad considering he had only 14 hits last year.

"We tried to impress upon him his greatest talent is his speed and that it would be better served if he became more patient so he could establish an on-base percentage that could be a benefit to his team," said Piraro in a phone interview. "That meant finding a way to get on base, whether it was base on balls, hit by pitch, hitting on top of the baseball a little bit (to hit grounders), using his speed. He's made really good levels of improvement from even the fall."

Before breaking for summer after the Spartans were eliminated from the WAC tournament, Piraro advised Balatico to concentrate on his pitching in summer ball. Balatico played for the Hawai'i Aliis of the Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League. But he never got to pitch.

"I told him to concentrate on pitching in the summer," Piraro recalled. "I think his arm was hurting so he couldn't pitch. He concentrated on his hitting. When he came back in the fall, I asked him what he'd like to do and he said he wanted to hit, so we kind of shut him down pitching-wise. Just being in this level in the program just helped him because it's a big jump."

Meanwhile, Balatico is enjoying the moment and is looking forward to this trip home. He plans to graduate after the fall semester with a degree in sociology.

"It feels really good," he said of coming here to play. "We're excited to come there. Unlike last year, we hope to do better this year."

As for Hasegawa, he joined the program from the start of the spring semester after spending the fall at Division II Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Ariz. He has played in just three games, batting 1 for 5, the lone hit being a double.

"He's a great kid," Piraro said. "He's played a little here and there. He's improved tremendously since January."

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