Despite Their Self-Doubt, 49ers Eked Out a Title

Now that it’s official, Dave Snow can reflect.

The Long Beach State baseball team accomplished more during the Big West Conference regular season than the 49ers--or their coach--often thought possible. Snow isn’t completely pleased by how it unfolded, but he definitely likes the results.

Of course, important games still remain. But a pivotal stretch of this season is history, and the 49ers own what they coveted: another Big West championship.

“I’m proud of this ballclub,” Snow said. “We had to fight our way through more self-doubt than probably any club I’ve ever had.”

The 49ers (32-21, 15-6 in conference) have won their fifth Big West title--and fourth in five seasons--in Snow’s eight-year tenure. The 49ers are seeded first in the four-team Big West tournament, beginning Friday at Cal State Fullerton.

Long Beach plays Fullerton, seeded fourth, at 7:05 p.m. Friday in the opening round. The 49ers finished second to the Titans in the inaugural tournament last season.

“[The conference title] is kind of a double-edged sword,” Snow said. “Yeah, you get the No. 1 seed. But now, maybe you’re playing the No. 1 team [talent-wise] in the country at their yard.”

Still, Snow likes the 49ers’ vantage point. He admits their view from atop is unexpected.

They began the season unsure about their talent and uncertain about their chances in the Big West, which Snow said is the best he has seen it. And 49er confidence plummeted as defeats mounted early in the season.

“It was kind of an overall feeling like, ‘Are we going to be able to get this done?’ ” Snow said. “We really didn’t know, and we had more doubt each weekend.”

The low point came during a three-game series at Nevada Las Vegas in early April. The 49ers were outscored, 17-11, and swept.

“When that happened I thought, ‘Boy, this could really come back to haunt us,’ ” Snow said. “We didn’t pitch or play well defensively, but our defense and pitching proved to be our strengths.”

Marcus Jones (Esperanza High) emerged as one of the Big West’s dominant starters down the stretch. He is 9-3 with a 2.25 earned-run average and 107 strikeouts in 96 innings.

Closer Ryan Brannan (Huntington Beach High) also performed well in the clutch. He is 4-1 with 12 saves and a 1.55 ERA.

“They were both key guys,” Snow said.

Shortstop Jason Knupfer leads Long Beach with a .335 batting average and a .427 on-base percentage. He means even more defensively.

“He was outstanding,” Snow said. “He was the player on the field who held the whole group together.”

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Cal State Fullerton finished fourth in the Big West regular-season race, but the college baseball polls announced Monday still rank the Titans highly and ahead of the other three top teams in the conference.

Baseball America rates Fullerton (41-10) No. 5, while Collegiate Baseball has the Titans 11th. Both polls had Fullerton third last week.

Long Beach State (32-21), which won the Big West regular-season title Sunday, is ranked 23rd by Baseball America and 24th by Collegiate Baseball.

Baseball America has UC Santa Barbara (32-16) 22nd, one spot ahead of Long Beach State. The Gauchos defeated Fullerton in two of three games in the final regular-season series at Fullerton to tie for second place in the conference with Nevada Las Vegas. UNLV is 25th in Baseball America. Santa Barbara is ranked 25th by Collegiate Baseball.

Florida remains No. 1 in the Baseball America poll. Wichita State is ranked first by Collegiate Baseball. USC is third in Baseball American and fourth in Collegiate Baseball.

Miami, which hosts Fullerton in a three-game series after the Big West tournament, is ranked fifth by Collegiate Baseball and eighth by Baseball America.

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Staff writer Lon Eubanks contributed to this story.