Unlikely Cast Produces Husky Hit -- Wacky Baseball Team On Verge Of First Norpac Title In 11 Years

Freshmen are all over the infield.

The team's leading hitter is a sophomore who was recruited because he is a good hockey player.

And the guy who has generated much of the team's batting power and mental confidence is a linebacker who hadn't played baseball in more than three years.

So what has happened? Team Wacko - a.k.a. the Washington Huskies - is on the verge of winning the school's first baseball championship in 11 years.

Going into a doubleheader against University of Portland this afternoon at Graves Field, the Huskies held a two-game lead over Portland and Portland State in the Pac-10 Northern Division. If they hold any part of that lead in this three-game series, which ends with a single game tomorrow, they'll go to the NCAA Tournament.

Surprising?

Bob MacDonald might be more surprised than anyone. Before beginning his 16th season as the Huskies' head coach, he talked about how difficult it was going to be to replace many of the players whose eligibility expired after last last year's fourth-place season.

Among those who left were the team's top three hitters - shortstop Kevin Stocker (.374), catcher Brent Lutes (.350) and third baseman Todd Turner (.349) - and the top relief pitcher in UW history, Mike Call (1.55 ERA, school record 19 career saves).

But what MacDonald had when this season began was a senior-dominated pitching staff; the hockey player, Randy Jorgensen; some talented freshmen; and the 240-pound fugitive from the Husky football team, linebacker James Clifford.

All of the above have been instrumental in the Huskies challenging the contention that you can't win in baseball at Washington because of a climate that plays havoc with games and practices and makes it harder to recruit top players. At 34-19 overall and 17-10 in the conference, so much for climate.

Senior right-handers Jim Riley (8-2) of Vancouver, Wash., Chris Berg (6-4) of Woodinville and John Terhes (4-2) of Salem, Ore., have provided stability and more than half the team's victories.

"They've been in big games before," said senior outfielder David Nokes. "They don't get excited. They don't get nervous."

Jorgensen, from Meadowdale High in Lynnwood, has used a nearly flawless swing to hit a team-high .362. As a freshman, he hit .314.

"You know," said MacDonald, "I recruited him without seeing him play baseball. I saw him play hockey and knew then that he had the ingredients - toughness, good hand-eye coordination - to play baseball at this level."

But perhaps because the senior pitchers and Jorgensen were proven ingredients, their contributions have not been as surprising as those made by the freshmen infielders - shortstop Brett Newell of El Segundo, Calif., second baseman Ryan Rutz and shortstop/third baseman Jim Fisher. Rutz and Fisher were teammates at Kamiakin High in Kennewick. All three are hitting above .300 in conference play, and McDonald says they have been largely responsible for the school-record 60 double plays turned by the Huskies.

"They're great players who were able to adjust to a collegiate program - the pitching, the hitting and the philosophies," said pitcher Tod Johnson, a fifth-year senior.

Another reason the Huskies have done so well is Clifford, who until this spring hadn't played organized baseball since the summer of 1988, when he was a member of the Husky Fever summer team. A designated hitter/first baseman, Clifford is hitting .315, and despite missing eight games while participating in spring football, he is tied with Jorgensen for the team lead in home runs with nine.

"It's amazing to me how a guy can lay off from playing competitive baseball as long as he did and come back and do what he has," MacDonald said. "He's just not intimidated by anybody. He's one tough son-of-a-gun."

MacDonald recalled a Clifford at-bat against Oregon State last weekend when he stayed alive by fouling off nine or 10 pitches before hitting a home run about 450 feet.

"I'm real happy," Clifford said. "I didn't know what to expect when I came out. I didn't know how the pitching was going to be."

But Clifford found out in a hurry. In a season-opening, four-game tournament in El Paso, Texas, he went 5 for 12 with a home run, triple, two doubles and nine RBI.

Ironically, the knee injury that forced Clifford to sit out the 1990 football season as a redshirt probably was a factor in him returning to baseball this spring. If he hadn't redshirted, his college football days would be over and he likely would be preparing for an NFL career.

Clifford was drafted by the Mariners out of Seattle's Ingraham High School but did not sign. He is eligible to be taken again in next month's draft.

"When the knee injury happened, it was a big negative," Clifford said. "But looking back on it, it was a positive experience.

"I got to meet new people. I got to meet all these guys. Mentally, they are a lot different than football players. It's nice to be around them. It's laid back and more casual."

And for him and others on this winning team, it's been fun. Particularly for MacDonald, who, with the backing of former Athletic Director Mike Lude, withstood efforts to oust him in the mid-1980s. Ex-players publicly questioned his coaching ability; some Husky boosters wondered why he didn't recruit better.

"It hurt. No question about it," said MacDonald, who found it difficult to do all the things the job demanded while taking care of his dying parents.

After going 36-12 in 1985, the Huskies dipped into mediocrity with seasons of 25-23, 21-20, 17-28 and 13-20 before evidence of improvement surfaced in 1990 (30-19) and last year (27-23).

MacDonald said better recruiting was responsible.

"We've had three or four excellent recruiting years," MacDonald said.

Nokes said he's never felt so comfortable with his teammates. And the players, he said, are more comfortable with MacDonald.

"He's changed," Nokes said. "He's a lot more relaxed. Even if we play hard and lose, he's proud of us. He has changed a lot - for the better."

Nokes likes the team's tournament potential if it can get to the NCAA tournament, which the Huskies haven't done since 1981.

"The scariest thing about this team," Nokes said, "is we haven't got everything going at once."