A DREAM SEASON TAKES FLIGHT.

Byline: VINCENT BONSIGNORE

At approximately 2 p.m. this afternoon, Sylvia Estrada will take a deep breath as her only son prepares to throw his first pitch against the Cal State Northridge baseball team.

As usual, she will be a nervous wreck.

Nevermind that her son, Marco Estrada, is rapidly developing into one of the premier pitchers in the nation in his first year at Long Beach State, bringing a perfect 5-0 record and a minuscule 1.77 ERA into today's game at Matador Field.

Four years removed from an unremarkable career at Sylmar High and a season removed from a self-inflicted one-year exile from baseball, Estrada has emerged from seemingly nowhere to become a bonafide pro prospect and the co-ace of the 24-11 Long Beach State pitching staff.

``First game he pitched this year, people were like, 'Marco Estrada, who the heck is that?' '' Long Beach State pitching coach Troy Buckley said. ``He's shutting down (Arizona State) and nobody knows who the heck he is. He just stepped right in and started getting the job done.''

But none of that matters for a worried mom who endures an anxiety-filled roller-coaster ride every time Marco takes the mound.

``I can't help it,'' said Sylvia, who raised Marco as a single mom after moving here from Mexico in 1989, scratching out a modest life while working long hours as a nanny. ``Sometimes I have to cover my eyes.''

Sylvia Estrada pauses, then lets out an infectious giggle.

``But I wouldn't miss it for the world,'' she said. ``He's my baby, my only baby, and I would be proud of him even if his talent was just the ability to jump on one leg. But to see him up there on the mound, doing what he loves and doing it very, very well, I can't tell you how proud I am. It's like a dream.''

It's a dream that Marco is making sure she doesn't wake up from anytime soon.

``The fact that she's enjoying all of this, I feel like I'm giving her a small gift,'' Marco said. ``There is no way I can ever repay her for all the sacrifices she's made for me over the years, but maybe this is one small way for me to give back to her a little bit. She deserves it.''

Nobody saw any of this coming for Estrada, least of all the Long Beach State coaching staff.

``We had no idea, to be perfectly honest,'' Buckley said.

In Buckley's defense, what could he really expect from a pitcher who played just one uneventful year at Sylmar High, then spent two years shuffling between the bullpen and starting rotation at Glendale College? Not to mention a guy who didn't even pick up a baseball all of last year. Estrada sat out the entire season while taking two classes he needed to transfer to Long Beach.

``The most frustrating year of my life,'' Estrada said.

Estrada wasn't even guaranteed to earn a regular job on the 49ers' staff, let alone fill the void left behind by dominating All-American Jared Weaver, a first-round pick of the Angels.

In fact, by the time undersized 6-foot right-hander finally showed up at Long Beach State for fall ball last year, he was just another face in a nine-pitcher competition for a spot in the 49ers' rotation.

``I was just trying to earn my place,'' Estrada said. ``More than anything, I was just happy to be getting a shot and playing baseball again.''

But it wasn't long before he captured the attention of Buckley, a guy who studies a pitcher's persona and personality almost as much as he measures how much their curveball bites.

What Buckley saw was a polished pitcher who wasn't afraid of a fight. Maybe it was the way Estrada had to scratch and claw for everything he's ever gotten in life - the only child of a struggling single mother, enduring three years of JV ball at Sylmar before finally getting a shot on varsity; sitting out all of 2004 to get his academics in order - but the newcomer from the San Fernando Valley projected a sense of toughness and savvy that immediately caught the eye of Buckley.

``The journey he's traveled, the way he came up, it all plays a part in the type of pitcher he is,'' Buckley said.

Estrada arrived with a good fastball (which ranges from 87 to 93 mph) and a quality curveball, and in fall ball he added a slider while also making major improvements on his changeup.

By the end of the fall, his arsenal consisted of four quality pitches, each of which he had enough confidence in to throw at any point in the count.

It's one thing to throw a changeup for a strike when the whole park is expecting a fastball, quite another to blow a fastball by someone when the whole park is expecting a fastball. That's the kind of pitcher Estrada was coming out of fall ball.

``He took that progress into the (regular) season and started putting things together,'' Buckley said.

It all came together for Estrada when he earned a start against Arizona State in the opening weekend of the season, allowing just one earned run while scattering eight hits with three strikeouts over six innings against Sun Devils. Long Beach State won 11-1 and Estrada came away with a sense of belonging.

``To have that kind of performance right off the bat against a really good team was huge for my confidence,'' Estrada said. ``I couldn't have asked for a better start.''

Success came rapidly after that - a four-inning relief stint against USC in which he retired all 12 batters he faced; two earned runs and nine strikeouts in five innings against St. Mary's. A month into the season, Estrada was the No. 2 starter behind ace Cesar Ramos and showing veteran savvy by shrugging off a subpar performance against hard-hitting Baylor to limit Houston to one run over six innings while striking out eight in a 5-1 victory.

The bounceback from the Baylor pounding - in which he got the win despite giving up three earned runs and seven hits in five innings - was a critical sign for Buckley, a confirmation that Estrada is grasping the mental side of pitching in college as much as he is the physical.

``You can't hang your head over a bad pitch, or a bad outing,'' Buckley said. ``You keep fighting.''

It's a mind-set Buckley thinks will serve Estrada well when he turns pro, which could happen after this season, depending on how high Estrada gets drafted.

``He's got the stuff to pitch at the next level, he'll get drafted and he'll play pro ball,'' Buckley said. ``After that, it's how does a 6-foot right-hander stand up to the physical aspect of a professional season, and how does he figure out ways to be successful. And in Marco's case, I'm talking about Triple-A and in the big leagues. He's got the stuff to get there.''

If he does, Sylvia will be living and dying with every pitch.

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Former Sylmar High pitcher Marco Estrada is 5-0 with a 1.77 ERA for Long Beach State and has become a legitimate pro prospect.

Matt A. Brown/Long Beach State