COLLEGE BASEBALL NOTEBOOK: EX-HART PLAYER IS MR. (W)RIGHT FOR LONG BEACH.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

The USC baseball team was Chris Wright's first victim of the season.

Wright, a former Hart High standout, started his senior season at Long Beach State by leading the 49ers to upsets of USC in two of the teams' three games during last weekend's season-opening series. Wright batted .444 during the series, giving him the second-highest average on the team entering this weekend's series at Cal.

The victories over USC moved Long Beach up to No. 21 in this week's Collegiate Baseball national rankings.

Wright, in his fourth season as a regular in the 49ers' outfield, is expected to be a key part of the Long Beach's lineup throughout the season. He entered the season with a career .318 average.

The 49ers also will have Wright's former high school teammate Tim Hutting helping this year's quest for a Big West Conference title. Hutting, a junior shortstop, transferred form College of the Canyons. He appeared in one game during the opening weekend and is batting .333.

--One thing at at time: Billy Susdorf was used to doing it all during a career at Hart in which he was named the Division II Player of the Year. He batted better than .500, was an outstanding outfielder, turned into a base-stealing threat when he moved into the leadoff spot last season, and was the region's premier relief pitcher.

Now that he's moved on to UCLA, Susdorf has seen his duties cut back, leaving him missing one of his favorite parts of the game. Although the Bruins have players who are both position players and pitchers, Susdorf is not expected to be one of them.

``I wish I could pitch,'' Susdorf said. ``But I don't think I'll get to this year. Maybe next year. I've got to go one step at a time.''

Susdorf went 2 for 5 with three RBI in his first start of the season Wednesday in a 9-1 victory over Hawaii Hilo. He entered this weekend's series at Hawaii batting .300 and having appeared in four of UCLA's first 10 games.

--Quite a catch: Former Valencia standout Brady Burrill is being counted on to be a leader for Michigan State this season as a junior. He batted . 331 with a team-high 44 runs last season but brings much more to the team. He had just one passed ball last year, and the Spartans expect him to effectively control the oppositions' running game. Burrill also has become a vocal leader the team looks up to, according to coach Ted Mahan.

Michigan State opens its season Friday in Las Vegas.

--Miller making his mark: Hart graduate Mike Miller has earned a starting outfield job at Cal State Los Angeles as a freshman. Through 14 games, he was batting .263 but was among the team leaders in extra-base hits. He had three doubles and two home runs with eight RBI.

--The waiting game: Former Canyon catcher Josh LaGrotta is part of a UC Santa Barbara team that entered the weekend having won four of its past five games. However, though eight games, LaGrotta was waiting to make his debut. The freshman's next potential chance to play is this weekend's three-game series against San Jose State.