HART FLOURISHES ON THE DIAMOND.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

LONG BEACH - USC is where Billy Hart's quarterback dreams died and his baseball dreams blossomed. Hart is at USC on a football scholarship, but after his gridiron career fizzled as the backup to two Heisman Trophy winners, he could leave as a professional baseball player.

In his second season as the starting third baseman for the Trojans' baseball team, Hart's athleticism has sparked interest from several teams heading into next week's Major League Baseball draft. It has also helped USC to a berth in the NCAA baseball regionals for the first time in three years, giving the junior the rare opportunity to experience the postseason in two sports in the same year.

Hart, who was on the sidelines as the Trojans claimed back-to-back national championships, takes to the field this afternoon when USC faces Pepperdine at 3 p.m. in the opening game of the four-team, double-elimination Long Beach regional at Blair Field.

``This makes up for a lot of the football stuff,'' Hart said.

Hart ranks second among the second-seeded Trojans with a .325 batting average. He also has 12 doubles, three home runs and 32 RBI. He hit a team-high .367 last season.

His defensive skills are impressive enough that when a coach joked with another player during a recent intrasquad game about a difficult play at third base, saying ``Billy Hart would have made that play,'' the player responded, ``Actually, he probably would have.''

Hart, who was a shortstop in high school and began last season as USC's starting center fielder, made the All-Pacific-10 Conference team this year and is described by Trojans baseball coach Mike Gillespie as having some of the best pure athletic ability of any player he's coached.

Although football is what brought Hart to USC, baseball was always a passion. The 22-year-old grew up in Orange County, frequently attending Angels games and fantasizing about some day being out there on the diamond, too.

``Baseball is something I always wanted to do,'' Hart said. ``I always wanted to play college football, but I always wanted to play professional baseball. I wanted to play both sports as long as possible. I knew by the time I was done with college, I'd have to choose one. I knew it'd probably be baseball.''

The choice was made easy when his college football career stalled before it ever really started. He redshirted his first year at USC and was among four contenders for the quarterback job when Carson Palmer headed to the NFL. Matt Leinart won the job, and the backups essentially lost hope of playing time. Hart was limited to an appearance on the punt-return team and one snap at quarterback in three seasons.

``It was disappointing,'' said Hart, who had been an All-America quarterback at Mission Viejo High. ``It sucked, to be blunt. But baseball's working out. It's been a great year. I wouldn't trade it.

``If I didn't have baseball, I would have transferred. But I love baseball here. I love the program, I love the coaches, I love my teammates. It's great.''

Hart hopes to be playing baseball professionally by this summer. For now, the player - ranked among Baseball America's list of top 100 prospects in California - is more focused on trying to get to the College World Series.

``This is what I've been waiting for,'' Hart said. ``We've got a good shot going in.''

Heather Gripp, [phone]

heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com

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NCAA BASEBALL REGIONAL