LONG BEACH REMOVES FSU : LONG BEACH ST. 7, FLORIDA ST. 4.

Byline: Gordon Verrell Long Beach Press-Telegram 

For half a dozen innings Sunday night, Long Beach State's 49ers tried to play Snow Ball, and it wasn't getting them much.

Finally, in the seventh, they resorted to what has become college baseball's all-too-familiar weapon: the three-run homer.

And because of it, the 49ers have a Snow Ball's chance at the 52nd College World Series, after all.

Long Beach State's 7-4 victory over third-seeded Florida State - the result of Scott Redfox's second career homer, a three-run shot that snapped a 4-4 tie - earned the 49ers a rematch with No. 2-seeded Miami on Tuesday.

And it sent Florida State, a first-round loser to Arizona State, packing, the first team ousted from the double-elimination tournament. Nothing new there.

``We've been on that early flight back home so many times I even know when to set the alarm clock,'' said FSU coach Mike Martin, a punch-in-the-belly reminder that the Seminoles have made more trips to Omaha, 16 now, than anyone else without landing a national championship.

``We weren't overmatched,'' said Martin, ``we just got beat.''

Shocked is more like it.

``Redfox really surprised us,'' Martin admitted. ``He had one homer going in . . . but he really put a charge into that ball.''

Dave Snow, the 49ers coach, had been looking for some kind of offensive charge, especially after the 49ers managed just four singles in their 3-1 loss to Miami in the first round. Snow also was quick to take note of the wind when he arrived at Rosenblatt Stadium, which so far, in only six games, has helped produce the staggering total of 23 home runs. With a stiff wind blowing toward right field, he juggled his original lineup slightly, getting lefty-swinging Chuck Lopez into the No. 2 spot.

And he started Redfox at second base.

``He's had some big hits for us lately, he's had a hot bat,'' Snow said of Redfox, who started only a handful of games until late in the season but has been on fire in the postseason: 12 for 31 (.387). ``He didn't start the first game (against Miami) just because it was the first game and (Curt) Lee is a little more of a stabilizer on defense.

``Today,'' Snow added, ``with the wind, it was an easy decision.''

The 49ers, as usual, dug themselves a hole, falling behind 4-1 after only four innings. FSU's freshman right fielder, Matt Diaz, hit a three-run homer in the top of the fourth off starter Caleb Balbuena. First baseman Jason Yount, who had managed only two extra-base hits in his last 23 games, homered in the 49ers' fourth, a solo shot.

The 49ers tied the score with a three-run fifth, the key hit a two-run, bases-loaded single by designated hitter Mike Hota - another spit in the wind by Snow, who had started Hota just two other games all season.

But the 49ers left the bases loaded in the fifth, and again in the sixth, stranding no fewer than 10 baserunners the first six innings.

``The dugout didn't let down, even then,'' Snow said. ``We didn't get frustrated.''

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PHOTO Long Beach State's Scott Redfox (8) is mobbed at home plate after his three-run homer in the seventh. The 49ers eliminated Florida State.

David Creamer/Associated Press