THE PING BECOMES THING OF THE PAST.

Byline: Steve Mims The Register-Guard

Just what is the biggest difference that awaits college baseball players when they switch from aluminum to wood bats in the minor leagues?

"With wood you have to hit it on the barrel, with aluminum you don't," Eugene manager Roy Howell said before putting the Emeralds through their first workout Wednesday evening. "If you hit 10 home runs with aluminum, you'll hit two with wood."

Aluminum bats, which are allowed in college but not professional baseball, are more forgiving than the wood bats that the Emeralds will swing this summer. There are five hitters on Eugene's roster who played in college this spring and must make the adjustment to hitting exclusively with wood bats.

"You don't have as much power," said first baseman Rielly Embrey, who hit .353 with five home runs at San Diego State this year. "Usually the ball doesn't jump off the bat as much and you can't get away with being jammed on a pitch here like you could in college."

With aluminum, a hitter can get jammed and still get a single or even more out of an at-bat.

"I'd love to face some wood bats; it will be easier," said Eugene pitcher Vern Sterry, who just finished his senior season at North Carolina State. "The mind-set is that a hitter can still hit a fastball like he could in college, but I am looking forward to hitting my corners a little easier. I won't have to worry about that bloop going out of the park."

That's the hope of the nine pitchers on the staff who are making the jump from college to the pros.

"With aluminum, the hitter can hit it in the wrong spot and the ball will still go a lot better than it would have with wood," said right-hander Jonathan Ellis, who was 12-3 with a 2.18 ERA this spring at The Citadel.

Shortstop Sean Kazmar used both wood and aluminum bats during his two years at Community College of Southern Nevada. The Coyotes play in a league that requires wood bats, but in the postseason they swung aluminum.

"There is not much of an adjustment," Kazmar said. "I did not change much. You tend to get a little happy with the aluminum bat. You try to hit it a little farther than usual, but if you keep your swing compact you will be fine either way."

Kazmar was selected in the fifth round of the amateur draft by the San Diego Padres earlier this month after batting .330 with three home runs and 21 RBIs for CCSN this spring. He will make his professional debut when the Ems open the Northwest League season Friday night at Salem-Keizer.

"I have two years of college playing with wood behind me, so I definitely have an advantage of that," he said.

Kazmar helped the Coyotes with the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series in 2003, and he said they benefitted from swinging wood bats during conference games.

"We would swing wood bats throughout the season and play the small ball game and that made us that much better when we got to the World Series," Kazmar said. "We would hit the ball even harder."

The difference in bats is not the only challenge for hitters arriving from college. Howell pointed out that the quality of pitching is considerably better in the pros.

"Every pitcher is a No. 1 pitcher now," Howell said. "It's not like you face a No. 1 on Friday and then on Sunday it could be the left fielder pitching. Any college kid has to come out and prove to themselves that they can play this game."

CAPTION(S):

Rielly Embrey gets the feel of a wood bat at Wednesday workout.