Hume stays loose on, off mound

By: MICHAEL KLITZING - Staff Writer | Thursday, February 8, 2007 10:34 PM PST ∞

Pitcher for the Aztecs Donnie Hume during practice at Tony Gywnn Stadium in San Diego on Thursday.
HAYNE PALMOUR IV Staff Photographer
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SAN DIEGO ---- A shoehorn was almost required, given the number of people crammed inside Tony Gwynn's San Luis Obispo hotel room last Thursday night. In all, the assemblage included 30 players, five coaches and the director of baseball operations.

"Everybody was there but the bus driver," Gwynn said.

The San Diego State baseball team had its season opener the following night against Cal Poly, and the coach called the impromptu meeting to share some words of wisdom with a team on which the newcomers outnumber the returning lettermen by a three-to-one margin.

Gwynn's talk centered on the importance of a good night's rest and not taking the field the next night with what Gwynn likes to call "a tight booty."

After he finished, one of those newcomers decided to pipe up and make his own slightly less nuanced speech. It was Donnie Hume, the Aztecs' starting pitcher for the opener.

"Really, in that meeting, I sensed maybe some nervousness in there," Hume said. "I just saw some uncertainty in some of the looks and I just wanted to remind some of the guys that this is supposed to be fun. But we didn't take a seven-, eight-hour bus trip to come here and fool around. We came down here to do a job, and that's kicking Cal Poly's butt."

It was no empty gesture from the junior left-hander, who will start tonight for the Aztecs (1-2) as they face Santa Clara (5-2) in their home opener at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

Hume, a transfer from Long Beach State, took the mound the next day and pitched six shutout innings in a 9-5 win, allowing just three hits and no walks while breezing through three different innings on fewer than 10 pitches.

It was the kind of outing that was all too rare last season on an Aztecs staff with an ERA approaching 7.00.

Rare, too, was the kind of confidence Hume exuded the night before. His coach liked what he saw immediately.

"To me, that speaks volumes about what you do and how you do it," said Gwynn, who seemed almost taken aback by the way Aztecs players mobbed Hume in the dugout after he was relieved last Friday. "He's confident and I want him to keep having success because that stuff rubs off on these other guys."

Hume ---- a control pitcher who thrives on out-thinking hitters ---- opted to leave Long Beach State after two years in which he made 30 appearances and 11 starts, compiling a 3.73 ERA. He said he chose San Diego State because he saw the chance to play a bigger role in helping a team win.

If he can do that, Hume knows he'll improve his chances of being selected in June's major-league draft. He was uncertain if he'd get that chance with the Dirtbags.

"Yeah, there was some politics going on over there," Hume said. "I saw a lot of guys get dogged and some get favored, and I didn't want to risk that my junior year ---- (not knowing) whether or not, 'Hey, am I going to get a shot or am I not?'"

And now?

"Basically, I feel if I take care of business and help the Aztecs win, that I'll have a good chance to move on to the next level," he said.

Hume now stands at the front end of a rotation that may have the potential to bring San Diego State to the next level. Even though the Aztecs dropped the final two games of the Cal Poly series, Gwynn was encouraged by the outings of his other starters ---- Community College of Southern Nevada transfer Steven Hirschfeld and sophomore left-hander Lance Sewell.

Gwynn has also moved senior Bruce Billings back into the rotation after the former Mountain West Conference pitcher of the year started the season apparently miscast as a closer. Billings will become Saturday's starter, with Hirschfeld switching to Tuesday.

So much for last season's arms shortage.

"I think if our starters continue to throw like they did this weekend," Gwynn said, "I think we're going to be fine."

Especially that confident lefty.

Contact staff writer Michael Klitzing at mrklitzing@gmail.com.