Gulls Complete Sweep of Fresno With 6-1 Victory

Believe it or not, Jeff Musselman is not embarrassed when his former Harvard University classmates discover that he is learning a trade at Ventura College.

He’s pitching professionally for the Ventura County Gulls and doesn’t mind a bit having gone from the Ivy League to the California League.

After his performance Thursday, the Fresno Giants probably wish Musselman had taken a job on Wall Street a couple years ago when he graduated from Harvard with a degree in economics. The left-hander sent 10 Giants down on strikes in six innings to lead the Gulls to a 6-1 win at home.

Musselman, who improved to 2-1, is 2-0 at Ventura College, which has become his latest institution of higher learning.

Of course, he needed help from Gulls muscle men Geronimo Berroa, Domingo Martinez and Greg Myers. Each pounded at least one double. Berroa had a pair of them and scored three runs.

A Harvard education, of course, is not a prerequisite for pitching. There are guys in the Hall of Fame who quit school about the time crayons were traded in for ballpoint pens.

But after the game, Musselman said he brings qualities to the mound that he learned in Harvard’s hallowed halls.

“It takes a different kind of smarts to do well pitching,” Musselman said. “But you have to maintain a level of concentration and confidence in the classroom and on the mound.”

He laughed, then added, “Of course, there is the control factor to consider when you’re pitching.”

It doesn’t take a Harvard education to know that the best antidote for control difficulties is a lead. With a cushion of three runs or more, batters don’t have to be pitched around.

Even though Fresno scored in the top of the first inning on an unearned run, Musselman had the luxury of pitching with a lead as the Gulls scored once in the first and third innings and twice in the fourth.

Darryl Landrum singled home Luis Reyna in the first, Berroa doubled and scored on Martinez’s double in the third and RBI singles by Sandy Guerrero and Oscar Escobar accounted for the fourth-inning runs.

“I throw more strikes when we’re ahead,” Musselman said. “But no matter how much of a lead we have, I make believe we are up by only one or two runs. That way I maintain my intensity.”

Musselman allowed only one walk and three hits, all singles. He had thrown 97 pitches in six innings when Manager Glenn Ezell replaced him with William Shanks to begin the seventh. Ezell allows Gull pitchers to throw no more than 100 pitches at this point in the season.

Shanks allowed one hit in two innings and Mark Dickman threw a one-two-three ninth to improve the Gulls’ record to 9-6 and complete a three-game sweep over Fresno.

Ezell was impressed with Musselman’s performance. “Jeff got ahead of the hitters and used his slow curve as an out pitch,” he said.

Gulls catcher Greg Myers also was impressed with Musselman’s pitches, but he liked the way the pitcher was thinking even more.

“He’s a bright guy. He only shook off three or four pitches all day,” Myers said with a smile.

Gull Notes

Gulls left fielder Darryl Landrum, who leads the California League with seven home runs, was hit in the hand with a pitch in the seventh inning and will see a doctor today. Insult was literally added to injury when he was called out on strikes on the pitch. The umpire ruled Landrum had swung and that the pitch did not hit the bat. . . . Gulls first baseman Domingo Martinez also was hit by a pitch. He flung his helmet in pain after being nailed in the leg, but remained in the game and singled sharply in his next at-bat. . . . Fresno infielder Paul Blair Jr., the son of former major league outfielder Paul Blair, formerly played at Pierce College. . . . Hugh Brinson will start for the Gulls today against the Salinas Spurs. Game time is 1 p.m. at Ventura College. Brinson is starting in the place of Todd Provence, who hurt his throwing shoulder last week in a game at Bakersfield. Provence will see a doctor this week.