Liebsack Finds a Home in Florida : Baseball: Former Harbor College and Gardena High player is making most of opportunity at Florida State.

OMAHA —  Florida State baseball coaches offered Tony Liebsack a scholarship without ever seeing him play.

The logic was simple. The perennially powerful Seminoles were in search of an extra infielder. Liebsack, an all-state shortstop at Harbor College, came highly recommended from Florida State contacts in Southern California.

Two years later, Liebsack is playing in his second consecutive College World Series. And Florida State Coach Mike Martin has nothing but praise for a special player who does nothing special--except bring out the best in others.

“He is the smallest guy and he can’t really do anything,” Martin told the Tallahassee Democrat last week. “Can’t run. Can’t throw. Can’t hit.

“But to me, when we put him in at second this season, that was when everything started to happen.”

Liebsack’s emotional play helped the Seminoles rebound from a slow start and propelled them into the World Series for the fifth time in seven years.

Florida State suffered a 7-2 defeat to Cal State Fullerton in its opener Friday. The Seminoles play Cal today in an elimination game.

“Last year when we lost our first game here, we came out dead and lost again,” said Liebsack, a Gardena High graduate. “(Friday), we all got together and talked about it. If any team can come back, this is the one that can do it.”

The Seminoles proved their mettle in the South II Regional at Tallahassee, Fla., where they lost their first game to Western Carolina before winning five in a row to advance to the World Series.

The 5-foot-7, 175-pound Liebsack was a back-up middle infielder last season and batted .267 in 48 games.

He began this season as a back-up, but became the starting second baseman in late March. Liebsack went 40 games without committing an error and batted .343 in the Seminoles’ last 32 games. He entered this year’s World Series batting .288 with a home run and 27 runs batted in.

Statistics, however, do not accurately reflect the contributions Liebsack has made throughout his baseball career.

“He’s one of those really big intangible guys,” said Pepperdine pitcher Patrick Ahearne, who was a teammate of Liebsack’s on Harbor’s 1990 state championship team. “He’s real solid defensively and was one of the guys we really relied on to get us going.”

Liebsack said the biggest adjustment he had to make at Florida State was not on the field, but in the dugout.

“In California, there is a lot more talking back and forth between teams,” Liebsack said. “They had to kind of calm me down when I got here.”

Liebsack will graduate next semester with a social science degree. He hopes to become a fireman in either California or Florida.

“It’s been a great experience to get away and live somewhere new,” Liebsack said. “It feels pretty nice to be back in the World Series. I’m just hoping we can win a game.”