Former Camarillo baseball standout now a major contributor for Pepperdin
Don Brown solid at the plate and in the outfield
By Steve Ames Special to the Camarillo Acorn

PEPPERDINE SPORTS INFO/Special to The Acorn SULTAN OF SWAT- Don Brown, a Camarillo High grad, displays his powerful left-handed stroke. Brown, now a junior at Pepperdine, was a member of ACHS' CIF-SS championship team in 2002.

Taking his turns at the plate and running down flies to right field, Pepperdine University junior Don Brown of Camarillo approaches both aspects of the game with equal intensity.

But between the two- offense and defense- the 6-foot-2, 185pound student athlete majoring in business administration has a favorite.

"I like going to bat," Brown said, as he gazed west to the Pacific Ocean from a location near Eddy D. Field Stadium on the Malibu campus.

On balance, though, Brown does not shun his duties in the outfield. "No, not at all," he said. "It's still a huge part of the game."

In his third season playing for the Waves, Brown, who will be 21 in August, is batting .322 with two homers and 14 RBI.

He takes a simple approach to hitting the baseball.

"I just try to focus," Brown said. "You know what the count is and what the guy's been throwing with certain counts with certain situations. You're kind of expecting something, but it's more reaction than a thought process."

Brown said he mentally regroups between every pitch of an at-bat.

"Maybe if he made me look bad, you know he's going to come back to that pitch," he said. "You just take that last at-bat and focus in on every at-bat- just like the game's on the line."

Head coach Steve Rodriguez is impressed with Brown's skill and maturity at the plate.

"I think the biggest thing about Donald, when you watch him play, is he's a very intelligent player when it comes to his knowledge of the strike zone," he said. "He's very understanding of what he's capable of doing and what he's not doing."

Rodriguez applauds the strong efforts made by Brown as an outfielder.

"As a defender, he probably is one of the best on our team," he said. "There's no doubt about that. His arm strength is phenomenal, and he has a real good idea and a real presence about being around the fences when going after balls."

Brown's ability to throw out opposing base runners at home plate has been impressive, Rodriguez said.

"Whenever a ball is hit to him and a guy's trying to score from second base, the first words from everyone is 'Throw him out,' because he's that type of guy who will do that for us," the coach said.

Brown played for the Mat-Su Miners of the Alaska Baseball League last summer, appearing in 39 games and batting .292 with one home run and 11 RBI. He also had 11 doubles and three triples.

During the 2006 season at Pepperdine Brown appeared in all 63 games, starting in 53. He batted .276 with two home runs and 36 RBI. He also had 11 doubles and two triples. Brown had 12 multiplehit and eight multipleRBI games and led the West Coast Conference with 42 walks.

As a freshman for the Waves in 2005, he hit .294 with a pair of homers and 30 RBI in 52 games- starting 42 of them- and had 15 doubles.

Performing as a three-year letterman in baseball at Camarillo High, Brown and his Scorpion teammates captured three Pacific View League titles and werewhen he was a sophomore, the 2002 CIFSouthern Section Division I champions.

As a high school junior, Brown was named to the first team AllPacific View League and AllVentura County squads. He was named second team All-Pacific View League in 2002 and 2004.

In two seasons of varsity football, Brown was selected first team AllDivision I, first team allstate and team co-Most Valuable Player as the starting quarterback as a senior. He was also named a scholar athlete. Brown credits his basebalcoach at Camarillo, Scott Clinewith teaching him many of the game's lessons while in high school, and is appreciative of how the Pepperdine coaches work on his development.

"Scott Cline was just an awesome coach," Brown said. "He taught me to play the game really loose, really relaxed. He just lets the kids play. I came here (Pepperdine), and the coaches are really awesome." In addition to RodriguezBrown said he appreciates the work of the Waves' hurlers and the coaching of Rick HirtensteinerSean Kenny and Chuck Hazzard"It's just an awesome coaching staff, and I couldn't ask fobetter," he said. "They've been

there (in pro baseball), and it'great to get those experiences."

Comparing playing high school to NCAA Division I baseball, Brown said the difference wamade immediately clear to him.

"It's a little bit different," hsaid. "I kind of took the same approach in high school because thought I was brought up with good mental approach about taking at-bats.

"The pitchers are a lot bettehere. You are going to face every high school's best pitcher every dayThis is tough, and you just can't have those mental lapses. In a new at-bat, don't take those old at-bats up there with you, except in the facet in how he pitched to you."

Brown is going to ride baseball as far as he can.

"I've always had a dream to play major league baseball, just like every kid has a dream," he said. "I am just chasing that dream for right now.

"After that I'm hoping to get a good business degree, or be pretty close to finishing it by the time I leave here. It's a big funnel for jobs out there with a business degree from Pepperdine, so I think I'll be just fine."