Channing has a shot at the WCC's Triple Crown - he leads the conference in homers with 19, RBIs with 69 and is tied with Santa Clara's Geoff Klein for the top batting average at .395 - and the seeds of his season were sown in a conversation with Gaels head coach Jedd Soto after an intrasquad game in February.

"I said, 'Hey, you really hit the slider all the time,' " Soto recalled. "And he said, 'Are those sliders? ... I can't see the spin.' "

Said Channing: "I was pretty much a guess hitter up until that point."

Soon after the conversation, Channing had his eyes checked and learned he needed contact lenses. With the lenses, "I could see everything: little dots on the balls, rotation," Channing said. "It was a big help."

Big help, indeed. Channing tied the Gaels' season home run record of 15 in a veritable blink of an eye, 31 games. He then went 12 games without going deep.

"Pitchers were pitching me with a better mix," Channing said. "It was just a complete guessing game at that point with what they were going to throw me. I pretty much had no plan going up there. It was tough."

Channing's HR drought ended Saturday when he drilled a grand slam in a 13-6 win over Loyola Marymount.

"It felt good to hit a ball like that again," Channing said.

He proceeded to hit two HRs in a 5-4 win over the Lions on Sunday and another in a 6-4 loss at San Jose State on Tuesday night.

At 6-foot, 237 pounds, Channing has the body type of a power hitter, but not necessarily that of a third baseman. He played first base and catcher at Pleasanton's Foothill High. Soto had Channing practice behind the plate and at each corner infield spot before giving him the third-base job.

It's similar to what the Giants have done with Pablo Sandoval. And, like Sandoval, Channing is "quicker than he appears for being a big guy," Soto said. "He makes all the plays."

Channing doesn't hit all the homers for the Gaels. Junior Kyle Jensen ranks second in the conference with 14.

"We don't necessarily try to one-up each other," Channing said, "but it's pretty fun to have two guys with similar numbers."

Soto usually has Channing hitting third in the batting order, with Jensen in the cleanup spot. Channing figures he gets good pitches to hit because of Jensen's presence in the on-deck circle.

"It's just crazy how far (Jensen) can hit a ball," Channing said. And with his contacts, we assume Channing can see how far Jensen's ball goes.

BRIEFLY: Channing has shattered the Gaels' RBI record as well. Chris Gaeckle's mark of 57 had stood since 1985. ... St. Mary's (26-21, 7-8 WCC) opens a three-game series at Gonzaga (28-13, 10-5) tonight. ... Since 1985, two players have won a Triple Crown in the WCC: USF's Tagg Bozied in 1999 (.412, 30 HRs, 82 RBIs) and Pepperdine's Chad Tracy in 2005 (.367, 12, 61).

E-mail Steve Kroner at skroner@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page D - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle