Born in Anaheim, California, Batesole graduated from Garden Grove High School in 1982 and began his college baseball career at Oral Roberts University.

[2] Following the resignation of Kernen in August 1995, Cal State Northridge promoted Batesole to interim head coach.

[3] Batesole led Cal State Northridge to a 52–18 record, NCAA Regionals runner-up appearance, and first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) title in school history in his debut season of 1996.

[6] Batesole led Cal State Northridge through its transition out of the WAC to independence (1997 to 2000) to the Big West Conference in 2001.

[7] After leading a team largely consisting of freshmen and junior college transfers to a 37–19 record in 1998, Batesole earned National Coach of the Year honors from Collegiate Baseball.

[2][7] In seven seasons from 1996 to 2002, Batesole led Cal State Northridge to a cumulative 256–158–1 record, the second most wins for a head coach in program history.