Loyola, With 4 Straight Victories, Hosts Strong Santa Clara Nine Today

Loyola Marymount University, winner of four straight baseball games entering the week, hosts Santa Clara (21-14, 5-3) in a West Coast Athletic Conference noon double-header today before taking off the Easter weekend. The Lions swept San Diego over the weekend to improve their WCAC record to 4-5 and beat Cal State Fullerton on Monday to go 16-17 overall. The Lions resume action Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. game at USC.

Junior outfielder Billy Bean went 7 for 11 with 7 runs batted in last week to earn WCAC player of the week honors. Bean is batting .407 with a team-high 11 doubles and 33 RBIs. Junior right-hander Tim Layana had a save and a victory in a double-header sweep of San Diego to improve his record to 5-6 with a 2.63 earned-run average.

Cal State Dominguez Hills will be trying to improve its lead in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. baseball race, playing five games this week against second-place Cal State Northridge. The Toros, 18-13 overall and 7-2 in conference, played at Northridge on Tuesday, play there again Friday and host a noon double-header Saturday. The teams also played Wednesday. Northridge entered the week at 24-12-1 and 4-1.

Toros first baseman Kevin Whalen went 8 for 12 with 8 runs batted in last week in a four-game sweep of Chapman. Whalen is batting .449 and has 22 RBIs. Second baseman Mike Brocki is next at .373. Junior left-hander Jim Pena is 6-1 and leads the CCAA in earned-run average (2.69) and strikeouts (45).

Loyola Marymount has named Todd Corman its women’s basketball coach. Corman, 27, who coached basketball at El Segundo High School for four years, will be the school’s third women’s coach in three years. He replaces Dick Beede, who had a 3-24 record last season. Corman played basketball at Beverly Hills High and is a 1979 graduate of USC. He is currently first assistant director on the television series “Half Nelson.” The Lion-nets will play in the first West Coast Athletic Assn. women’s schedule next season.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s softball team, ranked eighth in the nation, hosts Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in a California Collegiate Atletic Assn. double-header at 1 p.m. Friday after competing in the Cal State Northridge Tournament earlier in the week. The Lady Toros are 14-10 overall, 4-2 in the CCAA. Pitcher Barb Steffen struck out a career-high 14 batters and pitched a one-hitter over the weekend in a 5-1 victory over Loyola Marymount. Steffen is 8-4 with a 0.49 earned-run average.

Redondo is fifth in the first CIF 4-A baseball coaches’ Top 10, while El Segundo is sixth in 3-A. St. Bernard is third and Mary Star 10th in 1-A. Torrance (4-A) and Leuzinger (3-A) also received votes.

Cal State Dominguez Hills will host a cycling competition against UCLA on Saturday with four road races and four velodrome events. The road races begin at 8 a.m. on the Carson campus. The track races begin at 4 p.m. in the Olympic Velodrome. The winning team, determined by overall results, will receive the Campagnolo Golden State Grand Prix trophy in what the schools hope will become an annual rivalry.