College Baseball : Pepperdine Must Win the West--or One of Them--Before It Can Go to Omaha

Although teams representing the West have won five of the last seven College World Series, they haven’t always had it as easy as USC did in 1978, when it won five straight in Omaha. One thing remains true, though: The West Regional is the most difficult to win because there are more strong teams in the West.

In order to accommodate as many of these quality teams as possible, the NCAA started holding two of the eight regionals in the West in 1982.

Pepperdine, the West Coast Athletic Conference champion, will be in the West I Regional at Stanford this weekend. The Waves will have to beat Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division champion Stanford, Pac-10 Northern Division champion Oregon State, and Nebraska, the third-place team in the Big Eight, to get to the College World Series.

The double-elimination tournament will start Friday with Pepperdine (49-13-1) playing Nebraska (44-22) at 11 a.m. and Stanford (43-12) playing Oregon State (34-15) at 3:30 p.m.

Pepperdine, which swept the Mideast Regional in 1979 and finished third in the College World Series, losing to eventual champion Cal State Fullerton in the semifinals, last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1982. The Waves played in the West I Regional at Fresno State, where they were beaten by Stanford in the title game, 15-8.

“I think we can play anyone in the country on even terms,” Pepperdine Coach Dave Gorrie said.

The Waves’ offense is led by center fielder Brad Bierley, who has hit 26 home runs, driven in 72 runs, has a .359 batting average and 29 stolen bases. First baseman Chris Johnson has a .329 average, 8 homers and 48 RBIs. Right fielder Steve Erickson is hitting .332 with 33 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. Third baseman Paul Faries has a .345 average, 32 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Catcher Chad Kreuter has 5 homers and 40 RBIs, and he has thrown out 24 of 54 runners.

Having a strong and deep pitching staff when playing in a tournament is important. Pepperdine measures up in that department, too. Gorrie has four solid starters in Scott Marrett, Mike Fetters, Jon Smith and Brian Scharkey.

Marrett, a junior right-hander, has a 14-0 record and a 1.96 earned-run average, and has completed 10 of his 20 starts. In 132 innings, he has allowed just 106 hits and 30 walks. Fetters, a sophomore right-hander, is 9-4 with a 3.60 ERA and has saved five games. Smith, a senior left-hander, is 8-1 with a 3.57 ERA, and Scharkey, also a senior left-hander, is 6-1 with a 4.14 ERA.

Cal Poly Pomona, having qualified for the NCAA Division II World Series by beating Cal State Sacramento in the West Regional, will try to extend four streaks when it begins play in the six-team, double-elimination tournament Saturday at Montgomery, Ala.

The Broncos won the title in their last two appearances--1980 and 1983. In so doing, they won eight straight games. They are 2-0 against their first-round opponent, New Haven (Conn.), including a 13-6 victory in the 1980 championship game. A California Collegiate Athletic Assn. team has won the last three titles.

College Baseball Notes

This is the 18th Division II World Series. CCAA teams have won 10 of the first 17. Chapman won the first title in 1968. Pomona, before winning in ’80 and ‘83, won in 1976. UC Irvine (1973 and ‘74), UC Riverside (1977 and 1982) and Cal State Northridge (1970 and 1984) accounted for the other titles. . . . The first 12 tournaments were held at Springfield, Ill. The last five were at UC Riverside’s Sports Center, which seats 1,200. The NCAA playoff committee was pleased with the operation of the tournament by UCR officials, the facilities, and the good weather. But there were small crowds when anyone but Cal Poly Pomona or UC Riverside played. Last year the park was just half full when Northridge won the title. That disturbed the NCAA, so when Alabama’s Troy State offered to hold the Series, the NCAA decided to move the tournament. Patterson Field in Montgomery seats 6,000. . . . Pomona (36-27-1) is making its fifth World Series appearance. The Broncos have a 13-3 tournament record. . . . New Haven (26-4), the Northeast Regional winner, is making its eighth appearance. South Regional winner Florida Southern (50-10) is making its eighth straight Series appearance and 14th overall. The Moccasins have won five titles (1971, ‘72, ‘75, ’78 and ‘81) and finished second three times (1979, ‘82, ‘84).

Division I’s West II Regional starts today at Fresno State. Joining the host Bulldogs are Pac-10 Southern Division runner-up Arizona, California, the Pac-10 Southern Division’s third-place team, and Brigham Young, the Western Athletic Conference champion. Fresno State (41-20), the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. champion, will open against Cal (44-22), and Arizona (44-20) will play BYU (43-27). . . . The West I winner will meet the Atlantic Regional champion in the first round of the College World Series May 31. Miami (56-14) is playing host to that regional and is favored. The West II winner will open against the champion of the Central Regional, which is being played at Texas (56-12). . . . Stanford is seeded first in the 38-team tournament.