College Roundup : Wheatcroft and CSUN Submerge Waves, 5-4

Right-handed pitcher Wayne Helm of Pepperdine was the featured attraction for professional scouts, but Robert Wheatcroft of Cal State Northridge all but stole his show Wednesday in Malibu.

Wheatcroft, a senior right-hander, pitched Northridge to a 5-4 nonconference victory over the Division I Waves and earned high marks from two Baltimore Orioles scouts who were in attendance.

Helm (1-2) and Wheatcroft (4-0) dueled until the ninth inning, when Chae-Ho Chong hit a two-run home run to cap a four-run rally that gave CSUN a 5-2 lead.

The Waves (4-6) closed to within a run on Richard Barnwell’s two-run homer to left in the ninth, but Wheatcroft retired the next two batters to seal the win.

“Pepperdine is a legitimate Division I team and we are not going to play better teams than this,” CSUN Coach Bill Kernen said. “This is the biggest win for this team by far this year.”

Northridge (7-1) has won three consecutive games against Division I opponents going into its California Collegiate Athletic Assn. opener at Cal State Los Angeles on Friday.