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Colleges / Alan Drooz : Waves, Lions Open Crucial Series

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The two rookies of the West Coast Athletic Conference, having surpassed their elders, square off to settle the baseball title this weekend when Loyola Marymount visits Pepperdine for a four-game, season-ending series.

When they play the first game at 2:30 today, the coaches matching wits will be Loyola’s Chris Smith and Pepperdine’s Andy Lopez, both in their first year.

They have taken somewhat similar paths to being among the youngest Division I head coaches on the West Coast and bring somewhat similar teams into the fray.

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Smith, 30, played at UCLA, then was an assistant for three years at Loyola. After managing in the minor leagues last year, he was hired to replace successful Dave Snow at Loyola.

Lopez, 35, played at UCLA, then made his coaching mark at Mira Costa High. His success there led to a six-year coaching stint at Cal State Dominguez Hills where he took the Toros to their only Division II World Series appearance. He was hired last spring to replace successful Dave Gorrie at Pepperdine.

Both teams started slowly, then hit their stride when WCAC play began. Pepperdine, 4-6 at one point, has won 11 straight and 20 of its last 21, including a 17-6 demolition of UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday. The Waves are 17-3 in the WCAC. Loyola, which got off to a 1-7 start, had a 10-game winning streak snapped Sunday and is 17-2 in the WCAC. The Lions got back in the win column Wednesday, whipping Long Beach State, 11-4.

If the teams split, Loyola will have to make up a rained-out game at the University of San Francisco. If the Lions lose that game, Loyola and Pepperdine would play to determine the conference champion.

Each would like to avoid that complication by winning at least three this weekend. They play a noon doubleheader Saturday, then a 1 p.m. game Sunday. All games are at Malibu.

“We probably match up pretty well,” Lopez said. “It should come down to the mound. It comes down to pitching. It’s whoever can play consistently well for at least three of the four. The teams are pretty much on equal terms.”

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As Loyola’s Smith says, “It’s whoever can win a series.”

Both have been hitting well, especially Pepperdine of late. Going into the season, the Waves didn’t figure to match power with Loyola and Santa Clara. But after Tuesday’s victory at Santa Barbara--in which they hit seven home runs--the Waves have grabbed the conference home run lead with 53, overtaking the Lions’ 49.

Rick Hirtensteiner, who hit three Tuesday, has tied the Lions’ Rick Allen for the WCAC lead with 11. The Waves’ Scott Shockey is right behind at 10 and has 55 runs batted in to Allen’s 57. The Waves have another scorching hitter in outfielder Richard Barnwell, who was the conference Player of the Week last week, going nine for 19 with three home runs. He leads Pepperdine with seven game-winning RBIs.

Loyola has a hot hitter in catcher Miah Bradbury who has a 19-game hitting streak in which he is batting nearly .500. He hit .459 in April to take the conference lead at .412.

Going into the weekend, Loyola is rated 14th in both national polls. Pepperdine is 15th in one, 23rd in the other. Obviously, both coaches have done a good job replacing successful predecessors, and both anticipate receiving bids to the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. regionals.

With such strong offenses the pressure is on the pitching--especially starting pitching--in this series. On paper, Pepperdine appears to have an edge. While the Waves have raised their team average to .313, their staff has held opponents to a .231 batting average. Today’s starter, Britt Craven, has been the WCAC’s best starter, with a 9-2 record and six complete games. He’s 5-0 in the WCAC. The team’s top reliever, Randy Hacker, has four saves and an earned run average below 2.00.

Loyola has no clear ace. The Lions are batting .320 but opponents are averaging .283. Kalani Bush (10-2) has no decisions in his last two games and has failed to make it past the fourth inning. Steve Surico (6-5), who had been pitching well in conference play, lost Sunday and exited in the third inning but got the win Wednesday over Long Beach.

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Cal State Dominguez Hills’ golf team won the third and last Western Region qualifier tourney this week and will play in the NCAA Division II championships for the first time since 1985. The Toros won a 54-hole tournament at Rancho del Rey in Fresno, edging Cal State Sacramento by one stroke. The Toros’ Jeff Manare and Enrico Montano tied for the tournament lead at 220. Ray Fawcett shot 225.

The Toros needed to win that tournament to advance. Cal State Northridge had won the first two regionals to advance to the NCAAs. The Toros were 13 shots behind after 36 holes but made up the difference in the last 18 as Montano shot 69 and Manare 73.

The championship will be played at Erie, Pa., on May 23-26. .”

The Dominguez Hills women’s softball team is anxiously awaiting its first invitation to the NCAA playoffs since 1983. The Lady Toros are third in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. with an 32-18-1 record and are ranked 10th in the country, fourth in the West. They have high hopes because last year five CCAA teams were selected and the second-place team, Cal State Bakersfield, won the Division II national title. Bids go out Sunday.

College Notes

Von Bennett, the top freshman basketball player in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. last season, has transferred from Cal State Bakersfield. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound center, a native of Stillwater, Okla., is expected to attend a community college in Oklahoma, then transfer to a Division I school. Bennett averaged 13.8 points and 6.7 rebounds. . . . The Dominguez Hills baseball team, winner of four of its last five, plays host to Cal State Los Angeles at 3 p.m. today, then plays a 7:30 game at Cal State on Saturday. . . . Loyola catcher Miah Bradbury has an 19-game hitting streak during which he is batting .485 with 25 runs scored, 14 doubles, four home runs and 15 runs batted in. . . . In final NCAA volleyball statistics Loyola’s Sio Saipaia ranked 12th in kill average (5.45) and 17th in dig average (2.32). Teammate Chris Young was 18th in kill average (4.73). . . . Torrance resident Lawrence Hom of USC was 14th in both kill average (5.24) and ace average (.308).

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