COLLEGE BASEBALL : No Obvious Leader of Pac-10 South as Conference Play Begins Friday

The Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division will begin play this weekend without a clear-cut favorite for the championship of one the country’s most competitive leagues.

USC cruised to the title last season with a 23-7 record and became the fourth different school to win the championship in four seasons. No one anticipates another runaway.

“It’s impossible to call,” USC Coach Mike Gillespie said. “In every year since I’ve been here, there has been a team that is clearly considered the class of the conference. I don’t see it this time.”

USC, ranked 23rd by Baseball America, will play host to No. 15 Arizona in a three-game series starting Friday. UCLA will play host to California and No. 5 Stanford will be at No. 15 Arizona State.

A look at the Pac-10 Southern Division teams as they began the week:

ARIZONA--The Wildcats, under 20th-year Coach Jerry Kindall, were 11-7 after losing two of three games to No. 10 Cal State Fullerton last weekend in a nonconference series that featured 83 runs.

Junior outfielder Robbie Moen, whose 17-game hitting streak ended Monday, is batting .465 with two home runs and 23 runs batted in. Junior first baseman Billy Owens is batting .394 with five homers and 19 RBIs.

Arizona’s pitching staff includes right-hander Mike Schiefelbein, who is 3-0 with a 3.34 earned-run average, and left-hander Tim Schweitzer (3-1, 1.51).

ARIZONA STATE--The Sun Devils entered the week at 10-3, losing only to No. 4 Florida State and No. 9 Texas.

Coach Jim Brock, in his 21st season, has a team that features senior outfielder Brett Weinberger (.475) and junior outfielders Scott Samuels (.364, four homers) and Todd Steverson (.309, 18 runs scored).

Junior right-hander Sean Lowe (3-0, 2.05) and senior right-hander Jeff Matranga (3-1, 2.97) anchor the Sun Devil staff.

CALIFORNIA--The Golden Bears were 11-4 under 15th-year Coach Bob Milano.

Junior shortstop Chris Clapinski (.400), senior first baseman Jon Zuber (.395) outfielder/first baseman Matt Luke (.350) and junior designated hitter Troy Penix (five homers) lead Cal’s offense.

Cal’s pitching staff, which has a 5.14 ERA, is considered suspect.

STANFORD--The Cardinal (11-5) swept a three-game series against No. 6 Pepperdine and features a pitching staff that includes junior right-handers Brian Sackinsky (3-0, 2.05) and Rick Helling (3-1, 2.61), and sophomore Willie Adams (2-1, 3.86).

Coach Mark Marquess, in his 16th season, has been shuffling his lineup almost daily. All-American outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds (.295, 15 stolen bases), freshman designated hitter Dusty Allen (.362, two home runs, 14 RBIs) and senior outfielder David Cornell (.323) are leading the Cardinal offense.

UCLA--The Bruins got off to a 9-3 start on the strength of their speed.

Outfielder David Roberts, a redshirt freshman from Oceanside, is batting .408 and has 10 stolen bases for a Bruin team that has 38 steals in 12 games.

Reliever Gabe Sollecito has five saves in six appearances.

USC--Sophomore shortstop Lionel Hastings is batting .391 for the Trojans, who entered the week at 7-6.

Right-hander Jackie Nickell, who pitched a shutout against Portland last weekend, is 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA and has 36 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings. The Trojans’ staff ERA is 2.17.

Trivia time: Which of 12 schools in the Pacific 10 Northern and Southern Divisions has the most no-hitters since 1970?

Watered down: Kevin Kloek knew he would get a chance to start once the rain finally stopped.

Kloek, a junior right-hander for Cal State Northridge, watched Matador ace Kenny Kendrena take the mound in three consecutive games because of storms that threw off the schedule.

Kloek, who transferred to Northridge from Citrus College, finally got an opportunity last Tuesday against USC and went the distance in a 9-2 victory. Four days later, he beat San Jose State, 3-0.

For the week, Kloek gave up eight hits and one earned run in 18 innings, struck out 23 and walked none. The victory over San Jose State was Northridge’s fourth in a row after an 0-4 start.

“I was getting antsy to pitch because I hadn’t thrown in a game for two weeks,” Kloek said. “Now, our whole team is starting to play better.”

For openers: The West Coast Conference also will begin play this week with Pepperdine the unanimous choice to repeat as champion.

Pepperdine has won six of the last seven titles. The Waves open their 30-game WCC schedule at San Francisco.

Junior designated hitter Matt Nuez, a transfer from Harbor College, leads Pepperdine with a .371 average.

Loyola Marymount, which defeated No. 13 Cal State Long Beach last week, will play host to San Diego.

Chad Nichols is batting .346 for the Lions. He also is 1-1 with a 0.93 ERA and has 15 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings.

Home grown: Fourth-ranked Florida State did not have to search far and wide for its starting infielders.

First baseman Kevin McCray, second baseman Allen Bevis, shortstop Link Jarrett and third baseman Nandy Serrano all attended Florida High School in Tallahassee.

Trivia answer: Washington State with 13, including two perfect games, since 1970. Arizona State and Stanford have three. USC and Arizona have two. Cal has one and UCLA has none.

College Baseball Notes

Junior designated hitter Matt Nuez, a transfer from Harbor College, leads Pepperdine with a .371 average. . . . Chad Nichols is batting .346 for Loyola Marymount. He also is 1-1 with a 0.93 ERA and has 15 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. . . . First baseman Jeff Antoon of UC Santa Barbara is batting .382 with eight doubles and 13 runs batted in for the Gauchos, who entered the week 11-3. . . . Alan Burke is batting .422 for Cal State Long Beach.