Loyola Jockeys for Position in WCC : Baseball: The Lions can move into contention in the conference race with a strong showing against San Diego this weekend.

Loyola Marymount baseball Coach Jody Robinson has reason to be disheartened over the loss of a doubleheader to West Coast Conference rival Pepperdine last week.

“We could be in first place in the conference right now,” Robinson said. “If a couple of calls had gone our way last week, we’d be 8-1 instead of 6-3. But the important thing is we’re still very much in the race.”

Despite a difficult schedule that has included nonconference games against national powers Cal State Fullerton, Fresno State, Cal State Northridge and UCLA, Loyola is 13-15. The Lions are only 2 1/2 games behind first-place University of San Diego in the WCC standings.

The Toreros (20-6, 10-2) and Lions are scheduled to begin a three-game series today in San Diego.

“If we want to establish ourselves as a legitimate contender, we need to do something positive this weekend,” Robinson said. “It’s still too early to crown a champion, but right now there are a lot of (teams) trying to move into position.”

Robinson is pleased with the Lions’ play. Although 28 games remain on the schedule, Loyola is already approaching its win total of last season, when it finished 16-36.

What has made the difference this season?

Perhaps the two biggest areas of improvement have been pitching and defense.

Loyola ranked last in the conference in both categories in 1992, but is first in pitching with a 2.23 earned-run average and fourth in fielding with a .958.

“When you have good pitching and defense, it’s a good place to start,” Robinson said.

Shane Bowers and Shawn Hammett have anchored the staff. Bowers, a junior, is 4-4 with a 3.90 earned-run average and leads the conference with 58 strikeouts. Hammett, a sophomore, is 5-4 with a 4.01 ERA and is second in the WCC with 57 strikeouts.

The pitching staff has been bolstered in recent weeks with the development of freshman Ryan Graves as a third starter. Graves, an All-Southern Section player at Riverside Poly High last season, is 4-0 with a 2.41 earned-run average.

“Right now, Hammett and Bowers have been doing what we expected of them,” Robinson said. “Graves has been a pleasant surprise. He’s done more than we expected from him as a freshman. Instead of Shawn and Shane and pray for rain, he’s really helped fill out our starting rotation.”

Loyola’s offense has yet to match last year’s output. The Lions are batting .266 after batting .284 in 1992.

Designated hitter Darren Sugiyama, who is batting .244, says it’s only a matter of time before the offense awakens.

“I think our offense is still really our biggest strength,” he said. “It just hasn’t been as productive as it’s capable of being. But I think it will come around. I’m not worried about that part of our game.”

Sugiyama said the Lions’ intensity has remained high.

“Some teams tend to coast a little when they’re winning and when they’re struggling they tend to give up,” he said. “With us, whether we’re winning or losing, we always maintain our intensity and that will get us through the down times.”

Because the Lions have already played Pepperdine and San Diego on the road, the conference schedule should be in their favor the rest of the season.

“I think as long as our pitching continues to be as good as it has been, we’re going to be in the race,” Robinson said.