COLLEGE BASEBALL / NCAA REGIONAL PLAYOFFS : Local Teams Open With Wins

Southland teams got off to a good start in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament Thursday as defending national champion Pepperdine, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Long Beach and UCLA won first-round games.

Cal State Fullerton will play Maine, and USC will play Kentucky today in opening games of the Central II Regional at Austin, Tex. Winners of the eight six-team, double-elimination regionals advance to the College World Series in Omaha June 4-12.

Steve Duda, Pepperdine’s all-time leader in victories, pitched a three-hitter as the Waves defeated Minnesota, 4-1, in the West Regional at Tempe, Ariz.

Duda, a senior right-hander from Whittier, gave up singles in the first and second innings and a double in the sixth. He walked one and struck out seven as Pepperdine beat the Golden Gophers in 1 hour 58 minutes.

Ryan Radmanovich hit two home runs and Matt McElreath and Eric Ekdahl hit one each for the Waves, who will play Northridge, a 3-1 winner Thursday over St. John’s, tonight at 7.

“Minnesota is a good hitting team,” said Duda, who improved to 12-4 this season with his 44th victory. “I could not challenge them like I wanted to. Today, my best pitch was the changeup. It kept them off pace.”

Radmanovich, who has a team-leading 12 home runs, has homered four times in his last six at-bats.

Northridge third baseman Andy Small hit two home runs and junior right-hander Marco Contreras gave up five hits and struck out nine in the Matadors’ victory.

Small, who has 20 homers, hit a two-run shot in the first and a solo homer in the eighth, both against left-hander Tom Danulevith.

“He’s a perfect definition of what separates good hitters from great hitters,” Danulevith said. “Any small mistake I made he took advantage. I tip my hat to him.”

EAST

Top-seeded Long Beach took advantage of seven errors by Central Florida for an 11-6 victory at Tallahassee, Fla.

The 49ers will play Mississippi State, a 15-1 loser Thursday to Notre Dame, today.

Long Beach Coach Dave Snow gambled and started senior right-hander Brad Fontes against Central Florida instead of All-American right-hander Daniel Choi (15-1) or Mike Fontana (8-3).

Fontes, who had pitched only 16 innings this season, gave up a run and two hits in five innings for his first victory.

Central Florida made five errors in the first three innings as Long Beach took an 8-0 lead. Eric Martins had three hits and scored three runs for the 49ers.

“We took advantage of opportunities early,” Snow said. “but our level of play needs to get better if we are going to advance.”

CENTRAL I

Junior left-hander Tim Kubinski pitched a four-hitter as UCLA beat Lamar, 6-1, at College Station, Tex.

UCLA will play Hawaii, a 9-8 winner Thursday over North Carolina, tonight.

Kubinski (11-3) gave up one hit over the final six innings and retired 10 consecutive batters during one stretch.

David Roberts had three hits for UCLA, which put the game away with a four-run eighth.

Adam Melhuse had two hits and drove in two runs for the Bruins. Ryan McGuire, Brett Schafer and Gar Vallone each drove in a run.