Pepperdine Freshman Finds Success Quickly By Cutting Corners

Most freshmen would be happy to have the opportunity to pitch for a college team the caliber of Pepperdine, 1992 College World Series champion.

Randy Wolf has a 4-1 record, second-best on the Waves’ staff, and he’s not satisfied.

“I guess I’m pitching all right,” said Wolf, who last year pitched for El Camino Real High. “But I have a long way to go.”

Wolf has a 2.14 earned-run average, 45 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings and two complete games--including a shutout against Loyola Marymount.

But Wolf shrugs off his accomplishments and concerns himself with achieving perfection.

“I want to hit the glove every time I throw the ball,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever reach that level. But there’s been games where I’ve felt I was close to it.”

A hard-throwing left-hander, Wolf was The Times’ Valley pitcher of the year in 1994. He led El Camino Real to the City 4-A championship two seasons in a row. But he says he was just a “thrower” back then. Now he’s becoming a pitcher.

“Last year, I really didn’t care as long as I threw it hard,” he said. “I’d be lucky to hit a corner.”

Working with Pepperdine pitching coach Geoff Zahn, a former starter with the Dodgers and Angels, Wolf said, has been like starting all over again.

“He’s taught me tons of things about mechanics and the mental side,” Wolf said. “He’s made a big difference. He tells me, ‘You’re always better than the hitter. The hitter’s stupid.’ And you’ve got to look at it that way.

“He’s taught me to find one pitch that I throw best and make the hitters hit that pitch. Set him up with other pitches.”

Wolf’s calling card is the fastball, outside. His velocity has increased slightly this season, but his changeup, curve and cut fastball pitches are still in developmental stages.

But with a lot of velocity and a little bit of savvy, Wolf gets by just fine. The Waves are 12-2-1 in West Coast Conference games. Wolf is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA in conference play.

That’s not hitting the glove on every pitch, but it’s obviously good enough.

“I may never do that,” Wolf said. “I never look at things realistically. I think I can be as good as my mind says. But I guess it will be a matter of going as far as my body will take me.”

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Add Pepperdine: Right-handers John Workman (St. Francis) and Jeff Gibbons (Oak Park), and left-hander James Melcher (Buena) join Wolf on a Wave pitching staff that has a 3.65 ERA. Workman, who does not have a decision, has a 2.94 ERA in 36 2/3 innings. Gibbons is 1-0, Melcher 0-1 in limited play.

Adam Pearlman (Chatsworth/Pierce College) is batting .333, mostly as a pinch hitter. Mark Lopez (Chatsworth) has almost as many runs batted in (14) as hits (17), and 10 of 23 hits by Jason Cohen (El Camino Real/Pierce) have been for extra bases.

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Ellen Breen put an exclamation mark on her domination in the ski ballet this winter by winning the World Cup and the U.S. nationals, then immediately announcing her retirement. Her age had only a little to do with it.

Breen, who will be 32 on Monday, is bowing on top because ski ballet, which was demonstration sport at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, and again at the ’92 Games in Albertville, France, is not a medal event and has no immediate prospects of becoming one.

“If I knew it would be only three years away, knowing the sport would get some respect, I would have stayed on, no doubt in my mind,” said Breen, who lives with her parents in West Hills during the off-season.

“My mind and my body wouldn’t be too old to do it. And I’ve got everything else in my trophy case except an Olympic medal. That would be all the motivation I’d need.”

The disciplines of aerials, moguls and ski ballet fall under the umbrella of freestyle skiing. Of the three, only ski ballet is not an Olympic event, and the earliest it could gain admission would be the year 2002.

But Breen won’t be waiting around. She’s off to Sweden in May to talk business with that country’s ski ballet team, which has a vacant women’s coaching position. And then there’s Fredric Andersson, coach of the Swedish aerial team.

“We’re not engaged yet, but I have a feeling I’m gonna end up living in Sweden,” said Breen, who will be working this summer at a golf course in Are that employs Andersson as its pro.

Breen is challenging golf with the same passion she had for competitive skiing, and has been hectoring her father, a scratch golfer, for tips. Jim Breen is vice principal of the Valley Occupational Center in Woodland Hills.

“I love the game,” she says. “I keep pursuing it, driving my dad nuts. All he’s got to show for it is a lot of gray hairs, but I’m getting better.

“If I could do it all over again, I’d definitely want to be a professional golfer.”

The similarities between skiing and golfing are most evident above the shoulders, and Breen feels her World Cup experience could help her handle any mental pressure.

“In skiing, I could draw on athleticism to get me through . . . but you can’t muscle your way through golf. It takes finesse.”

Breen, whose 15-handicap is nothing to be ashamed of for an occasional golfer, gives herself an edge when she’s out with her father.

“I play off the ladies’ tees because I want all the advantage I can get,” she said. “I just love those red markers.”

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Around the country: UC Santa Barbara third baseman Louis Tapia (Notre Dame) is batting .318 with 11 multiple-hit games. Pitcher Pat Treend (El Camino Real) leads the team with 55 strikeouts and had 12 in a complete-game victory over San Jose State last week. Right-hander Jorvic Salazar (Crespi) has a 3-1 record despite being nagged by injuries.

Reserve first baseman Kevin O’Malley (Harvard-Westlake) is batting .333 at Pennsylvania and catcher Mike Andry (Chaminade) is batting .273 at Michigan State. . . . Cal Poly San Luis Obispo second baseman Andy Hall leads the team with a .387 batting average and has hit safely in 21 of 22 games. Pitcher R.J. Simone (Hart/Canyons) has 34 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings but has also allowed 32 runs.

In softball, Drake outfielder Tricia Polhert (Royal) is batting .277 and leads the team with 19 RBIs.

UC Santa Barbara’s Johnna Mike (.293), Stacy Atwood (.289) and Michelle Ray (.277) have the team’s top batting averages. Mike (Camarillo) has not committed an error 70 chances at catcher. Atwood (Crescenta Valley) leads the team with 12 RBIs, two home runs and six stolen bases.

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Contributing: Bill Walker.