COLLEGE BASEBALL PREVIEW : Pepperdine Will Learn Early if It’s Right on Schedule

Will the real Pepperdine baseball team please step up to the plate?

Are the Waves the national power presumed by Collegiate Baseball magazine, which ranked them No. 7 in its preseason poll?

Or are they the mediocre also-rans projected by Baseball America, which ignored Pepperdine in its Top 25 and listed it 39th among probable playoff teams.

“It gives you confidence one day and humbles you the next,” second-year Coach Pat Harrison said. “I don’t know what to make of it.”

Anyone placing value on pitching and defense has to respect the Waves. Their starting infield returns as do three quality starting pitchers and a dominant closer. The outfield is full of newcomers, but Harrison said they are fast and strong defensively.

The wealth of experience should enable the Waves to fare well early in the season when 11 of their first 13 games are against teams ranked in the Top 20--of both polls.

Pepperdine opens at home against Westmont on Tuesday at 2 p.m. before facing California, Cal State Fullerton, Texas, UC Santa Barbara, UCLA and Long Beach State. Only Westmont and UCSB are not ranked.

“We schedule tough on purpose,” Harrison said. “Particularly this year with so many returning guys, they know if they are playing good competition or not. It’s the only way to get better. Anyway, it’s fun.”

Last season, the enjoyment was lessened by a 7-10-1 start against several of the same opponents. Pepperdine bounced back to finish 36-19-1, including 23-3 to win the West Coast Conference championship for the ninth time in 11 seasons. The Waves were third in the NCAA West regional.

Left-hander Randy Wolf, a sophomore from El Camino Real High who was 9-1 with a 2.16 earned-run average, heads a seasoned pitching staff. Wolf also will serve as designated hitter against some right-handed pitching.

Greg Gregory, a senior left-hander, and Jason LeBlanc, a senior right-hander, are expected to be vastly improved after posting earned-run averages in excess of 5.00.

“They’ve both come a long way,” pitching coach John Verhoeven said. “I expect them to give us quality starts.”

Experience out of the bullpen comes from closer Eric Brubaker, a sidearm-throwing junior right-hander who was 10-2 with a 1.25 ERA, and set-up man John Workman, a junior right-hander who posted a 3.60 ERA.

Gerardo Gonzalez, who batted .322, will play first base after mainly serving as designated hitter. Ruben Gamboa (.335) moves from first base to third. Both are seniors.

“Those two are nearly interchangeable,” Harrison said. “They are mature players who provide leadership.”

Junior second baseman Justin Hodgdon (.345) and senior shortstop Dennis Konrady (.292) form a savvy double-play duo. They combine with catcher Dennis Twombley (.254), a junior returning starter, and center fielder Pedro Loza, a freshman from Bell Gardens High, to give Pepperdine strong defense up the middle.

“Loza can fly,” Harrison said. “He’ll grow into that position.”

Flanking him will be sophomore Josh Oder (.217) in left field and a platoon of Mark Lopez (.236) and Clay Lureschi (.320) in right. All three were reserves last season. Lopez is a junior from Chatsworth and Lureschi a senior in his second season at Pepperdine.

Depth is provided in the infield by junior Rob Reid (.274), who can play infield or outfield, and David Rosato, the team’s second baseman in 1994 who was a redshirt last season because of a shoulder injury. Rosato also can play third.

Besides Loza, the only newcomers expected to make an immediate impact are freshmen pitchers.

Lance Jordan, a right-hander from Whittier Christian, throws his fastball about 90 mph, and Andrew Shibilo, a 6-foot-6 right-hander from Massapequa Park, N.Y., also throws hard. Left-handers Dave Reed and Justin Cuellar will be spot starters.

“Anytime you have experience and ability in the infield and outfielders who can chase down balls in the alleys, it does nothing but give the pitchers confidence,” Harrison said.

That experience also should enable the Waves to withstand their early competition better than they did a year ago.

“I have a feeling we’ll play better in the first half,” Harrison said. “Last year I was new and we had only three returning starters. This club has been through a lot more together.”