Tunnel Vision

High on a hill, Pepperdine overlooks the beaches Randy Wolf rarely visits and the Pacific Ocean he rarely notices.

Growing up in West Hills, Wolf often found himself at Pepperdine with his father, but the only place on that big hill he longed to be was atop a little mound.

“From the time I was 9 or 10, a Pepperdine baseball game was one of my favorite places,” he said.

Now that mound is Wolf’s. Stepping onto it transforms him from a playful college sophomore with a hair-trigger laugh into a combative, overpowering predator with a vicious bite to his two-seam fastball, slurve and circle change.

Behind the mound and beyond the outfield wall is an ocean view that oozes laid-back Southern California, symbolizing everything Wolf is not.

While fellow students prowl the Pacific Coast Highway at night, he lies in his room mentally dissecting mistakes he made the last time he stood on that mound.

“I think of every wrong thing that happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said. “When I wake up I can’t wait to get to the bullpen to start over.”

Wolf’s approach is contagious. He lives in a dorm with four teammates, and they don’t go to the beach either.

“Randy is competitive, determined and single-minded,” said Josh Oder, a sophomore outfielder and the Waves’ leading hitter. “He deserves everything he’s gotten.”

Such as posting a 4-2 record and a 1.96 earned-run average this season, including a no-hitter last week against Gonzaga.

Such as gaining an invitation to try out for the Olympic team after going 4-0 with a 1.90 ERA on Team USA last summer.

Such as being named freshman All-American after going 9-1 with a 2.16 ERA for Pepperdine last spring.

Such as winning back-to-back City Section player of the year honors after leading El Camino Real High to consecutive 4-A Division championships in 1993-94. Wolf was 23-4 with a 1.13 ERA in high school.

The accomplishments are strung together like scallops on a skewer. There are no gaps, no adjustment periods during which his performance has fallen off.

Wolf (6 feet, 185 pounds) has been dominant at every level and clearly hasn’t reached his ceiling, which contradicts what many professional scouts believed two years ago. Wolf was devastated in ’94 when he wasn’t drafted until the 25th round (by the Dodgers) despite being listed as the 47th-best high school prospect by Baseball America.

The left-hander will be eligible for the draft again next year, and this time will be coveted.

“I see him being in the big leagues for quite a while,”

said John Verhoeven, Pepperdine’s pitching coach and a former major leaguer. “Randy has the most-resilient arm I’ve ever seen and he is the best fielding pitcher I’ve ever seen.”

Wolf can also hit. He often bats third in the Pepperdine lineup as a designated hitter, and lately has been playing right field when not pitching. He is a complete player who happens to pitch.

Although his shining statistics offer no clue, Wolf went through a period of adversity two years ago that began with the death of his father, James, of a heart attack at 56.

Two months later came his disappointment at not being drafted higher. Then, when he enrolled at Pepperdine, the coach who recruited him, Andy Lopez, left to become the Florida coach.

“We were like, ‘Let’s forget this year ever happened,’ ” said Judy Wolf, Randy’s mother.

Wolf stuck it out at Pepperdine and developed strong relationships with Coach Pat Harrison and pitching coach Geoff Zahn. Verhoeven replaced Zahn, who became head coach at Michigan this season, and Wolf quickly warmed to Verhoeven as well.

“Randy is very stable,” Harrison said. “I don’t see him having many peaks and valleys. He is happy-go-lucky but has his moments when he considers things and takes stock. He is a very upbeat, well-balanced person.”

Wolf’s maturation since his father died March 27, 1994, can be chronicled like innings in a ballgame, nine frames that form a picture of his growth:

* April 14, 1994:

This Shot’s for You

In his first game after his father’s death, Wolf hit a home run near a flagpole where the flag fluttered at half-staff in honor of James Wolf. Rounding the bases, Randy glanced skyward.

He pitched a complete game and El Camino Real defeated Thousand Oaks, 14-7, to win the Thousand Oaks tournament.

“Today I just wanted to do it for Dad,” he said after the game.

* May 19, 1994:

A Turning Point

With a photo of his father in his pocket and numerous scouts in the stands, Wolf had his worst high school outing, losing to Taft, 10-4. Afterward, he and his mother had a long talk.

“He felt he let Jim down,” Judy said. “We talked about who he was pitching for. He hadn’t pitched for his father or I when Jim was alive, so he shouldn’t be trying to pitch for him now.”

Wolf stopped carrying the photo and began to ease the pressure he put on himself.

“My mom was so incredibly strong it was unbelievable,” he said. “I honestly don’t know how I would have handled it without her.”

* June 3, 1994:

Reality Check

Moments after pitching El Camino Real to its second consecutive City 4-A title at Dodger Stadium, Wolf sat in the dugout and broke down.

“Right when we won it I felt a huge relief, then all of a sudden a large emptiness,” Wolf said. “My dad wasn’t there to share it and the realization just hit me. There were no more games to pitch and I just had to face it.

“My teammates comforted me and understood what I was feeling. Most of the guys knew my dad since they were young and they felt it with me.”

* Feb. 24, 1995:

Cutting His Teeth

Harrison threw Wolf to the wolves in his second start, pitching the freshman against powerful Cal State Fullerton. Wolf was shelled early and Pepperdine lost, 7-3.

“I was pretty intimidated,” Wolf said. “In the bullpen, I could feel my fastball wasn’t there. But instead of thinking, ‘Hit my spots,’ I told myself to throw harder, completely the wrong thing.”

Alone and introspective that evening, he thought through the game pitch by pitch and did not lose again all season.

* April 21, 1995:

Spinning a Shutout

Wolf was matched against Santa Clara’s Bob Pailthorpe, the West Coast Conference pitcher of the year, in a pivotal conference game that was scouted by Team USA pitching coach Jerry Weinstein.

Pepperdine led, 1-0, in the eighth when a Santa Clara batter bunted, trying to advance a runner. Wolf fielded the ball near the first-base line, jumped, spun in midair and threw a strike to second to retire the lead runner.

“It was a tremendous athletic play, and we knew we were going to win from that point,” Harrison said. “Randy’s guts, determination and fearlessness were all wrapped up in that play.”

Wolf nailed down the shutout and a few days later received an invitation to try out for Team USA.

* May 14, 1995:

A Gift of Appreciation

On Mother’s Day, numerous friends accompanied Judy Wolf to Loyola Marymount to watch Randy pitch.

Wolf produced another gem, shutting out the Lions on three hits. Afterward, he went into the stands and thanked each of his fans for supporting him--and his mother.

“I thought that was sweet that they would come out and support him on Mother’s Day,” Judy said. “He made us all proud.”

* July 29, 1995:

For Country

As a relief pitcher for Team USA, he entered a game against international power Cuba with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth.

He promptly threw a wild pitch to extend Cuba’s lead to 3-0, but came back and struck out the next two batters. Wolf went 3 1/3 innings, striking out seven, and Team USA eventually won, 7-6.

“It was big to face a team like that,” Wolf said. “A lot of those guys could step in and play major league baseball.”

* Feb. 16, 1996:

Last Sleepless Night

Wolf’s only loss this season came at UCLA when he yielded back-to-back home runs to Troy Glaus and Cass Olson. Harrison pulled Wolf in the seventh and UCLA won, 9-4.

“I was all right about it until just before I went to sleep,” Wolf said. “Then every pitch came back, eating me up. It was impossible to get to sleep.”

After tossing and turning, Wolf has made life miserable for hitters ever since, allowing six earned runs in 39 2/3 innings.

* March 5, 1996:

Knocking Off No. 1

Wolf was in trouble early in a game at Fullerton, the nation’s No. 1-ranked team and winner of 15 in a row. The bases were loaded with one out in the second inning, but Wolf struck out Aaron Rowand and Jerome Alviso.

Pepperdine went on to win, 1-0, and Wolf allowed four hits in seven innings. The next week, he received an invitation to play again for Team USA.

“He froze Alviso with a circle change on a full count with the bases loaded,” Verhoeven said. “That’s the kind of big pitch Randy makes all the time.”

Wolf also struck out Mark Kotsay, the national player of the year, with a sidearm curve he had only recently learned.

“It was almost revenge because they beat me the year before and it bothered me the whole year,” Wolf said.

*

Need extra innings? In consecutive starts his junior year in high school, Wolf pitched a no-hitter and a perfect game.

Wolf is as overpowering as he was in high school. Last week, he recorded his first collegiate no-hitter, beating Gonzaga, 2-0.

In 156 1/3 innings at Pepperdine, he has allowed only 109 hits with 147 strikeouts and 56 walks.

“Randy continues to get better,” Harrison said. “His poise and his command make him a pitcher who is fun to watch.”