Lehr Helps Trojans Open With Victory

USC pitcher Justin Lehr did not waste any time establishing his dominance Friday against Virginia Commonwealth in the first game of an NCAA baseball regional at Dedeaux Field.

Lehr, a senior right-hander who transferred to USC from UC Santa Barbara, struck out the side in the first inning en route to a six-hit, 10-strikeout performance in the Trojans’ 10-0 victory before 1,148.

“It definitely set the tone for me,” Lehr said of the first inning.

The defending national champion Trojans (34-23) will play Pepperdine, a 4-0 winner Friday night over Harvard, in a winner’s bracket game today at 3 p.m. Virginia Commonwealth (40-19) plays Harvard at 11 a.m.

Lehr’s shutout was the first by a Trojan pitcher this season. He walked only one batter in a victory that took only a rare-by-college-baseball-standards 2 hours 15 minutes to complete.

USC avenged a 14-4 loss to Virginia Commonwealth last year in the East Regional.

Virginia Commonwealth’s only real threat came in the fourth when the Rams loaded the bases on singles by Jason Dubois, Kevin Elrod and Brian Mohr.

But Lehr (7-2) struck out Cory Bauswell to end the inning.

“That’s like putting a knife in the back of a team,” Lehr said. “Getting out with no runs scored was extremely important in the way the game went.”

Lehr was backed by a defense that committed no errors and a Trojan offense that produced 11 hits against Virginia Commonwealth starter John Korn (8-5), including a solo homer by designated hitter Carlos Casillas in the sixth inning and a three-run shot by third baseman Beau Craig in the eighth.

Casillas also had a single and a double. Left fielder Jason Lane and catcher Eric Munson each had two hits for the Trojans.

And like Lehr, USC’s hitters were formidable from the start.

The Trojans scored four runs in the first on a run-scoring double by Lane, a run-scoring triple by Dominic Correa and two wild pitches by Korn.

USC added two runs in the sixth. Brad Ticehurst was hit by a pitch, moved to third on a single by Casillas and scored on an error by shortstop Mohr on a ground-ball hit by Justin Gemoll.

Casillas scored on a single by Seth Davidson.

Pepperdine 4, Harvard 0--Sophomore right-hander Jay Adams gave up four hits, struck out eight and walked only one in beating the Crimson (28-19) at Dedeaux Field.

Only two Harvard runners got as far as second base against Adams (11-2), whose shutout was his third of the season.

“I just tried to work down and got a lot of ground balls,” said Adams, who recorded 12 outs on ground balls. “After it got dark, [Pepperdine third baseman] G.J. Raymundo told me to work down because he couldn’t see the ball well in his last at-bat.”

Sophomore center fielder Austin Evans had three hits, scored twice, stole two bases and drove in a run for the Waves (44-14), who had nine hits in a game that took only 2 hours 10 minutes to complete. Senior third baseman G.J. Raymundo had two hits and two RBIs and sophomore catcher Dane Sardinha hit a solo homer in the fourth.

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Today’s Games

NCAA DIVISION I REGIONAL AT USC

* Game 3--Harvard (28-19) vs. Virginia Commonwealth (40-19), 11 a.m.

* Game 4--Pepperdine (44-14) vs. USC (34-23), 3 p.m.

* Game 5--Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 7 p.m.