Added Stakes for Trojans, Bruins

The NCAA baseball playoffs are seven weeks away, but two Southland series this weekend could have a major impact on the Pacific 10 and West Coast Conference championship races.

USC, ranked 14th by Baseball America, visits No. 24 UCLA for a three-game Pac-10 series beginning tonight at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Pepperdine plays host to Loyola Marymount in a three-game WCC series starting today at Malibu.

Tonight’s 6 o’clock game between USC (22-11, 5-1 in the Pac-10) and UCLA (20-12, 5-1) features two of the best pitchers in the Southland, and perhaps the nation.

UCLA left-hander Rob Henkel is 5-1 with a 3.58 earned-run average. The junior from La Mesa sat out most of the 1998 season and all of last season while recovering from elbow surgery but has become a strikeout machine in his last four starts. Henkel struck out 16 against Bradley, 16 against Harvard, 18 against Washington and 11 against Oregon State.

USC’s Mark Prior, a sophomore transfer from Vanderbilt, is 5-3 with a 3.55 ERA. Prior, a freshman All-American last season, has 74 strikeouts in 71 innings and is also a threat as a hitter.

USC defeated UCLA twice in nonconference games in February. Both teams stumbled badly this week in tuneups for their only conference series.

USC blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning Wednesday and lost to No. 5 Cal State Fullerton, 5-4. Tuesday, UCLA got hammered by Loyola Marymount, 23-12.

Two-time defending WCC champion Loyola (21-12, 9-3) hopes that performance carries over against Pepperdine (21-14, 10-1).

Loyola Marymount leads the WCC’s Coast Division and Pepperdine leads the West Division. The winner of this weekend’s series will have home-field advantage in the WCC championship series in May if the teams maintain their positions through the end of the season.

Loyola Marymount hit six home runs against UCLA, increasing its season total to 54 and putting the Lions on pace to break the school record of 82 set in 1990.

Junior catcher Scott Walter leads Loyola Marymount with 11 homers and senior infielder Anthony Angel has a team-high 46 runs batted in.

Pepperdine beat No. 22 Long Beach State, 8-7, on Tuesday, the Waves’ first victory over a nationally ranked opponent this season.