It Will Be a Scout Jamboree

Major league baseball scouts are well acquainted with UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium, having traveled there often to evaluate dozens of Bruins and hundreds of opposing players who have gone on to play in the big leagues.

The largest gathering of scouts in the stadium’s 21-year history is expected today when USC’s Mark Prior and UCLA’s Josh Karp square off in a nonconference showdown between the nation’s top two draft-eligible pitching prospects.

“We’ll probably break a world record for most scouts in one place,” UCLA Coach Gary Adams said. “You’re going to see more radar guns than you would at a Highway Patrol convention.”

Prior and Karp appear to be on the fast track to potential millions of dollars in signing bonuses.

Prior, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound junior right-hander, has been every bit as good as he was last summer when he became the projected No. 1 pick in the draft with his performance for Team USA.

Prior is 2-0 with a 1.35 earned-run average in three appearances for USC (6-1), which is ranked No. 2 by Baseball America and won two of three games against No. 18 Long Beach State last weekend. In the series opener against the 49ers, Prior struck out 10 for the second consecutive game. He has 22 strikeouts and two walks in 13 1/3 innings.

Karp (1-0, 0.69) has been equally impressive.

The 6-5, 195-pound junior right-hander has struck out 17 and walked five in 13 innings. Last Friday against Nevada Las Vegas, he gave up three hits, no earned runs and struck out eight.

“Both guys are major league pitchers waiting to happen,” said USC Coach Mike Gillespie, who managed Prior and Karp last summer on Team USA. “They are both power arms. Their work ethic and what they do to stay in top physical condition is very similar.”

USC won six consecutive games before losing to Long Beach in the finale of a three-game series Sunday. The Trojans, who boast one of the deepest pitching staffs in the nation, have also received outstanding performances from senior right-hander Rik Currier (2-0, 1.80 ERA).

First baseman Bill Peavey is batting .462 with 12 runs batted in. Outfielder Brian Barre is batting .421 with 11 RBIs, and shortstop Seth Davidson and second baseman Anthony Lunetta have been solid in the field and at the plate.

UCLA (7-2) has won seven consecutive games after losing to UC Riverside and Hawaii. The Bruins swept UNLV last weekend and defeated UC Santa Barbara, 6-5, in 14 innings Wednesday.

“We’ve been scrapping for runs,” Adams said. “We don’t have the power hitters we’ve had in the past, but we have some older guys who have been waiting their turn and now they are doing the job.”

First baseman Eric Reece is batting .452 with two home runs and 16 RBIs. Outfielder Adam Berry is hitting .364 with four doubles and 11 RBIs and outfielder Matt Pearl is batting .419 and also has 11 RBIs.

Today’s game, which starts at 5 p.m., is the first of a three-game series at UCLA. The Trojans and Bruins play a Pacific 10 Conference series April 27-29.

“This is not your ordinary nonconference hookup and get-together,” Gillespie said. “Both of these guys throw in the 90s. Prior’s curveball was as good as it’s been in his last start and Karp also has a solid curve and a change-up that’s off the charts.

“It’s going to be a show.”

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Pepperdine, ranked 14th, is off to a 6-0 start, but its game against USC was rained out Tuesday. The game has been rescheduled for Wednesday. Pepperdine is in New Orleans today for the start of a three-game series against No. 15 Tulane. Long Beach State is also on the road at Arkansas. . . . Cal State Fullerton, ranked 19th, began the week 3-5 after winning two of three games at Baylor. The good news for the Titans was the performance of senior right-hander Kirk Saarloos, who pitched a three-hit shutout. The bad news: Fullerton was shut out in the second game of the series. The Titans also were shut out by Stanford. Last season, Fullerton was not shut out. Fullerton improved to 4-5 with a 5-3 victory over Loyola Marymount (7-3) on Wednesday in the first game of an 11-game home stand.