Pepperdine Takes On Cornhuskers in Campaign to Reach World Series

The Pepperdine baseball team, West Coast Athletic Conference champion, will meet Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA West I Regional at 11 a.m. Friday at Stanford University.

In Friday’s second game, top-seeded Stanford will play Oregon State at 3:30.

On Saturday, first-round losers will meet at 11 a.m. and the winners at 3:30 p.m. in the double-elimination tournament that continues through Sunday. The regional winner advances to the eight-team College World Series at Omaha.

Coach Dave Gorrie’s Pepperdine team finished the season with a 49-13-1 record and won 24 of its last 30 games.

Eight men and five women from the UCLA track teams have qualified for the NCAA championships.

For the UCLA women, Jackie Joyner has qualified for eight events and freshman Gail Devers for six.

Events and qualifying times for Joyner, who has the nation’s best marks in the long jump and the heptathlon, are: long jump (22-11), triple jump (42-6 3/4), high jump (6-1 1/2) 100-meter hurdles (13.19), 400 hurdles (55.87) and heptathlon (6,520 points).

She and Devers have also qualified for the 400 and 1,600 relays, and Devers’ other events and times are: long jump (20-8 1/2), 100 hurdles (13.16), 100 meters (11.19) and 200 (23.12).

Events and qualifying marks for the other women are: 400 meters, Angela Bailey (52.94); 100 meters, Bailey (11.39); 1,500 meters, Polly Plumer (4:19.05) and discus, Toni Lutjens (180-1).

Among the Bruin men, events and qualifying times are: 400 meters, Dwyan Biggers (45.93); 800 Jack Preijers (1:47.9); 10,000 Rich Brownsberger (28:59.76), 110 hurdles, Steve Kerho (13.70); 400 hurdles, Kerho (50.78); triple jump, Dwayne Washington (52-8 1/2); shot put, John Frazier (65-2 3/4) and Jim Banich (61-4; discus, Banich (192-0), and hammer, Frazier (208-6) and David Wilson (200-1).

The Pepperdine baseball team, West Coast Athletic Conference champion, swept the conference’s top awards, according to WCAA Commissioner Michael Gilleran.

Honored were Coach Dave Gorrie, senior center fielder Brad Bierley and pitcher Scott Marrett.

Gorrie was named coach of the year for leading his team to a 49-13-1 overall record (which set a school single-season record for victories), a 20-4 mark in conference and a berth in the NCAA West I Regional this week at Stanford.

Bierley was a unanimous selection as player of the year by conference coaches. He led the league with overall totals of 26 home runs, 72 runs batted in, 10 game-winning RBIs and 67 runs scored. He also stole 29 bases in 36 attempts, batted .359 and didn’t commit an error.

Pitcher of the year honors went to Marrett for his conference-leading marks of a 14-0 record, a 1.98 earned-run average, 10 complete games, two shutouts and 132 innings pitched. In league play, Marrett was 8-0 with a 2.01 ERA.

Marrett and Bierley were named to the all-league first team along with Pepperdine’s Paul Faries, a sophomore third baseman, and Nezi Balelo, senior shortstop.

First-team selections from Loyola Marymount are freshman second baseman Chris Donnels, senior outfielder Reggie Lambert and junior outfielder Billy Bean.

Second-team selections from Pepperdine are sophomore utility player Steve Erickson and senior pitcher Jon Smith. Loyola players on the second team are junior designated hitter Mike Whitt and junior pitcher Tim Layana.

Names in the News

Four Westside residents scored holes in one at the Rancho Park Golf Course’s nine-hole layout. They are William Moore of Santa Monica, Jason Fox of Beverly Hills and Al Rosen and Sid Holtzman, both of West Los Angeles.

Victor Pappas of West Los Angeles had an ace at the Armand Hammer course in Holmby Park, and A. Lee Done of Canoga Park scored a hole in one at Rancho Park’s 18-hole course.