Clayton Puts Strikeout Record on Ice : College baseball: Junior breaks Northridge career mark in a 10-4 win over Pepperdine.

Shortly after becoming Cal State Northridge’s all-time strikeout leader in a 10-4 win over Pepperdine, Craig Clayton waited patiently to be turned into a human ice pack.

His upper torso was wrapped to keep the ice in place on his right shoulder. His ailing right elbow was bound, his arm covered entirely, and his bruised left wrist, which kept him from swinging a bat for the first time this season, was wrapped.

It was not the first time Wednesday that Clayton, who struck out 11, had looked so fragile.

He worked himself into a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and started the second by surrendering the first of two Pepperdine home runs.

The homers were uncharacteristic--Clayton had allowed just four before Wednesday. But what was not unusual was Clayton’s ability to overcome a shaky start and go the distance. The complete game was his 12th of the season, a team high.

Not only did Clayton (11-3) shake off the rust from a nine-day layoff, created by a weeklong break in CSUN’s schedule, he ignored the throbbing pain in his wrist.

“I can’t catch the ball and I can’t squeeze the glove,” said Clayton, who is three hits shy of becoming the school’s all-time hit leader. “I just have to set the ball in there. It hurts. I’m just happy I was able to do something to help the team out.”

The record-breaking strikeout, the 225th of Clayton’s career and his seventh in the game, came in the sixth inning. Clayton threw consecutive strikes, wasted a pitch, then got Chris Milton swinging to surpass Jeremy Hernandez, who struck out 224 batters from 1985-87.

Clayton finished the game with 229 strikeouts.

“I didn’t feel like I got into a groove until the seventh,” Clayton said. “I wasn’t hitting my spots until then. The balls they were hitting were up.”

But fourth-ranked Pepperdine (35-9-1) failed to take full advantage. In a demonstration of how far Clayton has come since last season, when he posted a 5.44 earned-run average, Clayton limited his mistakes and turned an off-day into a record-setting day.

“He did a phenomenal job,” Pepperdine Coach Andy Lopez said. “He is a very courageous young man.”

While Clayton was limiting the Waves to five hits, his teammates were unloading on a Pepperdine pitching staff that bore no resemblance to the one that has the nation’s lowest ERA.

With none of his best pitchers available after a stretch of eight games in nine days, Lopez started seldom-used reliever Sky Lasowitz. Two other pitchers followed him to the mound in their Pepperdine debuts.

Lasowitz was rocked for six runs and eight hits in three innings, including a two-run home run by Greg Shockey and solo homers by Denny Vigo and Kyle Washington.

In his first game in three weeks, Vigo also lofted a three-run homer against Adam Housley.

“I’ve been swinging it pretty good in practice, but I didn’t think I’d come back with such a bang,” said Vigo, who has served three extended terms on the bench this season because of a chronically strained right hamstring.

Northridge (35-14-1) also benefitted from several outstanding defensive plays. In the third inning, Scott Richardson fielded a grounder behind second and made the throw in time to first. In the fourth, Clayton made a barehanded play on a bunt to his right and in the fifth, shortstop Mike Solar started a bang-bang double play.