Highlight of Malibu Debut Is Off the Field

Poor hitting and a difficult schedule have contributed to a miserable debut for Pepperdine baseball Coach Frank Sanchez. The Waves (4-10) are batting under .250.

The silver lining for Sanchez has been his recruiting. Six players committed during the early signing period, including two highly regarded hitters: corner infielder Greg Raymundo from Fresno City College and Jared Pitney, a first baseman-outfielder from Chaparral High in Scottsdale, Ariz., who led his state in home runs as a junior.

The most telling recruits, however, may be Antelope Valley High right-hander Sean Douglass and Villa Park High third baseman Matt Boone, the youngest son of former major league player and manager Bob Boone.

Matt Boone’s brothers attended USC and Douglass was recruited hard by the Trojans. Sanchez was a USC assistant the past 10 years.

“It seemed early on the Boone family was firmly entrenched in the USC experience,” Sanchez said. “So that’s a pretty good little coup.”

On the rebound: How has the Cal State Northridge basketball team managed to win four of its last five games while shooting a combined 45.8%? Answer: offensive rebounding. The Matadors have pulled down 80 offensive rebounds in the four-game stretch, while opponents have grabbed only 124 defensive rebounds.

Good shots: Cheree Hicks and Jason Hammond, Cal State Northridge’s standout freshmen shotputters, moved to fourth and sixth on the all-time Matador lists last Saturday in the Big Sky Conference indoor championships at the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Hicks placed third in the women’s shotput with a personal best of 48 feet 6 1/4 inches and Hammond won the men’s event with a career best of 58-6.

Up and down: Cal State Northridge women’s basketball coach Michael Abraham, on his team, which is 4-22 overall and 2-13 in the Big Sky Conference: “We have surges where we are as good as any team in the Big Sky, but we have other times where we are the worst team in the Big Sky.”