By Jared Hermann
Staff Writer
Coming off its championship performance in the “Battle at the Beach Tournament,” Pepperdine men’s baseball looked to continue its winning ways as it took the field against cross-town rival USC Tuesday.
Pepperdine (2-1) won the early season game 4-1 over a USC squad (5-2) ranked No. 7 in the nation. USC had four consecutive victories that included a sweep over South Alabama before the game and a victory over Long Beach State.
This was the second time in three games that the Waves faced a nationally ranked top-10 team.
Senior right-hander James Carroll rose to the occasion as the team’s starting pitcher. Carroll, a transfer from Alabama, was eager to pitch after having his first start postponed due to the rain last week.
With everyone anticipating the intensity that this game was going to offer, it was evident from the get-go which team wanted to win more.
Carroll came out firing and kept the Trojans off the scoreboard early with spectacular pitching. His team answered, scoring two runs in the second.
After senior first baseman Ty Harper walked to start the inning, freshman second baseman David Uribes knocked a double, making it easy for the skillful junior leftfielder Chris Kelly and sophomore catcher Nelson Caraballo to each drive home.
“It was great to pitch with the lead,” Carroll said. “Having the offense produce made the game a lot easier for the defense.”
By the sixth inning the score was 2-1 and Carroll was still going strong, having given up only one run and three hits in five innings. Seeing a possible victory in hand, Coach Frank Sanchez made the move early to the bullpen, deciding to bring in relievers to seal the deal.
In the sixth inning, junior rightfielder Cory Brightwell slapped in one of his two RBI’s on the day, when he singled in senior shortstop Kevin Estrada. Brightwell’s second RBI of the day came in two innings later in the eighth when he singled in Estrada once again to further pad the lead.
“We played good yesterday, but not great,” Brightwell said. “The team is realizing our abilities and soon enough so will the rest of the country.”
After increasing their lead by two runs, the Waves’ dominating bullpen had no problem taking the reigns.
Senior Derek Mills, followed by sophomore Steve Kleen, helped lead the way for sophomore Kea Kometani to record his second save of the season.
Kometani ended the contest by striking out two consecutive Trojans.
Despite nine strikeouts by Wave batters, Pepperdine added one into the win column Tuesday, improving its record to 3-1 overall as USC lost its third game, inevitably costing the Trojans their No. 7 ranking.
“We still have not played our best,” Carroll said. “It just goes to show how good we really are this year.”
As many Pepperdine students look forward to their Spring Break, the baseball team looks forward to its three-game road trip this weekend.
Departing early Thursday morning, the team heads to New Orleans where it will battle it out Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Turchin Stadium against No. 24 Tulane University.
February 20, 2003