JANE LEE
Sports Editor
Anyone can have a good day at the plate or on the mound.
Many can have a good week, some can have a good month and only a handful can have a good career.
Consistency is key for success in the game of baseball. That’s what makes Pepperdine juniors Barry Enright and Danny Worth so special, says Head Coach Steve Rodriguez.
The preseason All-Americans were named West Coast Conference Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, on Monday to give Pepperdine a sweep of the weekly conference honors.
The duo guided the No.-20 Waves to a 3-1 record against ranked opponents Southern California and Wichita State last week, improving the team to 7-3 on the season.
“The biggest thing about those two is that they are consistent,” Rodriguez said. “Any coach will tell you that they want guys who, day in and day out, come out and perform the same way.
“Even if Danny has an 0-for-4 day, I still know what he’s capable of doing. And with Barry, if he has a bad outing and gives up a lot of runs, I’m shocked.”
Worth batted .563 (9-for-16) for the week with six runs scored, five RBI and two stolen bases. The shortstop hit safely in each game, posting three multi-hit games while reaching base in 12 of 19 plate appearances.
He also had four doubles on the week to bring his career total to 45 and within one of 10th place on Pepperdine’s all-time doubles list.
“Being honored makes me want to be honored in that way more often,” Worth said. “It just makes me want to keep playing that much harder because when we get honors like that, I think it helps the team and motivates everyone to keep doing well.”
On the mound, Enright posted another dominant performance, this time against Wichita State, improving his season record to 3-0 and lowering his ERA to 0.83 after out-dueling fellow preseason All-American Aaron Shafer on Friday.
Enright pitched 7.1 innings, scattering seven hits while not walking a batter and striking out four en route to a 2-0 Waves victory at Eddy D. Field Stadium. It marked the third straight start the junior pitched at least seven innings as he improved his career record to 26-3. His 26 victories tie him with Patrick Ahearne (1991-92) and Mike Scott (1974-76) for seventh place on the school’s all-time wins list.
“Barry is a bulldog,” Worth said of his teammate. “He knows how to play the game, and I love having him on my team. I know it would not be fun to face him.”
Enright’s brilliant performance was followed by another strong outing by the Waves’ pitching staff on Saturday, as Pepperdine picked up its sixth straight win by defeating Wichita State 10-2.
The top three batters in the Waves’ lineup went a combined 8-for-12 with five runs and seven RBI while sophomore Brett Hunter worked five innings in the win.
Even though Hunter battled control problems, allowing two runs on three hits while walking five and hitting two batters, the offense backed him up with 15 hits.
Freshman left-hander Jonathan Harmston pitched the final 3.1 innings, allowing two hits, walking one and striking out two to earn his first collegiate save.
The final game of the series proved to be a pitching duel, one that the Waves would eventually lose as they were limited to six hits and two runs.
Shocker starter Rob Musgrave allowed just four hits and one run over seven-plus innings, a performance that beat out Pepperdine junior Robert Dickmann’s (0-1) strong outing, in which he pitched a career-high six-plus innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out a personal-best six batters.
Even though the Waves grabbed two victories against a higher-ranked team, the Waves know they need to bring their “A game” to the field every time.
“We need to play every game leaving nothing behind,” Worth said. “I think a lot of the younger guys are realizing that, no matter the team’s ranking, we always need to be playing our best.”
In agreement with Worth was Rodriguez, who has never been a big fan of focusing on rankings.
“When you play against ranked teams, you know you can’t make simple mistakes,” he said. “But at the same time, we need to be playing every game that way. Once you establish yourself as a nationally-ranked team as we have done, your confidence level goes up.
“But the biggest thing is to make sure they don’t think they’re better than they are. Just because they’re wearing a Pepperdine jersey doesn’t mean they’re always going to get a win. It just means other teams are going to want to beat them that much more.”
The Waves will attempt to start a new winning streak when they open a three-game series against Fresno State on Friday at Eddy D. Field Stadium beginning at 2 p.m. The final two games are set to begin at 1 p.m.
“I think the biggest difference in the team since losing that first series is that the nerves have gone away,” Rodriguez said. “They’ve come to understand who they are as a team, so everything’s coming together as the season progresses.”
02-22-2007
