ANOTHER MAD MARCH LEAVES USC STRUGGLING.

Byline: CHRIS COCOLES College Baseball 

March Madness at USC? You bet. The Trojans are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since....

Wrong sport. USC's baseball team is a repeat visitor to the world of March Madness. But this isn't a happy place. It's March sadness.

The past two months of March have been nothing short of maddening for the Trojans. Between March 10 and March 19 of 2000, USC lost six of eight games, jeopardizing a promising season. Between March 6 and March 19 of this year, USC lost six of nine games, jeopardizing a promising season.

It's an eerily familiar pattern.

``It seems every year ... we've slumped. We hit a low,'' junior outfielder Brian Barre said.

Mid-April proved to be as rough as mid-March for the 2000 Trojans. But they won 16 consecutive games during a College World Series run.

So as No. 9 USC takes a ho-hum 15-10 mark into today's 5 p.m. game against No. 13 Pepperdine at Dedeaux Field, can the Trojans shoo away another March swoon?

Logic says a talented, veteran team will.

``We certainly are struggling. There is no debate about that,'' coach Mike Gillespie said last week after a win, USC's second in a row. A third consecutive victory - Friday at Washington in the Pac-10 Conference opener - lost some of its momentum after a Monday doubleheader sweep by the Huskies.

So what's wrong with the Trojans, ranked second in two polls and third in another before the season?

``The fact of the matter is that we're really short offensively,'' Gillespie said.

The Trojans' most glaring concern is their lack of power. Granted, 18-homer hitters Beau Craig and Justin Gemoll are gone, but Gillespie anticipated little dropoff.

``We've been very much disappointed by about three guys who were in our lineup last year and haven't done it,'' Gillespie said.

``We didn't think we'd have any one guy that was going to give us 18 home runs. But I thought we'd have six guys who would hit 10. I'm very disappointed that it's becoming evident that it's not the case.''

First baseman Bill Peavey provided hope with a home run in each of the three games at Washington, raising the senior's total to four. That shares the team lead with second baseman Anthony Lunetta. If they can coax similar hot streaks out of veterans Josh Persell, Rob Garibaldi and Alberto Concepcion, the Trojans might have something.

USC already has quality pitching - led by starters Mark Prior, Rik Currier and Anthony Reyes - to guide the struggling offense through its doldrums.

But USC's hitters know they must carry their own weight. Pac-10 series with contenders Stanford, Arizona State and UCLA are looming.

--Check swings: California freshman outfielder Brian Horwitz (Crespi) went 2 for 5 with a double Sunday in the Golden Bears' 17-5 rout of No. 4 Arizona State to run his hitting streak to 20.

Horwitz, batting .368, has hit in 23 of 24 games....

Seven years removed from winning a national championship, once-proud Oklahoma hit bottom when Sooners assistant coach Bill Mosiello quit shortly before a game at Baylor. After exchanging words with head coach Larry Cochell, Mosiello grabbed his bags and in full uniform walked out of Baylor Ballpark onto the street.

Freshman Matt Fisher (Chatsworth) has made 16 infield starts for the 9-16 Sooners....

Michigan State sophomore catcher/first baseman Brady Burrill (Valencia/CSUN) has made the most of seven starts in the Spartans' first 15 games. Burrill was hitting .483 (14 of 29) with 12 RBI.