BASEBALL; A LITTLE LUCK BRINGS PEPPERDINE UP TO .500 PEPPERDINE 6, CSUN 3.

Byline: Chris Branam Staff Writer

Pepperdine baseball coach Frank Sanchez found a penny on the ground Tuesday. He put it in his ear for good luck.

Whatever works.

Pepperdine is relying on savvy, timely hitting, and yes, even luck, to get above the .500 mark. The Waves took a step at Cal State Northridge, beating the host Matadors 6-3 in a nonconference game.

``It's been a long haul, just trying to get consistency,'' Sanchez said after Pepperdine improved to 9-9. At this point last season, the Waves were 17-1. ``Up until today, we've been trying to identify who can do what and who can pitch where. It's been hit-and-miss.''

CSUN (7-10) is in the same situation but with a different goal. The Matadors are one of the youngest teams in the nation and five freshmen and sophomores started against the Waves. Four of Northridge's six pitchers Tuesday were also underclassmen.

Pepperdine wants to get back to the NCAA playoffs. Northridge wants respectability.

``You're going to run 10 freshmen and sophomores against Pepperdine and you're going to take your lumps,'' CSUN coach Mike Batesole said. ``We're playing as tough a schedule as we can play. In the process, you're going to get slugged in the mouth a few times.''

That happened only once on this cold, rainy afternoon. The Matadors took a 3-1 lead into the seventh, but the Waves rallied for five runs. The last two came on a two-out home run by Dane Sardinha, a preseason All- American catcher, off reliever Merrill Dunn.

``Give (Sardinha) credit, he hit a good pitch,'' Batesole said.

Take away the seventh, though, and CSUN looked like a team that's slowly finding its way. Northridge is a program on the rise, which is peculiar, considering the Matadors are 165-96-1 in the last four-plus seasons.

In the third inning, junior third baseman Bobby Koba made a nice play on a sharp grounder by Damon Katz, snaring the ball on a dive to his left and throwing out Katz by a stride. The next inning, freshman right fielder Tim Coltey made a diving catch on Duke Sardinha's long foul ball near the fence.

CSUN's top five hitters each got a hit. Freshman outfielder-pitcher Bill Murphy had a two-run single.

``I get four recruiting classes like I've had these last two,'' Batesole said, ``and we're not 7-10.''

Things are looking up a little for the Waves, too.

Woody Cliffords (El Camino Real) was 2 for 2 with two runs scored. On the mound, freshman Jason Provisor, a little-used right-hander from Cincinnati, started and pitched three hitless innings.

Provisor, who retired 14 in a row in relief in Saturday's 12-9 loss at Gonzaga, struck out four.

``Maybe we found a diamond in the rough,'' Sanchez said.