BASEBALL ROUNDUP: WAVES LOSE GAME 3.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

For the first time this season, the Pepperdine baseball team dug deep into the equipment basket and donned rather loud orange jerseys.

Coupled with the players' big-game tradition of smearing heavy shades of eye black down their cheeks, they resembled Halloween party favors.

If only the Waves could exorcise the eighth-inning, Game 3 spell San Diego cast on them for two consecutive West Coast Conference Championship Series.

For the second year in a row, San Diego (31-28) rallied to beat Pepperdine (36-23), this time 3-1 Sunday in Malibu.

Last year, the loss kept the Waves out of the NCAA Tournament. They'll know today when the 64-team field is announced whether this year's loss also keeps them out.

``Pepperdine is the class of the league,'' Toreros coach Rich Hill said. ``I definitely think they're worthy of an at-large bid. The way the thing is structured with the emphasis on the RPI, which is strictly a basketball method, might hurt them a little bit.''

In 2000, Pepperdine also had a 36-23 record with an 83 RPI and weren't included. This year, the Waves have a 73 RPI, victories over probable top-eight national seeds Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State and a solid 10-11 mark against opponents rated in the Top 100.

Pepperdine took a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning thanks to two San Diego errors. Waves starter Brandon Boesch (7-5) was solid into the eighth, but after allowing a leadoff single to Freddy Sandoval, Boesch left a split-fingered fastball up that Josh Hansen hit off the screen in left. The Toreros added an unearned run and the Waves left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.

``We're just going to pray tonight and hope that it happens,'' senior Ty Harper said of an at-large bid. ``It's not in our hands.''

--Washington 10, USC 8: The Trojans blew leads of 6-0 and 7-1 in Seattle to finish 28-28 on the season and eliminate themselves from NCAA Tournament consideration. Teams must have a record above .500 to be eligible.

USC needed a victory in its four games last week but lost to Fresno State and then was swept by Washington, which is 8-24 lifetime against the Trojans.

--UCLA 18, Washington State 7: Brandon Averill hit for the cycle for the Bruins in Pullman, Wash. UCLA finished 28-31 and won't be considered for the NCAA Tournament.