BREAKING AWAY; TROJANS LOOK TO LEAVE PAST BEHIND AT NCAA TOURNEY.

Byline: Ken Tysiac Special to the Daily News

It might have been a moment of clairvoyance on the part of USC head baseball coach Mike Gillespie.

Then again, it could've been just a slip of the tongue on a hot, muggy day as the Trojans prepared for the NCAA Tournament's East Regional.

``Really over about a 10-year period, we've been the Buffalo Bills,'' Gillespie said. ``We've been the Denver Broncos. We've been the king of getting to the last day.''

But as everybody knows, the Denver Broncos broke their string of futility this year in the Super Bowl. Reminded of that, Gillespie backtracked quickly.

``Honestly, I wasn't touching on that part of it,'' he said. ``But now that you point that out, it would be nice if that's what I meant and it came true.''

In each of the last two years, USC has been tripped up by the final hurdle in the regionals. In 1996, Oklahoma State ousted the Trojans in the Central II Regional finale in Lubbock, Texas.

Last year, Alabama knocked out USC with a 9-8 victory in the South II Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala. In fact, the Trojans have reached the finals in their last five regionals, but have advanced to the College World Series just once, in 1995.

``This is the team that is capable of getting to the last day,'' Gillespie said. ``Kicking through that last one has been somewhat of a mystery to us.''

Despite the past, the immediate future looks favorable for top-seeded USC (40-15) in the regional. Clemson, the No. 2 seed, has lost seven of its last nine games.

As the top seed, USC will have the opportunity to play No. 6 Fordham (27-18) in the first round of the double-elimination tournament today at 8 a.m.

Forham, the Atlantic-10 tournament champion, has won five straight games but hasn't played an NCAA Tournament team all season.

Gillespie will counter with freshman Rik Currier (5-1, 4.85 ERA) in a gamble of sorts. Seth Etherton (11-3, 2.77 ERA) is USC's best starter, but Gillespie plans to save his right-hander for later in the series when the opposition gets tougher.

Currier is a right-hander whose pitches top out at 91 miles-per-hour and he gets hitters out with pinpoint location on his fastball.

NCAA EAST REGIONAL

Who: USC (40-15) vs. Fordham (27-18)

Where: Tiger Field, Clemson, S.C.

When: 8 a.m.

Radio: KPLS-AM (830)