CRUNCH TIME IS COMING FOR BRUINS.

Byline: CHRIS BRANAM College Baseball 

It might seem strange, considering his team is two games under .500, but Bill Scott believes UCLA will make a push for the NCAA baseball playoffs.

Scott, the former Alemany High standout who has become the Bruins' top power threat, said he hasn't changed his June plans despite UCLA's 15-17 record.

``I planned my classes around going to the (College) World Series,'' Scott said. ``I'm not giving up and I don't think anyone else is.''

UCLA begins the second half of its season Friday with a three-game series at defending Pac-10 champion Washington. It's the first of eight consecutive road games for the Bruins.

``(The season) has become hard on us,'' Scott said. ``I don't understand it. We're looking for reasons why. I guess it's a matter of getting everything going at the same time.''

Scott, who was a 24th-round draft choice by Atlanta in 1997, has been a bright spot. After starting just 16 games last year as a freshman, he leads the team with eight homers and 39 RBI to go along with a .356 batting average. Imagine what kind of a season Scott would be having if he hadn't started slowly.

``We played some bad teams and I was going 0 for 4,'' he said.

Scott batted .615 with 10 homers as a senior at Alemany and was also recruited by Stanford, Pepperdine and Miami. After appearing in just 27 games last year, primarily as the designated hitter, Scott concentrated on his defensive skills in the California Coastal League over the summer. He has two errors and three assists in 48 chances this season.

``I really didn't have a spot last year,'' he said. ``I wasn't used to sitting on the bench. I wish I could have played the whole season, but I learned from it.''

Bringing the heat: Arizona State won 41 games last year and advanced to the College World Series championship game. Jay Gehrke was miserable.

Gehrke had been a bust at ASU; he opened the season as the Sun Devils' No. 3 starting pitcher but was sent to the bullpen after a few bad outings. Gehrke made up his mind he was going to transfer.

Arizona State's loss became Pepperdine's gain.

Gehrke, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound junior right-hander, has become one of the nation's top closers with the Waves. He broke the school record for saves (12) on Saturday and hasn't given up an earned run in 17 appearances.

``I just wanted an opportunity to pitch,'' Gehrke said after closing out a 7-6 win over UCLA last week. ``I have someone who believes in me and gives me the ball every day.''

It didn't take long for teammates to notice what they had in Gehrke.

``He throws hard and he throws strikes,'' said third baseman G.J. Raymundo.

Gehrke's sophomore season consisted of just five games. He was 2-1 with a team-worst 7.36 ERA. Gehrke said it was a mutual decision with the Sun Devils coaches that he not come back.

``I didn't fit in (at ASU),'' he said. ``I wasn't really comfortable. I had a couple of bad starts, then I didn't pitch at all. . . . (The transfer) benefited me and them.''

Gehrke's fastball was clocked in the low 90s against UCLA. He has 19 strikeouts and only six walks in 16-1/3 innings.

``He was throwing gas,'' said UCLA's Scott. ``We definitely had to make an adjustment.''

Baseball America named Gehrke the West Coast Conference's No. 3 professional prospect before the season; about 10 scouts watched him pitch last week. Not bad for a kid who grew up in Fargo, N.D., where he didn't get a chance to play high school baseball until he was a senior.

``I was inexperienced when I got to ASU,'' said Gehrke, who also played basketball and hockey in high school. ``Baseball wasn't my focus.''

Taking a chance: Justin Lehr wasn't happy at UC Santa Barbara because he wanted to become a full-time pitcher. He was a second-team All-Big West catcher as a junior with the Gauchos last season.

Lehr knew he would only get one season to impress professional scouts with his pitching ability, so he transferred to defending national champion USC.

``You definitely have to have the confidence to make a change like that,'' Lehr said. ``I don't think there was a doubt in my mind that I would pitch.''

Lehr, a right-hander, won his second consecutive game Sunday in the Trojans' 8-5 win over Arizona. He has pitched well against the Pac-10, with a 2.76 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 16-1/3 innings.

``I know it's a one-year deal for me,'' Lehr said. ``But I think the change is completely positive.''

That's good: Statistically, Pepperdine is just as good as its Top 10 national ranking and 23-3 record.

The Waves are batting .326 as a team and opponents are hitting just .242. The staff ERA is 3.56 and features a pair of pitchers who are 5-0, Brad Tucker and Dave Reed. Freshman left fielder Woody Cliffords (El Camino Real) is fourth on the team in batting average (.384).

ZEROING IN

The pitchers ruled this past weekend at USC and Loyola Marymount. A recap of the top performances:

Pitcher, team Opponent IP H K Result

Barry Zito, USC Arizona 7 2 16 W, 17-1

Ben Diggins, Arizona USC 8-1/3 4 9 W, 9-4

Michael Schultz, LMU  St. Mary's 9 3 8 W, 5-1

THIS WEEK IN L.A.

Wednesday: USC at Pepperdine, 2 p.m.

Saturday: Portland at Pepperdine (2), 11 a.m.

Sunday: Portland at Pepperdine, 1 p.m.

CAPTION(S):

Box

BOX: ZEROING IN (see text)