GOOD START FOR USC, LEHR : USC 10 VCU 0.

Byline: Chris Branam Daily News Staff Writer

He had been to a regional before, but it was nothing like this. Justin Lehr was on a different team and playing a different position.

He made an impact this time.

Lehr, a right-hander who transferred to USC for his senior year, went the distance in the Trojans' 10-0 victory over Virginia Commonwealth in the opening game of the NCAA first-round regional Friday afternoon at Dedeaux Field.

USC (34-23) plays today at 3 p.m. against either Pepperdine or Harvard.

Lehr, who came to USC from UC Santa Barbara, where he was a three-year starter as a catcher, pitched the first complete-game shutout of his career. He gave up six hits and struck out 10, including Cory Bauswell to end the game.

Lehr jumped off the mound after the final out, yelling and pumping his fist.

``A lot of (the emotion) had to do with the way this year has gone for me, sometimes good and sometimes frustrating,'' said Lehr, who improved to 7-2. ``Today was a good day.''

The strikeouts stood out in Lehr's performance. He struck out the side in the first, then caught Bauswell looking with a fastball on the outside corner in the fourth to end a bases-loaded threat.

``There's not too much of a better day you can have from a pitcher's standpoint,'' USC catcher Eric Munson said.

Lehr's ability to get out of the fourth, while the Trojans were holding a 4-0 lead, was the game-breaker for the Rams (40-19).

``It was a good regional performance by a great pitcher,'' VCU head coach Paul Keyes said. ``It's still a 4-0 game. It put (USC) in a comfort zone.''

The Trojans gave Lehr a lot of room to work; they jumped on VCU starter John Korn (8-5) in the first with four runs on three hits. Jason Lane had an RBI double and Dominic Correa a run-scoring triple in the rally.

``The game was dictated in the first inning,'' Keyes said. ``(USC) came out and took it to us early.''

Korn never recovered. In seven innings, he gave up 11 hits and was charged with 10 runs, nine earned. USC designated hitter Carlos Casillas had three hits off Korn - a single, double and home run.

Needing a triple for the cycle in his last at-bat in the seventh, the burly Casillas, who is 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, struck out. Casillas doesn't have a triple in his USC career.

``(My chance) was pretty slim there,'' Casillas said. ``It would have been better if I needed something else.''

The Trojans avenged a 14-4 loss to the Rams in last year's East Regional at Clemson behind Lehr, Casillas and freshman third baseman Beau Craig, who hit a three-run homer in the seventh that made it 10-0. None of those three played against VCU last year, but Lehr has been in the playoffs before.

As a freshman at UCSB, Lehr played in a regional at Stanford.

``Now, getting to Omaha isn't that far away,'' he said. ``We didn't think we were going to win that regional. This is our regional to win. It picks up your game, takes it to the next level.''

Pepperdine earned its way into the winner's bracket on the right arm of sophomore pitcher Jay Adams, who pitched his third shutout of the season. Adams (11-2) gave up four hits and struck out eight.

The Waves (44-14) were methodical against the Crimson (28-19), getting one hit in each of the first four innings and two in the fifth. Dane Sardinha's 15th homer in the fourth gave Pepperdine a 2-0 lead.

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Photo

Photo: USC pitcher Justin Lehr, left, celebrates with a teammate after the Trojans' 10-0 regional victory Friday over Virginia Commonwealth.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News