PEPPERDINE MAKING WAVES.

Byline: CHRIS BRANAM College Baseball 

Frank Sanchez is, understandably, a cautious man.

He's pleased with the best start in Pepperdine's baseball history, but the head coach remains far from making College World Series reservations.

``The season is long,'' Sanchez said.

OK, Frank, your point is valid. But the Waves, who were considered by major baseball publications in the preseason as a team that wouldn't make the NCAA playoffs, are 10-1 and ranked No. 20 in the nation by Baseball America.

Pepperdine already has beaten UCLA, Cal (a preseason top 25 team), Cal State Fullerton, swept Nevada-Las Vegas and taken two of three from Fresno State.

``I definitely think we've surprised a lot of people,'' pitcher Brad Tucker said. ``We believe in ourselves. If we just go out and play our game we can beat anyone in the country.''

Tucker, a senior right-hander, is 11-1 at Pepperdine since he transferred from Fresno State after his sophomore year. This season, he is 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA and opponents are batting just .226 against him.

``I would give anything to go to the College World Series,'' he said. ``I think we have the capability of doing that.''

The Waves have shown their mettle early on. They have six come-from-behind wins, and Tucker thinks that's no accident.

``We've taken on the personality of coach Sanchez,'' he said. ``We go against the odds. He's affected us.''

Sanchez, 46, has battled through three brain surgeries in the past 14 years. The last operation, on Aug. 14, 1998, was especially tough on Sanchez: The left side of his face is permanently paralyzed and he lost his swallowing reflex.

But Sanchez returned to work on Oct. 20, two months after the surgery.

One of Sanchez's goals was to reverse a trend of slow starts over his first two seasons. Last year the Waves started 3-6 before rallying to finish 32-22, 21-9 in the West Coast Conference.

``It's tough to take a team that is (3-6) and end up with thirty-plus wins,'' Sanchez said. ``Did I predict this kind of start? No. Did I expect it? Yes.''

Making them pay: Playing against Fresno State is much more than just another game for Pepperdine senior third baseman G.J. Raymundo.

He grew up in the Fresno suburb of Clovis rooting for the Bulldogs.

But at both Buchanan High and Fresno City College, Fresno State all but ignored Raymundo save for some courtesy recruiting after he had already committed to the Waves.

Raymundo's two-homer, six-RBI performance against Fresno State in Sunday's 8-7 win was his way of reminding the Bulldogs they'd regret letting this hometown kid get away.

``This was my last chance for them to see me play,'' said Raymundo, who rebounded from an 0-for-5 game with a key error in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Bulldogs, Pepperdine's only loss during a 10-1 start.

When a jubilant Raymundo was rounding third base during a seventh-inning grand slam, the message was delivered.

``When I was coming to the plate after the grand slam that was all they needed to know that they had missed out by not recruiting me,'' Raymundo said.

Bulldogs coach Bob Bennett says he simply didn't have a need for a third baseman while Raymundo was playing at Fresno City.

``It wasn't like I snubbed him,'' Bennett said.

Regardless, Raymundo couldn't have picked a better opponent to post his career-best RBI performance.

``This series meant a lot to G.J. He's a proud guy,'' Sanchez said. ``He lives in Fresno, all of his friends and family are there and he loves that (Fresno State) program. . . . It's just been a personal challenge to become a good player.''

Under watchful eye: When Jeff Heaverlo, Washington's preseason All-American junior right-hander, went to the bullpen to warm up for his Feb. 11 start at BYU, he noticed he was being followed.

He couldn't help but notice the horde of major-league baseball scouts.

``It was a little wacky,'' Heaverlo said Sunday afternoon. ``There were about 75 scouts there watching.''

Heaverlo, a junior who beat Cal State Northridge on Friday, is considered a first-round pick in the June draft. Baseball America ranks him fifth among the college players available.

But the son of former major-leaguer Dave Heaverlo has pushed his draft prospects behind his team goals.

The Huskies have lost in the NCAA Regionals the past two years, including once in the regional final.

``My goal is to get to Omaha,'' he said, referring to the site of the College World Series. ``One of the reasons why we didn't fare so well in the regional last year was we had a lot of guys who were worried about the draft.''

Heaverlo's stature (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) isn't intimidating, but his pitches are. He reaches 92 mph on the radar gun with his fastball, not completely overpowering these days, but he has a great slider and excellent command.

``He's got a pitch that is unhittable: his breaking ball,'' Huskies coach Ken Knutsen said. ``He can make the ball do a lot of things. His slider sets him apart.''

For now, Heaverlo is trying not to believe all the national recognition he's receiving in national magazines.

``It's nice to see your name in writing,'' he said, ``but all it is is ink.''

Visitors from the East: A Japanese university team is practicing this week at Pierce College in anticipation of games this weekend against UCLA and USC. It's also playing Pierce.