ROOKIE'S PLACE AS USC ACE.

Byline: HEATHER GRIPP College Baseball 

Ian Kennedy looked the part of a freshman thrown directly into the starting rotation when he walked three batters in the first inning of his USC debut.

But there haven't been many instances since then that Kennedy has looked out of place as the Trojans' ace.

Kennedy went on to be named to Baseball America's Midseason Freshman All-America team and was recently invited to join Trojans sophomore catcher Jeff Clement at tryouts for this summer's USA National Team.

``He's not as good today as he's going to be,'' USC coach Mike Gillespie said of the right-hander. ''He's got a chance to be real special.''

As the first freshman to earn the job of No. 1 starter for the Trojans since Randy Flores in 1994, Kennedy is 6-2 with a 2.58 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 73 1/3 innings. His ERA is the lowest among Pacific-10 Conference starters.

``I had hoped to be the No. 1 starter,'' Kennedy said. ``It's something I felt I was capable of. But having it actually happen and having the season go the way for me that it has, I'm happy.''

Kennedy was a starter for the 2002 USA Junior National Team, which took the bronze at the IBAF World Junior Championships. He spent his high school career at nationally-ranked La Quinta of Westminster, where he was named Southern Section Div. IV co-Player of the Year as a junior.

In his USC debut, Kennedy struck out eight in five innings of two-hit work against nationally-ranked Long Beach State, whose ace, Jered Weaver, was even stingier. However, Kennedy believes he got more out of the Trojans' eventual 3-1 loss than a no-decision.

``That gave me a lot of confidence,'' Kennedy said. ``To hold my own against Weaver was a great way to start.''

Kennedy won his first four decisions, and that was before he said his breaking pitches finally started working well enough to please him in his last start, a no-decision against UCLA.

``I think his potential is unlimited,'' Gillespie said. ``I think he's one of the guys who has a chance to be a premier college pitcher.''

--No catching these Waves: A Pepperdine pitcher has led the West Coast Conference in ERA in 16 of the past 19 seasons, and this year doesn't look to be any different. Senior Jacob Barrack (8-3) lowered his conference-best ERA to 2.95 by throwing seven shutout innings in Friday's victory over Portland.

Pepperdine has a six-game lead in the WCC West Division with six conference games remaining.

The Waves suffered a 10-3 loss Tuesday a nonconference game against UC Santa Barbara.

--It's official: Loyola Marymount clinched the WCC Coast Division title and the right to host the conference championship series by sweeping its latest series against St. Mary's. The division title is the LMU's first since 2000.

--Short hops: Local products Rafael Arroyo (Monroe of North Hills) and Mike Miller (Hart of Newhall) from Cal State Los Angeles earned first team All-California Collegiate Athletic Conference honors. ...

LMU senior shortstop Billy Lockin, a Thousand Oaks graduate, moved into third on the Lions' career hit list when he went 3 for 5 Monday against St. Mary's. ...

Cal State Northridge junior Alberto Quintana had his hitting streak snapped at 17 games Sunday when he went 0 for 5 in a loss to UC Santa Barbara.