Cal Lutheran Lite : Eligibility Delay Leaves Baseball Team 8 Players Short

The start of the baseball season is usually a time when coaches set goals of conference titles and national championships. At Cal Lutheran University, however, just surviving the first game of the season will be an accomplishment.

When the Kingsmen open their season today with a noon doubleheader at Pomona Pitzer, they will have 11 players in uniform. By anyone’s standards, the Kingsmen are undermanned.

Until Friday, there were 19 players on the roster. That’s when Ed Withers, the assistant baseball coach, was told that eight players will be ineligible until their junior college transcripts or grades from recently concluded interim courses are processed.

Coach Al Schoenberger was not on campus on Friday and could not be reached by phone. Withers said that, as of Friday evening, Schoenberger had yet to hear the bad news.

The eight players are only temporarily ineligible, Withers said, and Cal Lutheran will have 19 players suited up for its home opener Feb. 15, a doubleheader against Whittier.

“Once they get through processing, everything will be OK,” he said. “Everyone is eligible. We know that. It’s just a matter of getting this computer thing run. After tomorrow, everything will be fine.”

The Kingsmen were hoping to open the season on a better note.

“It’s really frustrating,” Withers said. “We have 19 guys who have been working very hard since September to prepare for the season. Now, they tell us the day before the season starts about this.”

The last thing the Kingsmen needed to hear was that they are losing more players. Cal Lutheran lost nearly every regular player from last season’s 11-9 team that finished second behind Southern California College in the NAIA District III.

Todd Dewey, an all-district catcher, has signed with the Atlanta Braves. His bat will be sorely missed. Last season, Dewey hit .358 with a school-record 12 home runs and 44 RBIs.

First baseman Fred Perez, who hit .407 last season with 6 home runs and 32 RBIs, is also gone.

To find out who else is missing, just keep moving around the horn. You’ll find fewer gaps in a Leon Spinks dental X-ray.

Second baseman Jon Egertson has transferred to Moorpark College. Shortstop Greg Nocero, who was supposed to be the Kingsmen’s top returnee, was recently declared academically ineligible. Unlike the eight players sitting out today, Nocero will not be back.

Outfielder Bob Ginther (.406, 8 home runs, 38 RBIs) has graduated.

The biggest hole, however, is on the mound.

The entire four-man pitching rotation is gone, as is Dave Muhlethaler, the relief pitcher who posted an 0.87 earned-run average last season.

Schoenberger will try to plug the pitching vacancies with senior Dan Pastor and sophomore Dan Meltreger, Cal Lutheran’s only returning pitchers. Niether pitcher saw much playing time last season. Pastor, today’s starter in the first game, was 1-0 in two games with a 7.60 ERA. Meltreger was 2-0 in seven games with a 7.77 ERA.

The infield is another problem. The Kingsmen have no second baseman on their roster. They do, however, have five first basemen.

According to Withers, first baseman Ed Howard is the only starting infielder eligible to play in today’s doubleheader. Later, the middle of the infield should consist of Moorpark College transfer Scott Francis and sophomores Mitch Ennis and Rick Arneson. It has not yet been decided who will play where. Freshman Tim Stephens will also see action at both positions.

Third baseman Mike Kusmik, a transfer from San Francisco State, will be in the starting lineup once his transcripts are processed.

Rob Burden, who hit .295 last season, will start at third base today. He is expected to be the designated hitter when Kusmik returns to action.

The outfield should be one of the Kingsmen’s strengths.

Senior Derrick Evans started last season in right field and hit .286. He will be helped by senior Jonathan Knight and sophomore Kevin Wynn.

Wynn may also share time behind the plate with Ricky Santos.

Although there is very little experience in the Cal Lutheran lineup, Withers, in the true spirit of preseason baseball, is optimistic.

“I think we’ll be very competitive in our conference,” he said. “We’re a good defensive team.”

And what about the problem with eligibility, or lack thereof?

“Well, when we had some injuries last season, we played with five catchers on the field,” Withers said.

FEB. 8--at Pomona-Pitzer (DH), 12 p.m.; 15--vs. Whittier (DH), 12 p.m.; 20--vs. The Master’s; 22--at USC (DH), 12 p.m.; 27--at CS Northridge.

MARCH 1--at The Master’s (DH), 12 p.m.; 4--at Claremont (DH), 12 p.m.; 8--vs. *Biola (DH), 12 p.m.; 15--at *Southern California College (DH), 12 p.m.; 18--at LaVerne (DH), 4 p.m.; 20--vs. George Fox; 22--at *Azusa Pacific (DH), 12 p.m.; 24--vs. Christ College; 25--vs. Concordia; 26--vs. Wisconsin at Westmont; 27--vs. Lewis and Clark, 11 a.m.; 29--vs. The Master’s (DH), 12 p.m.

APRIL 2--at Pepperdine; 3--at The Master’s, 3 p.m.; 4--vs. Colorado College; 5--at *Point Loma Nazarene (DH), 12 p.m.; 8--at *Westmont; 12--at *Biola, 12 p.m.; 15--vs. *Westmont; 19--vs. Southern California College (DH), 12 p.m.; 22--at *Westmont; 26--vs. *Azusa Pacific (DH), 12 p.m.; 29--vs. *Westmont.

MAY 3--vs. *Point Loma Nazarene (DH), 12 p.m.; 8-10-- NAIA District III playoffs.

* (Denotes an NAIA District III game)

all games 2:30 p.m. unless noted