COLLEGE BASEBALL : Stange Wins for Cal Lutheran

Going into Thursday’s game against George Fox of Portland, Ore., Cal Lutheran pitcher Tim Stange still had more nicknames than innings pitched.

The junior, called Space Cowboy, Mr. Wonderful and the Cabbage Patch Kid by his teammates, had thrown just two innings. They weren’t pretty, either. He walked three batters and gave up six runs to pick up a loss to Cal State Northridge.

Stange, who started the game against George Fox with a 13.50 earned-run average, showed no ill effects from his previous thrashing, however. He went the distance, limiting the Bruins to four hits, as the Kingsmen (10-3) won, 4-1, in a nonconference victory at Cal Lutheran.

“I expected to get a lot more innings this year,” he said. “But the guys who have been starting have been doing a pretty good job. As long as they’re winning, it’s tough to complain.”

Cal Lutheran Coach Al Schoenberger certainly wasn’t complaining about Stange’s performance.

“It makes me feel good to see him throw like that,” he said.

Stange retired the first nine batters and no Bruin runner advanced farther than second base until the eighth, when, with one out, Steve Gower reached base on third baseman Rob Burden’s two-base throwing error. Gower scored one out later on Carlos Ortiz’s infield hit.

Stange, who struck out five and walked only one to record Cal Lutheran’s seventh complete game, wasn’t the only Kingsman to overcome a slow start.

Shortstop Rick Arneson, who began the week hitting .148 (4 for 27), has started to swing a hot bat.

He was 3 for 5 in a doubleheader sweep of LaVerne on Tuesday and followed that with another 3-for-5 day against George Fox. The 6-for-10 week has boosted his average to .270. Bruin starter Eduardo Hau (0-2) was shaky from the outset, but was able to work his way out of bases-loaded jams in the first and fourth.

The Kingsmen, who stranded 17 runners, took a 3-0 lead in the fifth when Hau tired and fell apart on the mound.

The game was George Fox’s second of a four-game swing through Southern California. The Bruins (1-5) lost to Biola, 11-3, on Wednesday. They will complete their trip on Saturday with a doubleheader at The Master’s.

George Fox 000 000 010 -- 1 4 4

Cal Lutheran 000 030 01x -- 0 12 2

GEORGE FOX--Hau, Laney (6), Anderson (8) and Bottenfield.

CAL LUTHERAN--Stange and Santos.

WP--Stange (1-1); LP--Hau (0-2).