Pioneers’ Trail Buries Cal Lutheran, Master’s

Until Thursday, an afternoon at the beach had been the highlight of the Lewis and Clark College baseball team’s seven-day road trip through Southern California.

The Pioneers, who left Portland one week ago today, began their trip with a forgettable 1-4 record. They finished it Thursday afternoon with wins over Cal Lutheran and The Master’s.

Lewis and Clark beat Cal Lutheran, 5-4, in the opener and routed The Master’s, 10-4, in the nightcap. Both games were played at Cal Lutheran.

The Pioneers (6-6) had little time to celebrate, however. After the doubleheader, they boarded their vans and began a 17-hour trek back to Oregon.

Lewis and Clark Coach Jerry Gatto said he anticipated a long, but pleasant, drive home.

“That was definitely a nice way to end the trip,” he said of the sweep. “Going that far home, we better be in a good mood.”

Although the Pioneers finished the trip with a 3-4 record, Gatto said that it was still worth the $4,000 his team had raised to make the journey.

“We sold athletic calendars and played a 100-inning game to make some money for this trip,” Gatto said. “The players even had to pay a little out of their own pockets for it, but I’d call this a successful trip. We got better as a team, and we got away from the weather in Portland and got some games in.”

Cal Lutheran Coach Al Schoenberger wasn’t quite so happy.

Trailing, 5-4, the Kingsmen (12-7) had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the ninth against Lewis and Clark reliever John Stevenson.

Jay Knight then hit into a controversial double play, however, ending the threat and igniting a heated argument.

In the play, a relay by Pioneer second baseman Dave Avery appeared to arrive at first at the same time as Knight. The base umpire quickly ruled safe, then changed his mind. Then he waved his arms as if to call time. Finally, he looked at the plate umpire and ruled out again.

“Personally, I think he was safe,” Schoenberger said. “But I’m biased. The problem was that the umpire was indecisive, and when you’re indecisive, that just adds a lot more fuel to the fire.”

The Kingsmen, with a team average of .353, had nine hits. Center fielder Scott Francis was 4 for 5 with three doubles.

While the first game was a struggle for Lewis and Clark, the second was anything but difficult.

The Pioneers scored four times in the first off Terry Sloan of The Master’s as the first six batters in the lineup reached base.

Second baseman Tony DeMare provided the only highlights in the Mustangs’ seven-hit attack. He was 3 for 3, including a two-run homer to right in the sixth off Lewis and Clark reliever Gary Goldsmith. Pioneers catcher Bill Fellows was 7 for 9 in the doubleheader.

The Master’s, which lost its fourth straight after winning seven of eight, fell to 10-16.

First Game LEWIS AND CLARK--Loehr, Stevenson (9) and Fellows.

CAL LUTHERAN--Stange and Wynn.

WP--Loehr (3-0); LP--Stange (1-2); SV--Stevenson (1).

Second Game LEWIS AND CLARK--Prunty, Goldsmith (5), Bolte (7) and Fellows.

THE MASTER’S--Sloan, Strom (4) and MacArthur.

WP--Prunty (1-0); LP--Sloan (2-5).