Kingsmen Afflicted With Defeat

Not one Cal Lutheran baseball player is in the hospital and Coach Al Schoenberger is no doctor, but Tuesday afternoon’s 9-7 loss to Westmont College left Schoenberger scrambling for the team’s medical charts.

“We’re on the critical list,” he said. “But they haven’t unplugged the respirator yet. Someone is definitely stepping on the oxygen hose, though.”

The Kingsmen are off to a fast start and are 21-12 overall, but the loss dropped them to 5-7 and into fourth place in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 race.

The top three finishers will receive automatic berths in the district playoffs. The remaining five teams in the district will compete for the fourth spot in a single-elimination tournament.

Westmont, which improved to 13-15 and 5-5, jumped over Cal Lutheran into third place.

The Warriors, who had lost four of their last five and were hampered by several injuries in the early part of the season, were helped Tuesday by the return of starting shortstop Bill Cannon.

Cannon had missed Westmont’s last 10 games after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. He returned and was 3 for 3 against the Kingsmen, helping to pace a 12-hit attack against Cal Lutheran’s Jay Anderson (3-1).

“I feel better now than I did before I was hurt,” Cannon said. “It’s just great to be back. Sitting out gave me time to think about how much I love the game.”

Center fielder Kevin Redick was also 3 for 3 for the Warriors, with a single, triple and a seventh-inning solo home run.