BASEBALL : Master’s Suffers 25-0 Loss but Doesn’t Let ‘The Worst That Could Happen’ Dampen Its Spirit

After Azusa Pacific beat The Master’s, 25-0, on Tuesday, Master’s Coach John Zeller called the outcome “impossible,” “funny,” “unexplainable,” and “the worst that could happen.”

Still, Zeller said he’s not about to let a little thing like the worst that could happen ruin his good spirits.

The Mustangs (22-18, 14-5 in District III) are, after all, better off than they were a year ago. On April 23, 1986, Master’s was 16-25 overall and 6-12 in district. Besides, Zeller’s team has bounced back with enthusiasm from supposedly crushing defeats before.

“We’ll be OK,” he said. “Northridge thrashed us, 27-4, and Azusa beat us, 18-0, earlier this year and we came back to win our next game both times.”

The Mustangs will try to make it three post-rout comebacks in a row when they play Westmont at home this afternoon at 2:30.

Tight racing: The California Collegiate Athletic Assn. baseball race is, as usual, too close to call with three weeks remaining on the conference schedule. Defending champion Cal State Dominguez Hills started the week with a 13-5 record, 1 1/2 games in front of Cal Poly Pomona (11-6), with Cal State Northridge (12-8) another half-game behind.

If Northridge can remain within striking distance, it would have a slight advantage over its top two competitors in the final days of the regular season. In the last week, Northridge is scheduled to play single games against UC Riverside, Pomona and Cal State Los Angeles, which have a combined record of 22-31 in CCAA games. Dominguez Hills will play fourth-place Chapman, then three games in two days against Pomona.

Pomona, which has one of the deepest pitching staffs in the conference, will need it. The Broncos play five games in five days against three of the CCAA’s better teams. Pomona plays at Chapman on Tuesday, May 5, at Northridge on Wednesday, plays host to Dominguez Hills on Friday and then plays a doubleheader at Dominguez Hills on Saturday.

Keep on truckin’: Ron Stillwell, Moorpark College baseball coach, took an unusual family vacation during last week’s Easter break. Stillwell drove more than 40 hours to deliver a truck to his son, Kurt, who plays for the Cincinnati Reds, and ended up witnessing the first home run of Kurt’s career--a grand slam that helped the Reds to a 9-8 win over Houston.

Kurt, who played at Thousand Oaks High, hit the home run with Houston leading, 6-5, in the fifth inning Friday.

“It was the thrill of my lifetime,” Ron Stillwell said.

The homer was Kurt’s first in more than 300 at-bats. Kurt, a second-year player was starting for the injured Barry Larkin.

Add Moorpark baseball: The Raiders (17-14, 10-8) are currently in a three-way tie for second with Glendale and Santa Monica in the Western State Conference Southern Division but have little chance of playing in the state tournament because only the conference champion advances. Canyons (23-4-1, 17-0-1), the defending state champion, must win two of its last seven games to win the conference title.

In the Channel Coast Easter Tournament last week, Moorpark defeated Yuba and Riverside but lost to Rancho Santiago, 5-4, in 10 innings. The Raiders led, 4-3, with out and no one on in the bottom of the ninth but allowed a single, a walk and a double that helped win the game.

“It was a season that could, would, should have been, but we had some untried pitching,” Stillwell said.

Matador Field is to CCAA baseball what Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium and the Metrodome in Minneapolis are to the major leagues. All are well-known as a home run launching pads.

That may explain why Cal State Northridge is the runaway leader in the conference when it comes to hitting homers. The Matadors hit 71 home runs in their first 41 games--21 more than Chapman, which was second. Matador pitchers have allowed only 44 homers, which is just slightly higher than average among conference teams.

Northridge batted .317 through 41 games and led the conference in runs scored (353) and doubles (108), as well as home runs. The Matadors were second in hits with 458.

Master’s blaster: Second baseman Tony Ellis leads the team in batting with a .344 average. Zeller said the junior, who transferred from Cleveland (Tenn.) State, has been his most consistent player this year.

“He’s been solid both defensively and at the plate,” Zeller said.

Torrid bats: Cal Lutheran’s Mitch Ennis was batting .222 after 18 games. But in the past 13 games, Ennis has batted .451 to bring his average up to .333. Ennis is the team’s second-leading hitter behind Mike Kusmuk (.409).

Canyons catcher Mike Bible is batting .495 (54 for 109) with 6 home runs and 51 runs batted in for the Cougars, who have all but clinched the WSC Southern Division title. Second-place Santa Monica is 12-6. Both teams have seven games remaining.

Streak broken: Canyon’s, 8-4 loss to Merced in last weekend’s Allan Hancock Tournament ended the Cougars’ 21-game unbeaten streak.

Canyons is ranked fourth in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau, behind Cerritos, Sacramento and L. A. Harbor.

Long first season: Kevin Murphy, the first-year baseball coach at Valley College, watched his ballclub drop its third straight game Tuesday, a 10-3 loss at home to Antelope Valley.

Murphy, who coached previously at Long Beach City College, watched his team go 11-17 overall and 9-13 in the Southern California Athletic Conference. Last season, the Monarchs were 27-10 overall and 15-5 in the SCAC.

Add Valley: Former Chatsworth High catcher Chae-Ho Chong, a transfer from Arizona State, leads the Monarchs with a .309 batting average.

Marc Sallin has a team-high six home runs.