COLLEGE BASEBALL ROUNDUP

In another game:

Cal Lutheran 9, The Master’s 7--Starting pitcher Rick Simpson of Master’s took a one-hitter and a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh. But when the inning was over, Simpson was gone and CLU was in front, 8-7, on its way to an NAIA District 3 win.

Dave Leonhardt had two of CLU’s four hits in the game, knocking in four runs with a home run and a double.

The Master’s led, 5-1, after three innings and held a 7-3 advantage entering the bottom of the seventh.

But Cal Lutheran (7-4, 4-1) took advantage of five walks in the inning to score five runs. The Kingsmen had just two hits in the rally but sent 10 batters to the plate.

Dan Weis hit a bases-loaded single to score two, and three more scored on Leonhardt’s blast over the left-field wall. The Kingsmen added another run on Darnell Mitchell’s solo shot in the eighth.

Craig Johnson was four for five for Master’s (5-10, 2-4), including a home run and two doubles to pace a 12-hit attack.

Master’s had runners at first and second with two out in the ninth, but Chris Matkin retired Matt Henzie on a fly ball to end the game.

“We’re used to trailing,” Cal Lutheran Coach Rich Hill said. “It seems like we fall behind every game, but we have tremendous confidence in our ability to come back.”

Added Leonhardt: “We never feel that we’re out of a ballgame. We were hitting the ball well. It was just a matter of time.

“We have a saying that seven-eight-nine is Kingsmen time.”

Cal Lutheran scored its first run without the benefit of a hit.

Devon Schultzer walked to start the second inning and scored on Peter Washington’s groundout. The Kingsmen capitalized on two errors in the sixth to add two more runs on two hits.

Cal Lutheran starter Martin Clark pitched 4 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking one, but the win went to Mike Rooney (1-0), who came on in the fifth. He was replaced by Matkin in the ninth.