NAIA PLAYOFF PREVIEWS : CLU, Master’s to Open Quests for District 3 Baseball Title

Fans of great pitching might not want to attend the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 baseball playoffs, which start today at Azusa Pacific University.

But those who appreciate good hitting could be in for a treat.

Three schools--Cal Baptist, Azusa Pacific and The Master’s College)--in the four-team double-elimination tournament are hitting better than .300, and the fourth (Cal Lutheran), is batting .289.

Cal Lutheran (28-13), seeded third, will play second-seeded Cal Baptist (34-16) in a first-round game at 11 a.m. at Cougar Field, and No. 4 Master’s (26-20) will play No. 1 Azusa Pacific (32-10) at 3 p.m.

“I think this is a wide-open tournament,” Master’s assistant Chris Harrison said. “Azusa Pacific has to be favored because they’ve been the most consistent team during the season and they’re playing on their home field, but any of the other three teams are capable of winning.”

Azusa Pacific, the 1988 district champion, started the season 5-7 but has won 27 of its past 30 games, including 12 in a row.

The Cougars are batting .327, led by first baseman Carlos Salazar, who won the Golden State Athletic Conference’s triple crown by batting .396, hitting 20 home runs and driving in 62 runs.

Ric Slagle, a second baseman, is batting .427 for Cal Baptist, which carries a .347 team average.

Peter Washington (.388, 10 home runs, 34 RBIs) and Dave Leonhardt (.344, six home runs, 40 RBIs) lead Cal Lutheran’s attack. Mike Clark (6-1, 2.80 earned-run average) will start on the mound in the opener.

Mark MacArthur (.351, eight home runs, 44 RBIs) is the top offensive threat for Master’s, which is expected to start pitcher John March (1-6, 7.45 ERA).

Cal Lutheran split two games against Cal Baptist during the regular season. Master’s was 0-2 against Azusa Pacific.

SOFTBALL

Having swept Cal Baptist to win its third consecutive NAIA District 3 title last Friday, Cal Lutheran will play Adams State College (Alamosa, Colo.) in the Bi-District 2 championships, starting today at Crawford Field.

The winner of the best-of-three series will advance to the 16-team NAIA championships at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, May 17-19.

Cal Lutheran (31-10-2), gunning for its third consecutive appearance in the NAIA championships, will play Adams State (28-16) at 1 and 3 this afternoon, and, if necessary, at 10 a.m. Friday.

Senior DeeAndra Pilkington (16-6) and junior Leslie Stevens (13-4) are expected to start for Cal Lutheran, while sophomore Teresa Maldonado (10-8) and senior Veronica Flores (10-5) are the scheduled starters for Adams State.

Cal Lutheran, which has won 19 of its past 20 games, won the District 3 title as expected, but Adams State was the surprise victor in the four-team District 7 tournament.

Seeded third, Adams State lost its first-round game to Mesa State (Grand Junction, Colo.), then reeled off four consecutive wins, the last two coming in rematches against Mesa State (7-5 in 11 innings, and 1-0).

Stevens (.331, 25 RBIs) and Kim White (.404, seven doubles, eight triples) lead a Cal Lutheran offense that is batting .291 and scoring 4.3 runs a game.