SMALL COLLEGE PREVIEW : 3 Area Teams Expect to Continue Winning Ways : Baseball: Master’s, Cal Lutheran and Occidental proclaim to have the look of playoff contenders.

The stage is set, leaving small college baseball coaches to wonder privately if their cast is adequate. But, as usual, their public proclamations of the preseason have been filled with optimism.

The Master’s and Occidental are talking playoffs. Cal Lutheran, which last season finished one step away from its first trip to the NAIA World Series, would settle for a repeat performance.

At look at the schools:

MASTER’S

Chris Harrison, making his coaching debut at Master’s after two years as an assistant, welcomes back seven starters from a team that set school records for wins, hits, batting average, doubles and fielding percentage.

The Mustangs, who will open at UC Riverside on Thursday, finished fifth in the NAIA District 3 last season with a 26-22 record and made the district playoffs for the first time. Harrison is counting on junior center fielder Sheldon Sparks to replace the offensive punch lost by the graduation of shortstop Mark MacArthur, a ninth-round draft choice of the St. Louis Cardinals.

“Sheldon is very important for us,” Harrison said. “Our attack is built around him getting on base.” Sparks batted .333 last season, led District 3 players with 27 stolen bases and set school records with a 21-game hitting streak and a .502 on-base percentage.

The Master’s infield is anchored by sophomore Andy Martin (.376) at third base and senior Craig Johnson (.355) at second. E. J. Pape, a junior transfer from Valley College, is the shortstop.

Joining Sparks in the outfield is sophomore left fielder Kevin Backes, who hit .293 with 22 runs batted in last season. The catching will be handled by Tony Jaime, a senior who hit .262 with four home runs and 24 RBIs.

Sophomores Adam Davis and Mike Weinstein will handle most of the pitching duties. Weinstein was 5-2 last year with a 3.20 earned run average. Davis was 3-1 with an ERA of 3.04.

Mike Smith, who was 9-3 for San Diego City College, and Eric Totemeier, who led Santa Rosa to the state junior college final, top a list of newcomers to a pitching staff that Harrison says is “our strongest in a long time.”

CAL LUTHERAN

Cal Lutheran will join Occidental in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA Division III) next season, but in the meantime will concentrate on defending its first District 3 championship. Cal Lutheran, 35-16 last season, has a trio of run-producers back in Blake Babki, Dave Leonhardt and Pete Washington.

Babki, who plays center field, batted .388 in an injury-plagued season. Leonhardt is an all-district utility player. Washington, the designated-hitter, had a team-high 14 home runs and a .776 slugging percentage. Cal Lutheran also added punch in Darin Furlong, a transfer from Moorpark College.

Two-time all-district choice Mike Clark and Mike Rooney lead a young pitching staff.

This month should be especially trying for Cal Lutheran, which opens with a doubleheader at USC on Sunday and also has a three-game series at San Diego State, Feb. 22-24.

OCCIDENTAL

Like Master’s, Occidental has enough experienced players returning to warrant playoff aspirations. Catcher Mike Kniseley was the only Tiger lost to graduation from last season’s 20-14 team that placed third in the SCIAC. However, Occidental did lose another standout when two-time all-conference pitcher Dave Stoll transferred to UCLA.

Coach Jeff Henderson welcomes back a pair of first-team All-SCIAC players in shortstop Mark Harris and center fielder Jason Rusk. Harris batted .407 last season with six home runs and 29 RBIs. Rusk batted .357.

Bart Dalton is at second base and Jeff Heberlein at third. Bob Kennedy, a transfer from George Washington, has taken over at catcher. Sid Rodriguez, Rich Mather and Neil Harrington are the starting pitchers.

Occidental will open Tuesday at home against Point Loma.