CLU Aiming to Worm Way to World Series

To what extent will a baseball team go to get to Battle Creek, Mich., site of the NCAA Division III College World Series in June?

Members of the Cal Lutheran pitching staff pondered that question recently at practice, and when assistant Marty Slimak lifted up home plate to reveal worms brought out by recent rains, the pitching staff had its answer.

Pat Norville, who is second on the staff with a 1.47 earned-run average, might have been feeding a reporter a line, but he swears the following took place.

“We looked at them and said, ‘Would you do that for Battle Creek?’ ” he said.

That involved eating worms.

One by one, pitchers took the challenge until about six had each swallowed one of the slimy creatures, according to Norville. Not surprisingly, Norville denies he ate a worm.

Cal Lutheran really wants to get to Battle Creek. Enough said.

RANK RATINGS

Cal Lutheran, which defeated its first 19 opponents--included is a 9-1 win over NCAA Division I San Diego State--by an average of 8.7 runs and never scored fewer than six runs, is ranked second in Collegiate Baseball’s NCAA Division III poll this week.

And who is ranked No. 1?

A team that, before Wednesday, had yet to play.

A courtesy No. 1 ranking was extended to defending champion Southern Maine (38-6 last season). Coach Ed Flaherty was named national coach of the year and pitcher Robert Aceto (11-1 as a senior last season) was the series’ most valuable player.

Southern Maine was scheduled to open at Bryant College, R.I., March 21, but the game was snowed out, so its opener was rescheduled for Wednesday in Florida against St. Thomas, Minn.

JUST ANOTHER WIN

To Coach Bill Kernen, Northridge’s championship in the eight-team Fresno State tournament last week is “a real nice indication that (we) have a quality team.”

Kernen denied, however, that the Matadors’ 10-5 win over the host Bulldogs in the championship game was more than just a victory over a good team.

That Northridge defeated Fresno, the team that knocked the Matadors from the NCAA playoffs last season, “let off a little steam,” Kernen said.

But, he added, “we never looked at it as a revenge thing.”

PROBABLE PITCHERS

Northridge’s pitching lineup for its three-game series at Nevada Las Vegas this weekend is almost set.

Kenny Kendrena (5-4) will start Friday night’s opener, followed by Kevin Kloek (4-1) on Saturday and either John Bushart (2-0) or David Eggert (2-0) on Sunday.

Bushart and Eggert, both left-handers, have been impressive as the Nos. 4 and 5 pitchers in the Matador rotation.

Opponents are batting only .195 against Bushart, who has an ERA of 2.63 and has 32 strikeouts in 32 innings.

Eggert has a 3.46 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 13 innings.

SURE-HANDED

The Valley College baseball team might be only 5-5 midway through the Western State Conference season, but shortstop Carlos Olmos and third baseman Mike Murray have both played errorless ball in conference play.

Olmos, a redshirt freshman from North Hollywood High, also is batting .358 in WSC play.

Murray, a former All-City Section player at Kennedy and an honorable-mention All-WSC pick last year, has been Valley’s top hitter with an overall average of .430.

Ron Twersky and staff writers Mike Hiserman and Wendy Witherspoon contributed to this notebook.