Strong Effort Keeps Berman in CLU Rotation

Cal Lutheran pitcher Jeff Berman got his first start of the season and his second win in a 9-4 victory over La Verne last Saturday.

Berman (2-0) pitched seven innings before being relieved by Louis Birdt in the eighth. Berman allowed three runs, all earned, four hits, two walks and struck out 12. From the fourth through the seventh innings, he struck out nine of 12.

Berman, a Newbury Park High graduate, redshirted last season at San Jose State after injuring his right (throwing) shoulder.

He was cleared to play two months ago and has posted a 1.29 earned-run average in 28 innings. He has allowed only 15 hits and has struck out 36 and walked eight.

“We knew he had the capabilities all along,” said Cal Lutheran Coach Rich Hill, whose team is 29-2. “We wanted to bring him along slowly and we feel now is the right time to bump him into the rotation.”

Berman replaced Mike Winslow (5-1) as the Kingsmen’s No. 3 pitcher.

1ST CUT IS THE DEEPEST

Coley Kyman, the colorful All-American middle blocker for the Cal State Northridge volleyball team, made a bet last year with Pepperdine outside hitter Tom Sorensen that should Northridge lose to Pepperdine, Sorensen could shave Kyman’s head.

On March 27, Kyman got his comeuppance when the Matadors lost to the Waves, 3-1.

Sorensen, who plans to show off his tonsorial skills Sunday, will not have much to take off from the lower part of Kyman’s head.

Three weeks ago, Kyman showed up with his head shaved and a mop of locks on top.

Few among his teammates and supporters found the haircut fashionable.

“I have a girlfriend, so it doesn’t really matter,” Kyman said. “I have no one to impress.”

SUPER FAN

Of the many Northridge volleyball fans who pepper foes and officials with clever remarks and jokes and travel the freeways of the Southland to road matches, none can hold a candle to Terry Schrumpf.

Schrumpf, literally stands by the Matadors at every match, taking a position next to the substitutes, who also stand in a time-honored volleyball tradition.

Schrumpf, a senior outside hitter from Granada Hills High, suffered a season-ending knee injury before the season. Despite weakness, stiffness and pain in his knee, Schrumpf refuses to sit during a match.

WSC PREVIEW

Western State Conference baseball teams are in the midst of a 1 1/2-week break before resuming conference action Thursday. Consider it the calm before the storm of the final week of the season.

After snapping a three-game losing streak Saturday, co-defending champion Pierce (14-4 in conference play) moved one game ahead of Ventura (13-5) with two to play. Pierce will play at Glendale (6-12) on April 23 before playing host to Ventura in the regular-season finale April 25.

In the first meeting between Pierce and Ventura, the Pirates won, 3-1, at home.

While Bakersfield (12-6) also has an outside shot at the WSC title, the remainder of the pack are battling to make the WSC Shaughnessy playoffs. Among that group is defending co-champion Cuesta (10-8), Valley (10-8-1), Canyons (10-9) and Moorpark (9-9).

The WSC champion and the No. 2 team automatically make the junior college state playoffs. The No. 3 team could receive a berth at the discretion of the selection committee.

NO MORE HAMMER

Northridge senior Ryan Vierra excelled in the hammer throw a year ago, but he will focus on the shotput for the rest of the season.

“I’m staying away from the hammer,” Vierra said. “I’ve had too many injuries because of that event.”

The physical problems, which ranged from lower-back pain to overall “torso tightness,” as Vierra puts it, hampered him earlier in the season, but he appears to be rid of them.

Vierra raised his personal best in the shotput to 58 feet 3 3/4 inches last Saturday to finish second in a triangular meet against Houston and host UCLA.

“I’m not where I want to be, but I’m getting there,” Vierra said. “My goal is 61 to 62 feet by the time of the NCAAs.”

Vierra’s personal best in the shotput moved him to fifth on the all-time Northridge list. He is third on the list in the hammer with his best of 193-4 set last year.

SCIAC THROWS A CURVE

CLU softball Coach Teri Rupe expected continued success in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this season, but some conference foes had other plans.

CLU played all of the conference teams last year, even though it was not in the SCIAC, and finished 19-3. This season, its first as an official member of the conference, Cal Lutheran (18-11, 14-3 in the SCIAC) will have to win the remainder of its SCIAC games to match that record.

“(The SCIAC) has improved a lot,” Rupe said. “In a sense, it has caught us off guard. We have lost three games that we should not have lost.”

Cal Lutheran leads the conference, two games ahead of second place Redlands (14-9, 11-4). There is no SCIAC postseason tournament, so the Regals must hope to be invited to the NCAA Division III West regional.

Invitations will be announced May 3 and the first round will be played May 8-10.

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

Tom Leogrande is the kind of person who finds a rainbow in every rainstorm. If he could not be a two-sport athlete at Cal Lutheran, he would be cheering merrily from the sidelines.

Leogrande, a senior, was voted most inspirational player on the Kingsmen football team this season after leading the team in receptions with 38 for 465 yards and two touchdowns.

He currently leads the Cal Lutheran golf team, not because he is the best golfer--he is not--but because he is so positive.

“He always thinks he is going to have a hole in one on every hole,” golf Coach Jeff Lindgren said. “He is one of those guys who will be in the trees and thinks he is going to get a birdie.”

Leogrande plays No. 3 or No. 4 behind top players Troy Carpenter and Travis Fisher. Leogrande, the only senior, Steve Rust and Jim Williams round out the top five.

“(Leogrande) is rather inconsistent,” Lindgren said, “but he is a really good guy.”

Ron Twersky and staff writers Theresa Munoz, John Ortega and Wendy Witherspoon contributed to this notebook.