Kirkreit Seeks to Realize His Olympic Goal

For as long as he can remember, Daron Kirkreit says, he has dreamed of playing baseball for the United States in the Olympics.

But as a pitcher for an NCAA Division II program at UC Riverside, Kirkreit wasn’t sure if he would receive the opportunity.

As a 19-year-old sophomore, Kirkreit also thought there would be a lot of juniors and seniors who would be considered ahead of him.

So he said he was surprised last week when he learned that he was one of 40 players selected to participate in the Olympic baseball trials June 8-14 in Millington, Tenn., for this summer’s Games.

“I knew my coach (Jack Smitheran) was trying everything he could to get me invited, but I hadn’t heard anything,” Kirkreit said. “Then (last) Monday night I got the call from him, and I was surprised and delighted.”

Kirkreit was one of only 10 non-Division I players and one of two Division II players to receive an invitation.

“It makes me feel pretty good that people feel that highly of me,” he said. “It’s an honor to be selected. At the same time, I’ll be in a position that any mistake I make will be magnified because of my division. But I’m just happy to be one of the two Division II players invited.”

It is also satisfying for Kirkreit because he wasn’t regarded as a top college prospect when he was a senior at Norco High. Although he received letters from several Division I schools, he was offered a scholarship only by Riverside.

Since his arrival at Riverside, the 6-foot-6, 225-pound right-hander has made an impression.

As a freshman, he stepped into the starting rotation for the Highlanders late in the season and posted a 5-2 record and a 2.47 earned-run average. He has a 9-5 record, 2.23 ERA and five complete games in 14 appearances this season.

Still, Kirkreit says he can improve as a pitcher.

“I definitely think I’m still learning and improving,” he said. “Going through high school, my only real coach was my dad. Then I came here and picked up a few things last year, and I feel I still have a couple of steps to go before I reach my peak.”

Before he can begin concentrating on making the Olympic team, he is hoping to help the Highlanders reach the Division II World Series for the second consecutive season.

Riverside, which finished third nationally last season, plays Sonoma State in the opening game of the Division II West Regional on Friday at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Kirkreit says the team is entering postseason play in the right frame of mind.

“I definitely feel we have the momentum going in,” he said. “We’ve won our last five games, and our starters have pitched well. We’re coming together as a team and hopefully we’ll ride that crest all the way to (the World Series).”

The Cal Poly SLO baseball team is hoping history doesn’t repeat itself when it plays host to UC Riverside and Sonoma State in the NCAA Division II West Regional baseball playoffs Friday through Sunday.

The Mustangs were the host team last year and finished second to California Collegiate Athletic Assn. rival Riverside.

San Luis Obispo (35-16) is seeded first in the regional. The Mustangs are ranked No. 3 in Division II, Sonoma State (32-15-1) is No. 12 and Riverside (20-10) No. 13.

Top-ranked Cal Lutheran will open its quest for an NCAA Division III baseball title when it plays UC San Diego in the best-of-five West Regional starting Friday at La Jolla.

Cal Lutheran, competing in its first season in Division III, has a 36-3 record, and San Diego, ranked No. 9 in Division III, is 27-6-1.

The Kingsmen have posted eye-popping statistics in earning the No. 1 ranking in the division. They have outscored their opponents, 392-96, and easily won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.

Cal Lutheran has been led on offense by junior outfielder Darrell McMillin, who finished the regular season with a school-record 19 home runs along with 49 RBIs and has a 16-game hitting streak.

San Diego has won eight consecutive games and handed Cal Lutheran one of its three defeats, 5-3, in the UC San Diego Sunshine Classic in March.

The Azusa Pacific baseball team appears to have a difficult task ahead when it competes in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics Area 1 playoffs Thursday through Saturday in Lewiston, Ida.

That’s because Lewis-Clark State, the host school in the four-team tournament, has been the dominant team in the NAIA the last 10 years.

The school has finished either first or second in the NAIA nine of the last 10 seasons and has won five consecutive titles. Lewis-Clark, which defeated Whitworth of Washington by scores of 17-5 and 15-4 in winning its district tournament last week, is ranked No. 2 in the NAIA with a 46-9 record.

In opening games of the double-elimination tournament Thursday, second-seeded Azusa Pacific (33-11) meets Hawaii Pacific (25-10-1), and Lewis-Clark takes on George Fox of Oregon (29-16).

It was a first for the Cal State Bakersfield women’s softball team when it was eliminated by Cal State Hayward, 4-0, in the NCAA Division II regionals Sunday in Bakersfield.

In its three previous appearances in postseason play, from 1988 through 1990, the Roadrunners had won Division II championships.

College Division Notes

After winning its second consecutive NCAA Division II team title in women’s tennis, Cal Poly Pomona enjoyed a strong showing in the individual matches last week. Sophomore Rebecca Huereque reached the singles semifinals before losing to eventual champion Michelle King of Abilene Christian in three sets, and senior Julie Slattery advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to King. . . . Claremont-Mudd is seeded third and Pomona-Pitzer is fourth in the NCAA Division III men’s tennis tournament, starting Thursday at Emory University in Atlanta. Defending champion Kalamazoo of Michigan is top-seeded and UC Santa Cruz is No. 2. . . . Azusa Pacific’s women’s softball season ended when it was defeated twice by Hawaii Hilo in the NAIA Tri-District II playoffs Saturday at Adams State in Colorado. The Cougars defeated Adams State in their opener of the double-elimination tournament, 8-0, before losing to Hilo, 7-1 and 14-1. . . . Bobby Quattlebaum, a former player and assistant coach for the Azusa Pacific men’s soccer team, has been named the school’s women’s soccer coach. He replaces Kathy Crider, who resigned after guiding the Cougars to NAIA District 3 titles two of the last three seasons.