Regional Pits Cal Lutheran Against Host UC San Diego
Top-ranked Cal Lutheran will open play today in the West regional of the NCAA Division III baseball tournament against a familiar opponent.
The Kingsmen (36-3) will play host UC San Diego (27-6-1) in a best-of-five weekend series. The teams met twice in the UC San Diego tournament in March.
San Diego, currently ranked ninth, stopped Cal Lutheran’s 21-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory in pool play. The Kingsmen won the tournament championship by defeating the Tritons, 9-4.
Cal Lutheran is led offensively by Darrell McMillin, who in 36 games hit a school-record 19 home runs and had 49 runs batted in.
The Kingsmen pitching staff is led by left-hander Pat Norville (9-1, 1.50 earned-run average) and right-hander Steve Dempsey (10-1. 2.08 ERA).
UC San Diego is led by right-hander Brent Hansen (10-0), who allowed three runs and struck out 14 to earn the win over the Kingsmen in San Diego. Hansen leads the Tritons with a 2.18 ERA and has 78 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings.
Seven other regionals will be staged this weekend throughout the country. The winners will advance to the Division III championships at Albion College in Battle Creek, Mich., May 21-26.
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