COLLEGE BASEBALL / NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP : Berman, Teron Put Out Fires for CLU, 5-3

Division I castoffs Jeff Berman and Mike Teron combined to hold off Southern Maine in the opening round of the NCAA Division III tournament Thursday night, preserving Cal Lutheran’s 5-3 win over the defending champions at Brown Stadium.

Berman, a transfer from San Jose State, replaced starter Steve Dempsey in the fifth inning and got the top-ranked Kingsmen out of a jam.

“I love that situation,” said Berman, a left-hander who induced Bob Prince to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Berman (4-0) remained effective until the eighth when he delivered two high fastballs. Prince drove one to the left-field fence for a double and Scott Dutton doubled off the center-field fence to drive in Prince. That pulled the Huskies within 5-3 and chased Berman.

Teron, who earned his fifth save, ended Southern Maine’s rally by striking out the first batter he faced and getting the next two to ground out. He retired the side in the ninth.

“It is really gratifying,” said Teron, who pitched 6 1/3 innings last season for Cal State Northridge. “All I’ve wanted to do is be a part of a World Series.”

Cal Lutheran (40-4) earned a day off as one of four first-day winners in the eight-team, double elimination field. The Kingsmen will play Saturday against Methodist of Fayetteville, N.C., a 6-3 winner over Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Along with the stellar performances of Berman and Teron, Cal Lutheran relied on nearly flawless defense and an explosive offense in the game’s opening innings to defeat a team that won four consecutive games in last season’s tournament.

Shortstop Dan Smith went deep into the hole and made the long throw several times to cut down runners and first baseman Jay Lucas and third baseman Jim Fifer each robbed Southern Maine (30-10) of hits.

The Kingsmen jumped on Southern Maine starter Troy Brown (6-2) for two runs in the first and two runs in the second. Brown allowed nine hits and all five Cal Lutheran runs in four innings.

“We came out on fire,” Cal Lutheran Coach Rich Hill said. “I was a little bit concerned about playing the national champions, but our bats were alive and (Southern Maine errors) helped us.”

Cal Lutheran finished with 12 hits, including two each by Smith, Lucas, Darrell McMillin and Eric Johnson, and three hits by Fifer, a .272 hitter.