COLLEGE BASEBALL / NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP : CLU Stays Alive With 5-2 Victory

Driven to the brink of elimination by an afternoon loss to Methodist College, top-ranked Cal Lutheran defeated Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 5-2, Sunday night to remain alive in the NCAA Division III championship.

Reserve Pete Martin delivered the game-winning hit, a two-run double in the fourth inning, that gave CLU a 3-0 lead.

Cal Lutheran (41-5), one of four teams left in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament, meets Methodist (35-11) tonight.

The Monarchs, of Fayetteville, N.C., are undefeated in the tournament after Sunday’s 4-2 win over the Kingsmen.

The loss put the usually dominant Kingsmen in unfamiliar territory.

“After the game everybody was pretty upset,” Martin said. “But as far as pressure, I don’t think this team feels pressure.”

Martin also didn’t feel like a reserve, even though his role was limited to one unsuccessful pinch-hit in the first two games of the tournament.

“The way Coach (Rich) Hill is, the way we are as a team, you can sit on the bench for two weeks and be just as ready as a starter,” Martin said.

The junior from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College showed he was ready with a double to the right-center-field gap, scoring Jim Fifer and Dan Smith, who reached base on a walk and a double, respectively.

“The guy (Oshkosh starter Mike Gasper) was throwing first-pitch fastballs every time,” Martin said. “I looked for it and he threw it down and in. It wasn’t a bad pitch, I was just looking for it.”

Moments later, Martin stole third and scored on catcher John VandenHuevel’s error for a 4-0 lead.

Smith added another run in the sixth on a single to center that scored Fifer, who was aboard on a walk.

Right-hander Mike Winslow (8-1) started for Cal Lutheran and held the Titans scoreless until the seventh, when he walked three batters, threw a run-scoring wild pitch and gave up another run on a fielder’s choice to allow Oskosh to pull within 5-2.

Jeff Berman relieved with one on and surrendered a single and a walk to load the bases.

The walk was nerve-wracking for the band of Cal Lutheran fans who made the journey here, because Oshkosh’s Greg DePagter hit several long foul balls.

Hill was also unnerved and had decided to pull Berman. But before he got out of the dugout, Berman’s pitch to Tim Jorgensen was on its way to the plate and then, apparently . . . out of the ball park.

“I thought it was out,” Hill said. “I swear to God, my stomach dropped. I was thinking: How am I going to live with myself? You don’t pull the trigger on the (pitching) change and it costs you the World Series?”

But the Kingsmen emerged unscathed because Jorgensen’s blast stayed in the ball park--specifically, in center fielder Darrell McMillin’s glove.

From there, the Kingsmen coasted. Berman retired the side in order in the eighth and power pitcher Mike Teron earned his second save of the tournament by striking out two in the ninth and getting the other on a flyout.

The game began with a wind-chill factor hovering around 20 degrees, but it was a lot warmer on the Methodist side when Monarch leadoff batter Joe Myrtle sent a 2-1 fastball soaring over the left-field fence in the first inning.

The temperature also rose for the Monarchs in the second inning when Myrtle hit a two-out, two-run double, scoring Herman Pegram and Chris Horton who had reached base with a walk and a hit by pitch, respectively.

Brandon Bridgers followed with a single to left that scored Myrtle and gave Methodist a 4-0 lead that drove starter Pat Norville from the game.

Though Kingsmen reliever Tim Barber shut Methodist down over the next seven innings, Cal Lutheran left nine men on base and was limited to seven hits.

* BASEBALL COVERAGE: There will be full coverage in Monday’s sports section of the Valley-area teams still competing in playoff games.