One Day’s Rest for the Weary : Master’s Beck Goes 1-1 in Key 4-Game Series

Chris Beck appreciates the compliments. He really does.

But, please, just a few kind words will suffice. Skip the backslapping. He is still a little sore.

Beck, ace right-hander on The Master’s College pitching staff, recently turned in an iron-man performance. Ever since, he has felt like Jell-O man.

“I’ve been kind of blah,” he said this week. “I feel like my body is in slow motion.”

In an important four-game series against Biola last week, Beck earned two of the decisions--both as a starting pitcher. On Thursday, in the series opener, he pitched a four-hitter but lost, 6-5.

On Saturday, he came back strongly, giving up one run over five innings in a 12-7 victory.

Well, at least he looked strong.

“He really didn’t have much,” said Jeff Tomlinson, the catcher who was on the receiving end of Beck’s offerings. “He usually throws mid-80s, but he could have been anywhere from 10 to 15 miles per hour slower.”

Under normal circumstances, Beck’s pitching repertoire includes a curve, changeup and fastballs that either rise or move in or out. Pitching with one day’s rest allowed Beck to discover a few more variations. The term fastball became a contradiction.

Beck said the speed of his fastball on Saturday ranged from “slow” to “extra slow” to “BP”--batting practice velocity.

Even so, Biola could not solve him. Beck surrendered five hits, and though his control also escaped him--he walked four--he departed with The Master’s leading, 12-1.

Tomlinson, who caught all four games in the series, said Beck’s outing on Saturday was “one of the best games he’s pitched all year.”

“He pitched incredibly well, and I’m not saying that just because it was the second game,” Tomlinson said. “The way he changed speeds really threw off their hitters.”

The victory improved Beck’s record to 7-3. It also was the 20th victory of his three-year career at The Master’s, tying the school record set by Kevin Taylor, who played for the Mustangs from 1986-88.

Beck said he was prepared for double duty because Coach Chris Harrison had mentioned the possibility in the days preceding the Biola series. The Master’s (23-17) and Biola (11-17-2) are the only NAIA independents in District 3 and the winner of the seven-game series between the schools goes to the playoffs.

The Master’s won three of the four games last week. The series will resume at 2:30 p.m. today at Biola, with a noon doubleheader scheduled for Saturday at The Master’s. Beck is not scheduled to pitch today and will pitch the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader only if The Master’s loses today. Otherwise, he will pitch Monday.

Despite the short turnaround last week, Beck wanted the ball.

“I was ready,” he said. “In that situation I wanted to come back. I had kind of a bitter taste in my mouth from losing the first game.”

The heart was willing but the arm, after 145 pitches on Thursday, was a little weak. After warming up, Beck approached Tomlinson: “I think we’re going to have to work in some BP fastballs today,” he said.

The catcher’s response: “He said, ‘Sounds good,’ ” Beck recalled. “He was hurtin’ too.”

Biola batters made the chore easier by aggressively pursuing even borderline pitches, Beck said.

“They were swinging at a lot of first pitches,” he said. “I couldn’t figure it out. They knew I was going on only one day’s rest. I would have thought they would want to go into the count a lot.”

Beck is glad they didn’t. He has never been a workhorse. Not even when he pitched against small-schools competition while attending Brethren Christian, a small Southern Section school. In fact, he has as many wins this season for the Mustangs as he did in four years pitching for Brethren.

“My high school team stunk,” Beck said. “Of my seven wins I think three of them were no-hitters. Basically, I knew if I let them hit the ball, I was in trouble.”

Beck leads District 3 pitchers in strikeouts with 79 in 82 2/3 innings and holds the school record for strikeouts in a career with 187. However, he says such statistics are misleading. He does not consider himself particularly overpowering or strong.

“I’m not that kind of pitcher,” he said. “I’m not one who has a resilient arm. My first two years here, it’s taken me a while to come back (after pitching).”

Because he usually gives Beck anywhere from six to eight days’ rest between starts, Harrison said he was confident Beck’s arm would be no worse for the wear. “We figured we might be able to do this once or twice,” he said.

Twice? Beck noticeably grimaces at the thought.

“I’d do it again, maybe in the playoffs, as long as I had enough time to rest after,” Beck said. “It’s funny. My arm doesn’t hurt. It’s just dead. It feels tired, like the rest of me.”