After an Explosive Beginning, Cal Lutheran Coasts to Sweep : Baseball: Kingsmen score 14 runs in first two innings against Occidental.

The umpires dashed to the field 75 minutes late Saturday and the scoreboard, as if voicing its displeasure, promptly malfunctioned.

Next to break down was Occidental College, which gave up 14 runs in the first two innings.

Performing smoothly throughout was Cal Lutheran, which swept Occidental, 17-2, 6-3, in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at Cal Lutheran.

“When you have a delay like that, you come out flat or you come out on fire,” said designated hitter Kirk Fellows.

Safe to say Cal Lutheran (11-7, 7-5 in the SCIAC) wasn’t flat.

The Kingsmen pelted the Tigers (10-15, 8-7) with 21 hits in the opener, 15 in the first two innings. During that stretch, Fellows hit two home runs and knocked in five runs for Cal Lutheran, which emerged with a 14-0 lead and all but forgave the tardy umpires for their car trouble.

Occidental starter Jerome Najera was chased after 1 1/3 innings. He gave up 10 runs on eight hits.

“We came out ready to play,” said Cal Lutheran Coach Marty Slimak, “and they didn’t.”

The same couldn’t be said for the Kingsmen in the second game.

Occidental led, 1-0, when Slimak gathered the team before the listless Kingsmen’s turn at in the second inning.

They responded by scoring four runs, including a two-run double by Rich Holmes.

Andrew Barber (1-0) gave up two earned runs and struck out five in seven innings.

Cal Lutheran, ranked 24th in a national coaches’ poll, vaulted over the No. 25 Tigers into second place in the SCIAC.

Occidental Coach Jeff Henderson, whose team also lost to Cal Lutheran on Friday, 10-1, refused comment after the game, saying, “This isn’t a good time.”

After an 0-5 start, the Kingsmen have won 11 of 13 and have crawled back into consideration for the NCAA Division III regionals in May. Cal Lutheran plays four critical road games this week: Azusa Pacific on Wednesday, Point Loma Nazarene on Friday and a doubleheader at UC San Diego on Saturday.

A successful swing likely means a bid to the regionals.

“We’re starting to get a little roll here,” said Slimak. “This is a big part of our season coming up.”