Rejuvenated Cal Lutheran Pitchers Make Call to Arms : Baseball: Kingsmen hope addition of three previously injured starters will help in playoff series against La Verne.

When Coach Marty Slimak says the Cal Lutheran University baseball team is different than the one that was swept by La Verne in February, he’s not just saying it to make himself feel better.

The Kingsmen were without injured pitchers Andrew Barber, Jesus Melgoza and Carlos Garibay when they lost three in a row to the Leopards to open the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season.

Now healthy, those three will be Cal Lutheran’s top starters against the Leopards in the NCAA Division III West regional best-of-five series, which starts at 3 p.m. today at La Verne.

The winner advances to the Division III World Series next week in Salem, Va.

Slimak said he’s not sure if today’s starter will be Garibay (5-1, 3.51 earned-run average), Melgoza (4-2, 2.98) or Barber (2-1, 5.25).

“[The Kingsmen] are better now than they were,” La Verne Coach Owen Wright said, “but I think we are too. “It’s tough if you sweep a team then you get a little complacent. I don’t expect us to sweep them, although I certainly expect to win.”

The Leopards (32-8) tore through the SCIAC, winning all 21 games. They finished the regular season ranked fifth in the nation in Division III. Cal Lutheran (23-12) is ranked 13th.

La Verne’s strength is its pitching. The Leopards, who have a team ERA of 3.67, are led by 6-foot-5 right-hander J.D. Romero (7-2, 2.80). Romero, SCIAC player of the year, will start today.

The Leopards have right-hander Greg Vargas (8-1, 3.55) and left-hander Jeff Doen (7-2, 2.69) ready to pitch the doubleheader Friday.

Pitching depth will likely be the determining factor if the series goes to fourth or fifth games on Saturday. And that’s what cost Cal Lutheran in last year’s West regional against UC San Diego. The Kingsmen won the first two games, then lost three in a row.

“We’ve got a lot more pitchers that we can go to this year and I feel a lot better about that,” Slimak said.

Right-hander David Jaglowski (3-2, 5.55), who has started eight games this year, would be the most logical choice to start a fourth game. No other Cal Lutheran pitcher has started more than two games.

La Verne’s pitching depth includes left-hander Jerry Whitaker (4-2, 5.50), right-hander Terry Conklin (2-0, 3.46) and right-hander George Garcia (2-0, 8.53). Conklin and Garcia have been the Leopards’ top relievers.

For run production La Verne turns to first baseman Jeff Polinsky, who missed the teams’ regular season series with an injury. Polinsky is batting .412 with four home runs and 30 runs batted in.

Shortstop Brock Whobrey (.338, two home runs, 24 RBIs) and second baseman Mike Smith (.326, 25 RBIs) also are dangerous.

Cal Lutheran’s offense is led by outfielders Ray Arvizu (.389), Rich Holmes (.409) and Jeff Marks (.366, seven home runs, 41 RBIs) and first baseman John Becker (.373, nine home runs, 37 RBIs).

The Kingsmen have an opportunity to erase some bad memories--their February series against La Verne, last year’s regional failure and their last game, an 8-7, 10-inning loss to Pomona-Pitzer in the final regular season game three weeks ago.

Cal Lutheran blew a six-run lead in that game and has had plenty of time to think about it.

“Put yourself in [the players’] shoes,” Slimak said. “You are sick and tired of going out to practice. You just want to play a baseball game.

“Well, it’s here.”