Schultz Had a Lump in His Throat Even Before His First Loss

Cleveland High pitcher Mike Schultz found his first loss of the season tough to swallow--literally.

Hours before the junior right-hander was to start Monday against Chatsworth, he accidentally swallowed a pen cap, which became lodged in his throat.

Even though he was feeling discomfort, Schultz arrived for his scheduled start.

He didn’t last long.

Schultz (4-1) pitched only three innings in the Cavaliers’ 9-0 loss before leaving for the hospital to have the pen cap removed.

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Perpetual motion: Busy man, that Bob Ferguson.

The Royal High boys’ volleyball coach did more last Friday than most people do in a month.

Ferguson started his day in a school earthquake-preparedness drill as a member of the search and rescue team.

In a simulated triage, he had to help treat a firefighter. After that, Ferguson went through a drill of his own.

He climbed to the rafters in the Royal gymnasium and tacked up three athletic banners.

That’s when he noticed the four volleyballs stuck up there and retrieved them.

For good measure, Ferguson then wet-mopped the gym floor.

Later that night, he coached Royal to a sweep of Westlake.

“It’s all part of the job,” Ferguson said. “I’m a busy person. I don’t know how to operate any other way.”

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Bassett hounded: Early in the season, Pepperdine tennis Coach Glenn Bassett was asked how he would feel when the Waves played UCLA, the school he coached at from 1967-93.

“I can’t imagine now . . . but it probably will be special,” Bassett said.

Frustrating is more like it.

Top-ranked UCLA has defeated No. 10 Pepperdine twice--7-0 in a dual match Feb. 6 in Westwood and 4-1 in the second round of the national indoor team championships Feb. 23 in Louisville, Ky.

Bassett hopes the third meeting will be different Saturday, when Pepperdine (16-5) hosts the Bruins at 1 p.m. at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. A victory would strengthen the Waves’ playoff chances.

“A win over UCLA would likely assure us of an automatic berth to the NCAA championships,” Bassett said.

The national selection committee awards eight automatic berths for the championship. Eight at-large spots are filled by the winners of regional tournaments scheduled for May 10-12 at various sites.

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Now or never: The Master’s College baseball team will make a last-ditch attempt to turn its season around with a three-game series at home against Hawaii Pacific beginning today. The teams are two of only three NAIA independents in the region, and the one with the best record gains an invitation to the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament in May.

Master’s is 9-17, and Hawaii Pacific (9-13) isn’t much better. The Mustangs are 1-3-1 against Hawaii Pacific this season and need a sweep to harbor playoff hopes.

It would appear that pitching-poor Master’s would have an advantage Saturday when the teams play two seven-inning games. The Mustangs have been blowing leads in the eighth and ninth innings because they carry only seven pitchers.

Master’s Coach Jack Mutz said that is not necessarily the case.

“Hawaii Pacific is short on pitching too,” he said. “We didn’t have to twist their arm about playing two sevens.”

Stats

A survey conducted by Tom Maher, offensive coordinator for the Mt. San Antonio College football team, shows that Moorpark leads Valley-area junior colleges in signings with Division I-A schools over the past four years.

Overall, Mt. SAC leads with 37, followed by Moorpark in seventh with 21; Valley, 14th with 16; Glendale, 31st with nine; Pierce, 34th with six; Antelope Valley, 38th with five; and Ventura, 57th with one.

The survey includes players signed through Feb. 7.

Cal State Northridge outside hitter Chad Strickland has 10 or more kills in 17 of 18 matches, including the last 12. He has had at least 20 kills in seven matches.

Things to Do

The Cal State Northridge baseball team hosts Cal Lutheran, ranked second in Division III, at 2 p.m. today.

*Contributing: Mike Bresnahan, Fernando Dominguez, Rob Fernas, Irene Garcia, Michael Lazarus.