Three Crowns on a Hill : Baseball Fortunes of Cal Lutheran Rest on Arms of Barber, Bell, Kiszczak

Cal Lutheran baseball Coach Marty Slimak is similar to those genial souls who attract stray dogs, scratching them under the chin and praising them until their tails wag and they follow every command.

Slimak’s pitching staff, at its level among the best in the nation, is an eclectic collection of mound hounds busily sniffing up a trail to the Division III World Series.

No wonder the Kingsmen call themselves the Lu Dawgs.

There is steady Andrew Barber, the loyal senior, a Kingsman’s best friend. Barber (4-2) has allowed only 26 hits in 53 2/3 innings and has an earned-run average of 1.03.

There is stocky junior Richard Bell, with his classic bulldog mentality. Opponents are batting .193 against the burly Bell (6-1), a left-hander.

There is freshman fireballer Eric Kiszczak (KIZ-ack), a wide-eyed frisky pup eager to please. Kiszczak (5-0), the state high school player of the year in Arizona last year, has potential rarely seen at a small college.

In racing to a 12-0 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record, Cal Lutheran has posted a team earned-run average of 1.45 in league games. SCIAC opponents are batting .192 against the Kingsmen. Overall, the team ERA is 3.12, which was inflated by allowing 31 runs in one-sided losses to Division I powers USC and Cal State Northridge.

Cal Lutheran, 19-6-1 and ranked No. 2 in Division III, begins a crucial three-game series today at home against Claremont-Mudd (21-9, ranked No. 20), also 12-0 in SCIAC play. The series, which concludes with a doubleheader Saturday at Claremont, could determine the conference title.

But for Cal Lutheran, the SCIAC is not the limit. The Kingsmen advanced to the Division III World Series in 1992 and ‘93, and nothing short of another berth will satisfy them.

Last season’s 23-15 mark, dismal by Cal Lutheran standards, made for some soul-searching.

“Last year there were ‘I’ guys; this year we are all working toward the World Series,” said David Jaglowski, a senior pitcher and the only player remaining from the ’93 team. “We’ve been through tough games and we believe in each other.”

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If Cal Lutheran is to contend for a national championship, it will be pulled by its arms. The Kingsmen are batting .283 but they are not a group that bashes its way to victories.

“Our pitching has been the primary reason we got out of the gate in a hurry,” said Slimak, who is in his third season as head coach after serving as an assistant since 1990. “We played tough opponents early and won. Right then and there, we looked at one another and said, ‘We will be very tough on the hill.’ ”

Undisputed king of the hill is Barber, a right-hander who has a no-hitter, a one-hitter and a two-hitter. His improvement is dramatic: In 1995 his ERA was 5.14.

“I committed myself to keeping my arm in shape and it’s noticeable in my velocity and stamina,” Barber said.

Besides throwing harder, Barber has what Slimak describes as the single-best pitch of anyone on the staff: a nasty knuckle-curve.

“He has a big league curve, a special pitch you can’t teach,” Slimak said. “He throws it hard and it explodes on a batter late. That pitch alone has the potential to get him into minor league baseball.”

Barber wants to become a Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy after graduating in May with a degree in criminal justice, but first he’d like to see how many batters he can handcuff.

“I’ve had people laugh at me when I tell them I want to play pro ball,” Barber said. “I’ve stopped talking about it because I’ll just let things take their course. But I’d like to sign just to prove them wrong.”

Bell gave up baseball for two years after graduating from Chico High in 1991. He bounced around in high school, attending Agoura as a freshman and sophomore before moving to Northern California.

College wasn’t in his plans. Eating was. Bell, 6-feet, ballooned to more than 250 pounds before looking in the mirror and telling himself he was still hungry to pitch.

Bell was welcomed with open arms at Moorpark College--a left-handed pitcher with a live arm doesn’t come along every day--and spent the 1994 season primarily as a setup man. Last year he became a starter, went 5-0 in Western State Conference play and received overtures from Division I schools.

“I didn’t have enough transferable units for Division I, so they backed off,” he said.

Cal Lutheran accepted him, much to Slimak’s delight. Bell has allowed 38 hits in 54 innings while striking out 51 and walking 21.

“Richard has matured,” Slimak said. “Academics-wise at Moorpark he didn’t know what he wanted to do. Now at a four-year university he has set personal goals, on and off the field.”

Seemingly wise beyond his years is Kiszczak, a 4.0 student and biology major who on his own decided Cal Lutheran was the place for him.

Kiszczak’s father, Larry, was his coach at Lake Havasu High, and the unseeded team swept through the 4-A Division playoffs and took the state title. Kiszczak, however, was overlooked by large colleges.

Talk about a gift from the heavens. Kiszczak called Slimak, who said, “Sure, come on out.” Sometimes the coach has to rub his eyes to believe his good fortune. Slimak tries to temper his enthusiasm over Kiszczak but ends up bubbling over.

“Eric is coming along. He is a freshman with the savvy of a junior,” he said. “He could break every record ever set at Cal Lutheran. He is a very special person and we were blessed to get him.”

Kiszczak has had rough moments, allowing 51 hits in 43 1/3 innings, but has shown a knack for making big pitches. In SCIAC games he has been dominant, going 4-0 with a save and a 1.37 ERA.

After he pitched four strong innings against Cal State Northridge two weeks ago, allowing two runs and striking out five, Kiszczak’s reputation spread.

“Some people missed the boat big time on that kid,” a clearly impressed Northridge Coach Mike Batesole said. “He has one of the best three arms we’ve seen all season.”

The success of Barber, Bell and Kiszczak has caused a forlorn line of restless pitchers to form in the bullpen. The trio has thrown 155 of the team’s 225 innings.

Jaglowski, a starter the past two seasons, has pitched only 13 2/3 innings, and junior right-hander Rudy Lesko, a promising power pitcher from Cerro Coso College, has logged only 20. Two other solid junior right-handers, Craig Arnold of Thousand Oaks High and Oxnard College and Steve Fjeldseth of San Diego, each have four innings.

Slimak is well aware of the puppy-dog eyes of guys waiting for him to throw them a bone.

“They could be pitching in a regular rotation, but it’s tough to get them in there because of the way the big three have been throwing,” Slimak said.

Jaglowski, the staff veteran, tips his cap to the starters and bides his time.

“We have a great team atmosphere and nothing should disrupt it,” he said. “Each pitcher knows his role. If we go as far as we believe we should, a time will come when me or some other guys will be needed. We just want to win.”

The unwavering belief in the team’s potential is rooted in tradition. Cal Lutheran has won three of every four games in the ‘90s, posting a record of 207-69. The Kingsmen have qualified for the regionals the past four years.

The march to the postseason this year goes right . . . left . . . right . . . Barber . . . Bell . . . Kiszczak.