CLU Walks Single File Past Claremont to Hold SCIAC Lead

There were a bunch of bachelors celebrating at Claremont-Mudd on Saturday afternoon, but by no means was it a Stag party.

The Cal Lutheran baseball team, which has no married players on its roster, had just defeated Claremont-Mudd, 9-7, to earn a split in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader.

More important, the Kingsmen (20-6-1, 14-1 in SCIAC play) retained sole possession of first place in the conference despite a 5-2 loss in the first game, which ended a 13-game conference winning streak.

The Stags (21-10, 13-2) could have moved into first with a sweep Saturday, and nearly did.

In the second game, they scored twice in the ninth and, with a runner on first, brought the tying run to the plate against Steve Fjeldseth with nobody out.

Craig Arnold relieved and yielded a single to Dewayne Carey, but then induced Mike Netting into a double-play ground ball and got Karl Bracken to tap out to catcher Rik Work in front of the plate to record his second save of the season.

The Kingsmen benefited from four Stag errors and seven unearned runs.

Add those errors to the two they made in the first game and the six they committed in an 8-7 Kingsmen victory Friday, and it’s clear why the Kingsmen, who made only three errors in the three-game series, remain in first place.

“I told the guys coming into this series that the key would be who plays catch the best,” Kingsmen Coach Marty Slimak said.

Slimak, after watching Stag pitcher Joe Whitlach (1-2) hold his team to two hits in the first game, made some well-advised adjustments.

Adam Rauch, starting and leading off in place of regular center fielder Jamal Nichols, scored two runs.

Ruben Torres, starting at second in place of regular Frank Maldonado, delivered the key blow in an eight-run fifth inning--a bases-loaded triple into right-center field.

The Kingsmen trailed, 3-1, entering the fifth but sent 13 batters to the plate and took a 9-3 lead.

Torres, who had two hits and three runs batted in--all in the fifth inning--led a group of four Kingsmen who each had two hits.

Fjeldseth (1-1) relieved starter Richard Bell in the fifth and held the Stags to four hits in 3 1/3 innings.