Kingsmen Sweep by Southwestern to World Series

Cal Lutheran shrugged off fatigue and heat, not to mention Southwestern University, to win the NCAA Division III West Regional baseball tournament Saturday.

Paced by strong performances from Adam Springston and Brian Malchow, the tournament’s most valuable player, the Kingsmen knocked off ninth-ranked Southwestern twice on Saturday to qualify for the NCAA Division III World Series for the second time in three years.

Cal Lutheran (27-13) handed Southwestern (36-11) its first loss of the double-elimination tournament in the first game Saturday, 11-3.

Then the Kingsmen, seeded fourth among the four teams, held off the Pirates in the final game, 10-6.

Cal Lutheran will play Aurora, Ill., which won the Central Regional, on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division III World Series at Memorial Stadium in Salem, Va.

“We’ve been there before,” said Marty Slimak, fifth-year coach at Cal Lutheran who took the Kingsmen to the Division III World Series in 1996.

“It’s not like we have to tell these guys anything new. There’s a lot of tradition there. That stuff pulls you through sometimes when you need it.”

Malchow, who entered the second game Saturday with a tournament-high .556 batting average (10 for 18), pitched the final two innings in the second game to earn a save.

Malchow took the mound after the first three Southwestern batters scored in the bottom of the eighth. He did not allow a hit or a run, and his only flaw was a walk issued in the ninth.

“We were just exhausted,” Malchow said, after the Kingsmen finished their fourth game in two days at Walt Driggers Field, were the temperature reached 93 degrees on the final day.

“The extra game [Friday] took its toll on us. Everyone just fought to the end. It was a great effort. Unbelievable. I was glad I had enough left to finish the game.”

In the first game Saturday, Springston showed his endurance by pitching a seven-hitter in his second complete-game victory of the tournament.

Springston (8-2) allowed three runs, only one earned, while striking out seven and walking one.

“I had my adrenaline going, my heart pumping,” said the 6-foot-5 junior from Oxnard.

“I was more tired the first game [Thursday, a 7-1 win over Chapman].”

Said Slimak: “His game was more important [than the 10-6 win], because we wouldn’t have been in it if we hadn’t won that one. Look at him--he’s like an ox. Guys like that don’t need a whole lot of time [to rest].”

Malchow had three hits and Bill Finnerty hit a two-run home run and squeezed home a run.

Cal Lutheran jumped on Pirate starter Ryan Smith (3-2) for six runs on three hits and one error in the top of the first inning.

Senior Anthony Olden slugged a three-run homer, his second of the tournament and 10th of the season, to get Cal Lutheran started in the first inning of the second game.

The Kingsmen also started fast in the second game, taking a 3-0 lead in the first and adding one in the second before scoring six in the last three innings.

“They keep the heat on you,” said Jim Mallon, who is in his 28th season as head coach at Southwestern, which is in Georgetown, Texas.

“We just dug ourselves in a hole. It was uphill all the way.”

Jeremy Schlosser, Joseph Jauregui and Clint Britt each had two hits in the second game for the Kingsmen.

Britt was voted to the all-tournament despite a hand injury suffered Friday.

Tom Canale (4-4) started the second game, pitching six innings and allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits. He struck out three and walked two.

Ramon Orozco pitched one inning, but was touched for three earned runs on four hits before Malchow cooled off the Pirates.

The Kingsmen roughed up starter James Cunningham (2-2) and five Southwestern relief pitchers in the second game.