Cal Lutheran Continues Streak Over The Master’s in Doubleheader Sweep

When Dan Pastor takes the mound against The Master’s, it’s a safe bet that Cal Lutheran will come out on top. It’s a lot like taking the Harlem Globetrotters against the Washington Generals.

Not that Pastor is Cal Lutheran’s only hope against the Mustangs. The Kingsmen haven’t lost to The Master’s since Al Schoenberger became the Cal Lutheran coach in 1980. That totals 19 straight games, including five this season.

Pastor and the Kingsmen kept the streak going Saturday afternoon at Cal Lutheran, sweeping The Master’s in an NAIA District III doubleheader.

They won the first game, 14-4, and took the second, behind Pastor, 7-5. It was Pastor’s third victory over the Mustangs.

Cal Lutheran improved to 14-7 overall and 5-4 in District play. The Master’s (10-19, 4-9), which two weeks ago had won seven of eight, lost its seventh straight.

Pastor received a big cushion in the second game after Cal Lutheran scored four in the first and three in the third to take a 7-0 lead. He faltered, however, in the fourth and fifth and let The Master’s back into the game.

Pastor walked third baseman Terry Sloan to lead off the fourth, and Kurt Theilen followed with a single to right. Catcher Matt MacArthur then unloaded on a Pastor offering for a three-run homer to left. It was MacArthur’s second home run of the season.

In the fifth, Sloan singled in Aaron Dennis, who had walked and moved to second on Tony Dello’s single. Two outs later, Pastor walked three straight batters to force Sloan home. Pastor got out of the inning when Shane Carriger grounded out to short.

The victory improved Pastor’s record to 5-0.

“I won it ‘ugly,’ ” he said afterward. “I haven’t given up less than five runs against them in any of my starts. All I need is eight runs, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Pastor was kidding, but Cal Lutheran hasn’t been. The Kingsmen have averaged eight runs a game.

Mustangs Coach John Zeller doesn’t think Cal Lutheran holds any kind of secret to success over The Master’s. He knows what it takes to beat the Kingsmen.

“Against Cal Lu, you just have to keep them down,” he said, referring to the Kingsmen’s powerful offense. “But they have a very good hitting ballclub.”

He found that out in the first game, when Cal Lutheran sent 17 men to the plate in the fifth inning and scored 11 times to stretch a 3-2 edge to a 14-2 cushion for pitcher Dan Meltregger (3-1).

Ed Howard and Derrick Evans had the key hits in the inning, connecting on back-to-back two-run doubles. Howard had five runs batted in on the day.

The big fifth inning was an opposing pitcher’s nightmare. In The Master’s case, the nightmare belonged to three pitchers. Starter Mike Wilson (2-4), and relievers Eric Strom and Eric Petersen were all on the wrong side of the eight-hit outburst.

So, how do you stop the Kingsmen, who are hitting better than .350?

“It’s like trying to catch a lightning bolt with a butterfly net,” Schoenberger said.