VALLEY COLLEGES / MIKE HISERMAN : Upstart CLU Seeks Another Victim

Cal Lutheran’s baseball team has three games this weekend in which to add another notch on its clubhouse door.

San Diego State, about the only big-name team that Cal Lutheran has not defeated in Coach Rich Hill’s tenure, cooperatively scheduled the Kingsmen for a trio of games in San Diego.

One loss and the Aztecs will join the likes of USC, Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Northridge and Irvine, all of which have fallen to Cal Lutheran in the past 3 1/2 seasons.

“Baseball is a great equalizer in sports,” Hill said. “You get a guy on the mound who can throw a little bit and anything can happen. A bad-hop single here, a hit-and-run, a squeeze play--there’s so many things in baseball that you can do.”

Fortunately for Cal Lutheran (6-1), it has several pitchers “who can throw a little.”

Mike Clark, a senior right-hander, is typical among them. He is 6-foot-1, slightly built, has an average fastball, good breaking stuff and a tremendous amount of savvy in addition to a 3-0 record and an 0.46 earned-run average.

“He knows how to win,” Hill said of Clark. “He competes like no one else.”

What Clark gives to the Kingsmen pitching staff, Dave Leonhardt provides to the offense. The senior third baseman is batting .360 and leads the team in runs (nine), hits (nine), total bases (16) and steals (four).

It used to be that Cal Lutheran, which is playing as an NAIA independent this season, could sneak up on some of its bigger name opponents but, based on past performance, that rarely happens anymore.

“Some of these kids might be two inches too short or a step too slow, or maybe they can’t throw 85 miles per hour, but they can still play,” Hill said. “That’s a factor when we play (NCAA) Division I schools. These kids say, ‘Hey, I’ve been overlooked a little bit and I’m going to show these guys I can play.’ ”

Justice denied: J. R. Rider is considered one of the best junior college basketball players in the nation, but Foothill Conference coaches say he is not the most valuable player in their conference. In a vote, they chose Don Leary of Mt. San Jacinto.

Nothing personal against Leary, but his selection doesn’t wash. Rider led Antelope Valley to the Foothill championship and averaged 34.5 points and 11.4 rebounds a game.

It is true that Antelope Valley (24-5) probably would have won the title even without Rider, but with him the Marauders can play with any team in the state.

It might be that Foothill coaches were less inclined to back Leary than they were compelled to vote against Rider.

Antelope Valley’s opponents were not pleased when Rider’s eligibility was reinstated by a state committee shortly after the start of the season. Nor have they been impressed by his often less-than-congenial on-court demeanor.

What’s in a name?: As reported in this space last week, Northridge has gone to great lengths requesting that its athletic teams be referred to as Cal State Northridge, Northridge, CS Northridge or simply Matadors by the media.

Northridge officials have expressed particular concern over being called Northridge State by the Associated Press news agency.

No doubt AP received a copy of last week’s directive sent out by the athletic program’s promotions and marketing man.

There also is little doubt that it did not have much impact. The AP’s college baseball scores Wednesday included the following entry: UC Northridge 7, Arizona 1.

Quick ascent: One of the bigger upsets of the year took place Wednesday night when Pierce defeated Fullerton, 61-57, in the first round of the Southern California regional of the state women’s basketball tournament.

Fullerton, a perennial power, was seeded third in the regional. Pierce players and Coach Rob Di Muro deserve plenty of credit. It is difficult to believe that only three years ago Pierce (21-9) did not have a women’s basketball team.

No experience required: Tom McCollum, 1-4 as a stand-in for Northridge basketball Coach Pete Cassidy, has never been head coach of a college team. McCollum’s head-coaching experience came at Carpinteria High, where he had a three-year record of 24-46 before joining the Northridge staff last summer.

Cassidy is recovering from surgery for an intestinal disorder and is expected to miss the Matadors’ three remaining games.

Briefly: The Canyons men’s basketball team is as good as Nick Sanderson makes it. So far, so good. Canyons won the Northern Division championship and Sanderson, a 6-2 sophomore, was MVP. Canyons will play host to Cerro Coso at 7:30 tonight in the first round of the Southern California junior college regional.