Cal Lutheran Falls in Championship of NAIA Regional

A dream baseball season for Cal Lutheran came to an abrupt end Saturday in the NAIA Area 1 baseball championship in Portland, Ore., when host Lewis & Clark throttled the Kingsmen, 20-6.

Cal Lutheran had defeated Lewis & Clark, 8-4, in the first game of a must-win doubleheader.

By virtue of its victory, Lewis & Clark advances to the NAIA World Series.

The Kingsmen (35-16), who went 7-3 in postseason play, won their first District 3 title and advanced to the championship game of the double-elimination Area 1 tournament despite losing the first game of both tournaments.

With his team trailing, 3-1, in the fifth inning of the first game Saturday, CLU’s Brian Lovelace pounded a two-run double. The Kingsmen scored two more runs in the inning on a sacrifice fly and a walk.

Cal Lutheran’s Pete Washington, who finished second in the district in home runs, went five for 10 on the day and hit his 13th and 14th homers. He drove in three runs and scored three more.

Mike Rooney and reliever Chris Matkin allowed Lewis & Clark 12 hits in the first game but combined to strike out five.

Blake Babki seemed to typify CLU’s efforts--he went two for three in the first game and zero for five in the second.

In the decisive game, Lewis & Clark (31-14) scored four runs in the second inning, nine in the fourth, and five in the ninth and pounded out 20 hits.