CAL LUTHERAN NOTEBOOK; OVERWORKED DUO GET TOTAL PITCHING LOAD.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - Sore arms are feared more than any opponent on the Cal Lutheran softball team's schedule.

The Regals compete against nationally ranked teams at the Sun West Classic this weekend in Orange County, but their biggest concern is preserving players, particularly pitchers. Jennifer Lemons and Carrie Hardey have been CLU's only pitchers for the past two weeks and could be for the remainder of the season, depending on how long Erin Neuhaus takes to recover from a ruptured ligament in her ankle.

``That's all we have,'' CLU coach Jodi Eyraud said of the two pitchers. ``That's straight out it. We try to manipulate the two of them the best we can. If one of them struggles, we bring the other one in, but then they have to come back and throw the next game. You hope they don't have an off day. They both know they're going to be throwing no matter what.''

Pitching isn't the only area depleted by injuries.

Second baseman Julie Gerughty broke her hand two weeks ago and shortstop Stephanie Cain is in and out of the lineup as she is slowed by a contusion on her shin.

``We've had a real battle with injuries this year and last year,'' said Eyraud, who lost players to a broken leg and whiplash among other things last season. ``It's always some freak thing.

``With this being just my second year, we haven't been able to build up the bench with many recruits.''

Freshman Christa Galier from Quartz Hill took over at second base and is filling in well, but a variety of players are rotating at shortstop.

Since Neuhaus played center field when she wasn't pitching, the Regals are also looking to solidify that position.

Senior third baseman Mandi Comer keeps the infield steady with defense ``like a vacuum,'' and Lemons is turning into ``a real powerhouse at pitcher,'' according to Eyraud.

Despite the injuries, the Regals remain competitive. After going 1-5 while playing primarily NAIA schools prior to the start of conference, CLU is 7-5 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. The Regals went 3-3 at last weekend's SCIAC round-robin tournament, with one of the losses coming to Claremont with the international tiebreaker in effect.

``We've actually been playing real well,'' Eyraud said. ``The other teams are just playing real well, too. When you have an error-free game with 10 hits, you can't really complain. We just haven't gotten on that luck wagon yet.''

--All they lack is games: First it was rain, now it's spring break that will keep the CLU baseball team from playing.

The Kingsmen (12-4, 9-1) have four games in two days when they compete in the California Invitational Tournament today and Sunday but have played just one game since March 4 because of rainouts. After Sunday's games against Chapman and Pacific Lutheran, CLU gets a week off - even from practices - for spring break.

CLU beat Westmont 13-7 on Monday behind a six-strikeout performance by Tom Canale (5-0) and a combined nine runs in the fifth and sixth innings to overcome a 5-0 deficit after one. However, with so few games recently, Kingsmen coach Marty Slimak has a hard time determining how smoothly his team is running.

``It's just nice to play,'' Slimak said.

The Kingsmen return to action March 31 at Redlands.