CLU LOSES ON FINAL PITCH : AURORA 7, CAL LUTHERAN 6.

Byline: John A. Montgomery Special to the Daily News

Cal Lutheran pitcher Erik Kiszczak has been here before.

Two years ago, when the Kingsmen played William Paterson for the NCAA Division III baseball championship at Salem, Kiszczak - then a freshman - took a 5-1 lead deep into the title game, only to lose 6-5.

Saturday night, Kiszczak came tantalizingly close to redemption, only to injure himself with two outs in the ninth inning. Ultimately, the Kingsmen came up short again, losing 7-6 to Aurora (Ill.) University in the opening round of this year's Division III baseball tournament.

Cal Lutheran meets Wisconsin-Oshkosh today at 9 a.m. in the losers' bracket of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament. Aurora will play Eastern Connecticut State, a 9-3 winner over Wisconsin-Oskosh.

Kiszczak came on in relief in the seventh inning of a 3-hour, 30-minute game plagued by 14 walks and four hit batsmen. The right-hander had not pitched since Feb. 21, when he injured his elbow. But he nursed a 6-5 lead for 2-2/3 innings until he was unable to go any further and took himself out.

``I probably snapped a ligament,'' said Kiszczak, pointing to an elbow that was wrapped in ice. ``I knew it was going to go. I was just hoping to get the game over.''

With Aurora's Eric Zaleski on first base after a walk and pinch-hitter Adam Brossett facing a 3-0 count, Kiszczak signaled to the bench that he had to come out. Right fielder Brian Malchow took the mound as CLU's fourth pitcher of the game, threw ball four to Brossett, then allowed Brandon Kopf to drive a 2-2 fastball deep for a two-run double.

Kiszczak, who threw three balls to the batter who scored the winning run, wound up the losing pitcher.

``We've had a lot of great comebacks, and this one would have to rank right up there,'' said Aurora coach Mark Walsh, whose team won its 26th game in a row to improve to 32-4. ``We were down to our last strike and we were trailing.''

``We were in a lot of situations where we could have taken the game early, and we didn't,'' said CLU coach Marty Slimak, whose Kingsmen fell to 28-14.

First baseman Clint Britt (three hits) and center fielder Adam Rauch (two hits) provided most of the CLU offensive spark, but the Kingsmen left 11 runners on base - one more than the Spartans.

Cal Lutheran scored two runs in the first inning without the benefit of a hit, as Aurora starting pitcher Matt Deegan allowed two walks and a hit batsman to start the game.

``We put on a clinic of how not to pitch in terms of walking people and hitting people,'' Walsh said.

The tournament's start was delayed two hours because of a morning rain, pushing back CLU's scheduled game time from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., but tournament officials intended to complete all four first-round games Saturday.

Notes: Cal Lutheran second baseman Joseph Jauregui was named a second-team All-American in a ceremony here Friday night. Dartmouth outfielder Pat Schultz was chosen player of the year.