CLU NOTEBOOK; CLU IN FULL SWING KINGSMEN ROLL INTO SECOND HALF.

Byline: Anel Laj Staff Writer

With the second half of baseball season under way, Cal Lutheran is peaking at just the right time.

The Kingsmen were 13-5-2 at the midway point. Now, with 11 games remaining, including five in conference, Cal Lutheran leads the SCIAC by three games over La Verne.

The Kingsmen (21-6-2, 16-1) have won eight of their last nine games, their only loss a 7-6 setback to The Master's College last Tuesday.

An important factor in the improvement has been chemistry.

``When we started this year, we had a new team with a lot of transfers and freshmen,'' coach Marty Slimak said. ``It took the first half of the season for the team to get (adjusted). After the first 20 games, people started jelling and everything came together.''

This week, the Kingsmen are on the road at Vanguard University today and travel to Claremont Mudd-Scripps for a doubleheader Saturday. The Kingsmen should do well on the trip, and return for what should be a more challenging game against Division I Cal State Northridge.

--Swing batter: Senior catcher Eric Medina outhit the entire Whittier College team during the teams' series last weekend, collecting 10 hits to Whittier's nine. He hit three home runs and improved his batting average from .333 to .396.

Medina went 8 for 8 in the doubleheader Saturday and tied the school's record for most hits in a game with five in the opener against the Poets.

--Delivering the goods: A key to the Kingsmen's successful second half and their sweep at Whittier was pitching.

Right-handed pitchers Tom Canale (8-0), Jim Harrison (6-1) and Scott Courneya (3-0) all played important roles for Cal Lutheran, each picking up a win during the Whittier series.

--Reaching a milestone: With Cal Lutheran's 11-4 victory over UC San Diego on April 8, coach Slimak earned his 200th win as the CLU coach, improving his career record to 200-83-4.

--SCIAC champions: Three members of the track and field team won individual events at the SCIAC conference meet at Occidental College over the weekend. Tom Meadows won the shot put with a throw of 47 feet, 9 1/4 inches and was second in the discus at 147-11.

Amanda Daub and Chelsea Christensen became the the school's first women to win SCIAC titles since 1994. Daub threw 136 feet to win the discus and Christensen won the 800 meters in 2:17.17.

--Golf update: With the help of Anthony Zinnato and Randy Cox, the Kingsmen won one of the two conference tournaments last week. Zinnato and Cox shot 79, tying two La Verne golfers for second place. Cal Lutheran edged La Verne 320 to 318.

This victory put Cal Lutheran in first with 23 points. Claremont is second with 22, Redlands is third with 21 and La Verne is fourth with 20. The Kingsmen (5-1) face Claremont today in a dual match at Empire Lakes golf course.

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Photo: (color) Cal Lutheran catcher Eric Medina went 8 for 8 in a doubleheader last weekend against Whittier.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer