COLLEGE BASEBALL: A GEM AT CLU : CANALE TURNS HEADS AT SMALL COLLEGE.Byline: Jim Inghram Daily News Staff Writer The learning process was brief for Tom Canale. He entered Cal Lutheran last year from tiny Payson High in rural Arizona, figured out that bad pitches are hit hard in college and promptly quit making them. A year later, as a sophomore, Canale has become the most dominant pitcher in the SCIAC SCIAC SIGINT Correlation Integration & Analysis Capability and capped a recent string of brilliant performances with a no-hitter against UC San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. on Saturday. In that game, won by the Kingsmen 1-0, Canale faced just three batters BATTeRS (バッターズ) stands for Bisei Asteroid Tracking Telescope for Rapid Survey. It is a Japanese project to find asteroids. It is associated with the Japanese Spaceguard Association. Members include Takeshi Urata. over the minimum and struck out 10. The game took less than two-hours. Canale's philosophy for that game was simple: Throw strikes. ``We were having the spring formal that night and I wanted to make sure it went as quick as possible,'' Canale said laughing. ``It was on Catalina Island Catalina Island: see Santa Catalina. , so we had to drive to Long Beach, then get on a boat. I was just going to throw strikes and let my defense help me out. ``Things worked out perfect. It was one of the best days of my life. I might have to ask the student program board to have more formals.'' The formal might have made Canale work a bit faster, but what about the 14- and 15-strikeout performances earlier this season? The seven victories in 10 decisions? The 80 strikeouts he accumulated ac·cu·mu·late v. ac·cu·mu·lat·ed, ac·cu·mu·lat·ing, ac·cu·mu·lates v.tr. To gather or pile up; amass. See Synonyms at gather. v.intr. To mount up; increase. in one 70-inning stretch? ``That's all happened because Tom is a good pitcher,'' Cal Lutheran coach Marty Slimak said. ``He throws a high-80s fastball, a major-league slider A block of material that holds the read/write head of a magnetic disk. See flying head. and a very good curve. He can get all three of them over and throws them with some power. ``Even if he just threw fastballs, he would be successful. His fastball has great movement and it sinks, making it very tough to hit.'' How did a pitcher with Canale's ability end up at Cal Lutheran when he could pitch at the Division I or Division II level? ``No one really knew about him,'' Slimak said. ``One of contacts said we should look at him. We did and started recruiting him immediately. In the end some of the bigger schools started looking at him, but he stuck with us.'' Canale suffered from the small-school syndrome. He was overlooked at least in part because the competition he routinely faced wasn't top notch notch (noch) incisure; an indentation on the edge of a bone or other organ. aortic notch dicrotic n. cardiac notch 1. . He pitched in a summer league against Arizona's best high school seniors and was successful but still was unable to land a scholarship to a large school. ``I knew I could do it,'' he said, ``but others probably doubted me. I stuck with Cal Lutheran because it felt right. I knew they won a lot and I liked the area.'' An unfortunate circumstance Circumstance or circumstances can refer to:
Although he lost 4-0, Canale was not overmatched. He limited the Trojans to six hits and struck out seven. ``Every time he takes the mound he is extremely confident, even against SC,'' said reliever and teammate Wayne Mahaffey. ``He thinks that he is going to win every time he goes out there and basically he has done that.'' While he is an imposing 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, Canale doesn't rely solely on his power. He can blow the ball past most hitters but Canale also thinks when he's on the mound. ``He's smart,'' said Mahaffey. ``He really knows what he is doing out there. Every pitch has a purpose. Each one is setting up the next.'' Said Slimak: ``He has stepped into our No. 1 spot and really shown what he can do. Our guys are confident with him out there because they know if they get a couple of runs that we're probably going to win.'' Canale, who could add another 10 to 15 pounds comfortably, has drawn the interest of major-league scouts. He knows they are in attendance at most of his games, but he doesn't allow it to effect his game. ``It's flattering flat·ter 1 v. flat·tered, flat·ter·ing, flat·ters v.tr. 1. To compliment excessively and often insincerely, especially in order to win favor. 2. ,'' Canale said, ``but I have at least another year here. Getting drafted (after his junior year) would be great, but I'm not going to leave college if it's not the right thing for me. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Tom Canale, once overlooked, is drawing attention at Cal Lutheran. Gene Blevins/Daily News |
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