LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD OPPONENETS\CLU must win close games to go to playoffs.

Byline: Bryan Winchell Special to the Daily News

Cal Lutheran softball coach Kecia Davis knows that every win counts.

And more important than the win is whom the win is against. At least that's how the NCAA Division III selection committee sees it.

The committee is responsible for selecting teams for the playoffs. Because Cal Lutheran's conference - the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) - does not have an automatic bid for the league champion, the fate of the Regals is in the committee's hands.

Cal Lutheran is regularly the only ranked team in the SCIAC, and the committee doesn't think a conference without at least two ranked teams deserves the automatic bid.

So the Regals not only must score impressive wins against SCIAC opponents, they must compete against top opponents in their nonleague games.

So Davis, in her third year as head coach and her sixth with the program, has scheduled a plethora of quality nonleague opponents, including Chapman, the defending Division III national champion, Buena Vista, a ranked team in Iowa, and Azusa Pacific and Lewis and Clark College, both National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) teams.

"The stronger competition we face the better," Davis said. "It's always nice to score a lot of runs, but we need close games to prepare for the playoffs."

The Regals have certainly been scoring runs in bunches so far, having set a school record for most runs in a game when they beat Claremont 29-0 in the first game of a doubleheader Feb. 23.

"It's nice when you score a lot of runs," Davis said. "We're making use of (opponents') walks and errors and getting those runs in. We still left quite a few runners on base but not nearly as many as in the past."

The Regals' quick start can be attributed to their returning talent. Eight of the team's 10 starters are returning from last year, and the team has four sophomores and three freshmen who already are contributing.

"We're picking up right where we left off last year at Regionals," Davis said. "This is the best team I've ever had. We have a very nice mix. They are good athletes and a real pleasure to work with."

Heidi Stevens, the two-time SCIAC Player of the Year, is the team's leader. She already has hit three home runs to add to her school record for career round-trippers (14) and has earned three wins on the mound.

"We can't not have her in the lineup," Davis said. "She's just killing the ball right now."

When Stevens isn't on the mound, the job goes to junior Gina Delianedis or freshman Kathy Proffitt. Stevens is the team's power pitcher, so she usually pitches in the second half of the doubleheaders after the softer throwing Delianedis or Proffitt.

The infield is the heart of the Regals. Led by second baseman Tracy Little and Bekkah and Aimee Snider at third base and shortstop, respectively, the infield provides solid defense and pop with the bat.

Little, who bats leadoff, led the team with a .423 batting average and eight triples last year, while committing only one error. She is out with a shoulder injury now but should be back next week. Filling in for her is Donna Scott, a sophomore who also plays catcher.

Bekkah Snider hit .346 last year and had nine doubles and six triples. She also hit two home runs and had a .909 fielding percentage.

Currently, Aimee Snider is out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, but Davis hopes to have her back soon. Snider was second in hitting with a .407 average and three home runs while leading the team with 11 doubles. While Snider is out, freshman Kristin Taylor will play shortstop.

Junior transfer Christina Proffitt will be the team's sole newcomer in the lineup at first base. Sophomore Lori Johnson will catch.

In the outfield, the Regals will start sophomore Johanna La Rocque in left, freshman Yvette McNally in center and senior Xochitl Castillo in right.

La Rocque played well in the Regionals last year and is one of the team's hardest workers, Davis said. McNally gets a good jump off the ball and needs to improve her arm strength.

Castillo is the team's most experienced outfielder, earning all-West Region honors at the Regionals last year when she played centerfield. She has the strongest arm in the outfield.

Davis will attempt to use the team's speed. Cal Lutheran already has more than 15 stolen bases.

"If we can just get people on base and bunt them around to get them in scoring position, our 3-5 hitters can get them in," Davis said.

As for the SCIAC, Davis feels La Verne, which they face Saturday, and Pomona-Pitzer will be the Regals' top challengers.

"We hope we are going to dominate the SCIAC, that's our goal," Davis said.

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Photo Third baseman Bekka Snider is part of an infield trio that provides a solid defense for the Regals. Tina Gerson/Daily News