THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran baseball was poised to make another historical run in 2020 after posting their best start in program history at 16-1 overall. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 concerns, all NCAA competition was halted to prevent spread of the disease and the team's run would come to an end.

The Kingsmen finished the season ranked No. 1 in the D3Baseball.com national poll. This is the first time CLU has sat atop the national rankings since 2017.

CLU was highly ranked in many different statistical categories after their unprecedented start. The offense was on fire to start 2020 as they were ranked second nationally in hits with 204 on the season. Cal Lutheran also posted 149 runs which was the fifth-best in Division III. The Kingsmen led the nation in sacrifice flies with 17 on the year.

The NCAA announced that they will grant a year of eligibility for spring sport student-athletes who saw their seasons cut short in 2020, however, it is likely that nine seniors have worn the Purple and Gold for the final time.

Six seniors were members of the 2017 Division III National Championship team, including Cortez Espinoza, Troy Frazier, Matt Sciumbato, Chris Spohr, Daniel Stauffer and Ryne Yamashiro. Completing the senior class with their major contributions to the Kingsmen baseball program were transfers Nick Pico, Ryan Probst and Christian Slattery.

After enjoying the special 2017 run, Espinoza (San Francisco, Calif.) broke onto the scene in his sophomore season when he hit .492 with 14 runs and 16 RBI on 31 hits. The senior tallied 31 hits with nine doubles that year. Espinoza recorded 10 multi-hit games. In his junior season, Espinoza appeared in 29 games, making 26 starts in the outfield. Despite missing part of the season due to injury, the outfielder registered 14 RBI and 15 runs in his 100 at-bats, racking up four doubles, one triple and four walks on the year. Espinoza was inducted into the CLU Scholar-Athlete Society three times and was on pace to receive the honor a fourth time in his senior year.

Frazier (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) made a huge impact on the 2017 National Championship squad in his freshman campaign, throwing 42.2 innings out of the bullpen while posting a team-low 2.53 ERA. He finished with a 3-0 record in the year and also posted a team-low opponent's-batting-average of .245. The right-handed hurler transitioned to the starting rotation in his sophomore season and was fantastic in his new role, going 6-2 in 62.1 innings of work with 51 strikeouts to 20 walks. Frazier continued his success in his third year at CLU, making 14 appearances while registering a 3.40 ERA. His final season would be cut short due to injury, but was unbelievable in his final outing as he tossed 6.0 innings without allowing an earned run, surrendering just two hits while punching out a career-high 11 hitters.

Hailing from Simi Valley, Calif., Sciumbato contributed to the National Championship team in his freshman season by appearing in 19 games, making 10 starts. The outfielder breached the starting lineup in his sophomore season and played 28 games. Sciumbato hit .345 on the year with 23 runs and 13 RBI on 29 hits with seven doubles in 84 at-bats. In 2019, he appeared in 35 games, earning the start in 29, as a junior outfielder for the Kingsmen He tallied 28 hits in 111 at-bats with 17 RBIs, 17 runs, six doubles, 16 walks and three stolen bases. He recorded eight multi-hit games and four multi-RBI outings. In his final year in the Purple and Gold, Sciumbato was hitting .381 with five RBI and six runs in his eight games.

Spohr (Gilory, Calif.) was also a member of the first National Championship team in program history. In his sophomore season, the catcher appeared in 18 games, hitting .286 on the year. Spohr had an increased role behind the plate in his junior season as he made 17 appearances with eight starts. The left-handed hitting catcher hit .261 on the year with a .433 on-base percentage. In his senior campaign, Spohr appeared 11 times and hit .227 with seven runs and one RBI.

Stauffer (Portland, Ore.) was a freshman when the Kingsmen won their first National Championship. In 2018, the infielder made 24 appearances and batted .273 on the year with four runs and eight RBI. Stauffer played in 25 games with 12 starts in his junior season, tallying 16 hits with 17 RBI and 12 runs. The senior was enjoying a wonderful senior season before it was postponed as he was 11-for-21 (.524) with three RBI and seven runs scored. Stauffer blasted two triples and a double in his senior campaign.

Yamashiro (Honolulu, HI) had an extremely successful career as a Kingsmen playing third base. The Hawaiian infielder earned Second Team All-SCIAC honors in 2018 after winning a National Championship with Cal Lutheran the year prior. In his sophomore season, Yamashiro led the team in hits (55), RBI (32) and walks (19). He hit .387 with 12 doubles, 28 runs scored and one triple. The third baseman returned for another productive year in 2019 wbere he started 38 games and tallied 37 hits in 126 at-bats with 37 runs and 17 RBI. He was on pace for his best year of his career in his senior season as he was hitting .412 with 22 RBI, which is fourth in the nation. The senior scored 17 runs and blasted one home run.

Pico (Santa Clarita, Calif.) joined the Kingsmen in 2019 after transferring from LA Pierce College. The left-handed hitting infielder made quite the impact in his junior year as he appeared in 23 games while making 16 starts. He racked up 11 hits with 13 RBI, seven runs, two doubles and two big flies that season. Pico was also inducted into the CLU Scholar-Athlete Society for his impressive work in the classroom.

Holding down the outfield for two years after transferring from Ohlone College was Probst (Pleasanton, Calif.) who enjoyed a fantastic two-year career at Cal Lutheran. The outfielder burst onto the scene in 2019 when he was named All-SCIAC First Team after hitting .359 with 46 hits, 28 RBI, 27 runs, five doubles, four triples and three home runs. He tallied 14 multi-hit games and posted five games with three or more hits. Probst was off to a great start in his final season as he hit .308 with 17 RBI, 17 runs scored and one home run. Probst came through with a clutch walk-off base hit in the team's 12-11 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Feb. 22).

Concluding their three-year career in the Purple and Gold was Slattery (Malibu, Calif.) who was one of the most dominant closers in CLU history. The right-hander was named All-SCIAC Second Team, CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team and CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District for his outstanding 2019 season. In that year, he made 18 appearances out of the bullpen and led the conference in saves (9). With seven saves in his senior season, Slattery led the nation. The hard-throwing closer was on pace to break the all-time saves record as he finished with 22 saves in his career, which is just three behind the program's all-time leader, Aaron Roth, with 25. Slattery allowed just two earned runs in 11 innings of work for the Kingsmen, posting a 1.64 ERA with 15 strikeouts.

The Kingsmen hope to keep their momentum alive in 2021 with a strong core of returners coming back to George "Sparky" Anderson Field.

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Release by Jeff Rebello, Assistant Sports Information Director