For a day, at least, the Cal Lutheran baseball team will get a taste of life in minor league baseball.

In a unique opportunity, the Kingsmen have scheduled a March 30 game against the California League's Lancaster Jethawks at the Jethawks' home field, Clear Channel Stadium — a 4,600-seat ballpark which can accommodate up to 7,000 with use of grass-berm general admission seating.

The 2 p.m. game — a seven-inning exhibition — will be the first of three exhibition games for the Jethawks, the Class-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, before they open their Cal League schedule April 3 at High Desert.

The game is possible because CLU ended up one game short of filling its schedule with the allotted 40 games. The exhibition counts against CLU's game total, but will not count against its record.

"We were looking for a game," said CLU coach Marty Slimak. "It's late in the season — you've got to look for rainouts, and maybe somebody will come through. This way, we've got 40 games in. And I think it will be great for the guys, to play in a minor league ballpark against professional players."

The game came about with the help of CLU assistant coach Terry McMaster, a Jethawks season ticket holder who knows a number of people in Lancaster's organization. When general manager Brad Seymour approached McMaster to see if CLU might be interested in playing an exhibition game, the Kingsmen were enthusiastic.

"I think it will be great for community relations here at Cal Lu and in the Thousand Oaks area," said Slimak.

, "and also relations in the Lancaster area, because we always get kids from that area." This year's CLU roster includes two players from neighboring Palmdale, catcher Alex Massari and pitcher David Brethouwer.

The game will also have a fundraising aspect for the Kingsmen.

"Everybody that comes in the stands, one dollar is going to come back to CLU baseball," said Slimak. "That's the best part. We couldn't turn that down."

Slimak said CLU is looking into the possibility of offering bus trips from the campus to the game for local fans interested in attending.

At one time, CLU regularly played against major-college competition — "I think the last game we played was either (Cal State) Northridge or USC," said Slimak. But the opportunities to play Division I college teams have essentially ended because those games hurt the Division I schools in the power-ranking system used to determine NCAA playoff berths.

Similarly, they wouldn't help CLU much, either. "On the (Division III playoff) criteria, it's the last thing," he said.