Northridge (23-30, 10-14) headed into the weekend preparing to face the worst team in the Big West but you wouldn’t have known it after Pacific (16-40, 6-18) completed the three-game sweep Sunday, 6-1.
The Tigers had only won three conference games all season but manhandled the CSUN offense en route to winning its first conference series of the season in sweeping fashion.
Northridge dropped the series opener, 7-4, despite matching the Tigers 10 hits on the day.
CSUN opened the game with a run in the first but Pacific answered back with a four-run second and wouldn’t trail the rest of the day. The Tigers added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, which was plenty to hold off the Matadors, who added runs in every odd inning except the seventh.
Junior Alex Muren (5-8) lost his final outing of the year, allowing all seven runs in 7 2/3 innings before senior Justen Gorski came in to notch the final out.
CSUN’s 1-2-3 hitters each had two-hit days but the remainder of the squad only managed to scatter four hits and a pair of RBI.
Saturday CSUN lost a 2-1 pitcher’s duel with starters from both teams going the distance.
Freshman Jerry Keel was on the mound for Northridge but Pacific’s Mike Hager shined brightest throwing a complete-game gem allowing one run on three hits.
CSUN hitters failed to figure Hager out and only mustered three hits while Keel held the Tigers to one earned run while scattering eight hits.
Northridge again took the early first-inning lead in Sunday’s series finale but wouldn’t see another run go up on the board for the Matadors in a 6-1 loss.
Pacific tallied a pair of runs in the fifth and seventh inning while five Tiger pitchers combined to hold the Matadors to seven hits on the day.
Each of the Matadors five seniors saw time on the diamond in the season finale but will have to remember their final appearance as a Matador as an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Big West’s last place team.
Northridge closed the season losing five of its last six conference games after taking the series from UC Irvine on May 13 in upset fashion.
Despite the less-than-productive close to the 2012 campaign, CSUN still managed to surpass the six Big West wins from last year by four victories, showing progress in Matt Curtis’ second season as the skipper.
Northridge finished the season tied with UC Santa Barbara for sixth in conference.
