The Cal State Northridge baseball team split the first two games of a three-game series against the Long Beach State Dirtbags and were unable to complete the third game due to darkness April 13-15 at Matador Field.
The Matadors matched their total games won from last season as their record stands at 18-20 with one game still undecided. The Matadors went 2-19 in conference play in 2005, finishing the season with an 18-36-1 record.
The Matadors took game one in the bottom of the ninth inning, thanks to a clutch hit by freshman shortstop Scott Lyons. Down 3-2, with bases loaded and two outs, Lyons hit a single back up the middle to bring in two runs and give the Matadors the 4-3 victory and hand the Dirtbags their first conference play loss of the season.
“I had confidence in myself,” Lyons said. “I’ve been hitting well.”
Junior Craig Baker started on the mound for the Matadors, taking on Jared Hughes. Baker came into the game with a 3.15 ERA and 73 strikeouts on the season. Hughes came into the game with a 2.97 ERA and a 5-1 record.
The Dirtbags broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth inning. With a runner on third, designated hitter Shane Peterson hit a ball that bounced off the third base bag and allowed the go-ahead run to score.
Baker finished the game, giving up two runs and seven hits in seven innings of work. He recorded four strikeouts. Hughes went 7.2 innings, giving up five hits, two runs and striking out six. Hughes hit four Matador batters in the game.
Matador relief pitcher Joe Rocchio received the win, improving his record to 3-1 on the season.
The Matador pitching received just enough run support to earn the win. Lyons finished the game going 1-for-3 with two RBIs and catcher Steve Lemmon finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.
“It means a lot, especially in light of our recent struggles,” said head coach Steve Rousey. “This is a traditional powerhouse.”
Game two, originally scheduled for April 14, was rescheduled for April 15 as game one of a double-header.
Sophomore Chuckie Fick took the mound for the Matadors in the first game of the double-header with an ERA of 5.59 and a 3-5 record. Andrew Carpenter took the mound for the Dirtbags with a 3.23 ERA and a 4-2 record.
Despite a solid outing by Fick, the Dirtbags evened the series taking the game 5-1.
The Matadors held a 1-0 lead until the fifth inning, when the Dirtbags scored two runs to give them a 2-1 lead. The Dirtbags scored three more runs in the ninth to help them secure the win.
Fick went eight innings, allowing three runs and five hits on the day. He recorded only one strikeout but forced many of the Dirtbags into groundouts. Carpenter went the distance, recording 10 strikeouts and allowing one run and five hits.
The only Matador run came in the second inning off a solo home run by Lemmon. It was his third home run of the season.
In the second game of the double-header, freshman Edwin Quirarte took on Donnie Hume. Both starting pitchers took an early departure. Quirarte went 4.2 innings, giving up three runs and four hits while striking out five. Hume went 3.2 innings, giving up three runs and seven hits while striking out four.
Lyons came through again for the Matadors in the fourth inning. With two outs and runners on second and third, He sent a single up the middle to bring in two runs and tied the game at three.
All the scoring in the game took place in the first four innings.
In the third inning, Evan Longoria hit a three-run home run to give the Dirtbags a 3-0 lead.
The Matadors scored their first run of the game in the bottom half of the inning. Back-to-back base hits by junior third baseman Raymond Ravago and junior first baseman Jorge Andrade and a Dirtbag throwing error helped score the first run of the game.
The game turned into a pitching match-up as no runs were scored after the fourth inning. Senior Jimmy Brettl provided solid relief for the Matadors, going 4.1 innings without giving up a hit and striking out three. The Dirtbag bullpen, a combined effort from Vance Worley and Andrew Liebel, allowed no runs and two hits in 5.1 innings of relief.
Lyons went 1-for-4 in game three with 2 RBIs and Ravago went 3-for-5. Right fielder Paul Wilson also had a solid outing going 3-for-4.
Lyons is batting .305 on the season with 21 RBIs.
The game was stopped just before going into extra innings due to the absence of lights at Matador Field. The game has not been rescheduled.
The Matadors hosted the Cal Poly Mustangs April 7-9, losing two out of three games before traveling to San Diego to take on the University of San Diego Toreros April 11. The Matadors defeated the Toreros 2-1. The Toreros are ranked #23 by Baseball America.
Victor Flores can be reached at vjf70342@csun.edu.
