College Baseball CSUN : Harmon Throws ‘Em Low to Help CSUN Win, 6-2

A year ago, while his Cal State Northridge teammates were on their way to winning the NCAA Division II national championship, Tom Harmon could only watch from the sideline and throw batting practice.

Harmon, a starting pitcher for Pierce College and then UCLA, had transferred from Westwood to Northridge last year because of what he described as “a personality conflict” with Bruins Coach Gary Adams. He wouldn’t elaborate. Because of the transfer rule, he was forced to redshirt.

Until Tuesday afternoon, this season had been a struggle of sorts, too. After starting once with no decision, he lost at UCLA last week, 7-3. But the senior from Burbank High School responded Tuesday by limiting Pepperdine to six hits and two walks in a 6-2 victory at Northridge. It was the Matadors’ fourth straight win and ran their record to 12-3. They swept a double header Saturday at San Diego against United States International University.

Said Harmon, who evened his record at 1-1: “I was pressing a little more last week. I couldn’t get my breaking pitch over the plate and today I did. That made all the difference. It kept them off balance.”

Harmon, who did not walk a batter after the third inning, impressed CSUN Coach Terry Craven with his control.

“He did a super job,” Craven said. “Last week at UCLA he was not throwing pitches where he wanted and was bouncing his changeup. Sometimes he overthrows on his breaking ball. But today he was throwing low for strikes, which made his fastball more effective.”

The 5-11, 175-pound right-hander overcame a rocky start and was sailing into the ninth inning, looking to give the Matadors their second complete game of the season and their second in a row. But Pepperdine’s Chris Johnson smashed Harmon’s first pitch of the inning back to the mound, striking him just above his pitching elbow and forcing him out of the game.

“That was pretty disappointing, not getting the complete game,” Harmon said.

The Waves, 6-4-1, scored both of their runs in the second inning when Johnson, who had led off with a single, scored on Steve Kirkpatrick’s double. Kirkpatrick later scored on an infield out.

Catcher Gerry Bernard helped the Matadors out of a tough spot in the first inning on an aborted hit-and-run play. With runners going from first and second, Steve Erickson took a high pitch. With some neat footwork, Bernard stepped around the cleanup hitter and threw a strike to third baseman Tom McKay. Brad Bierley, running from second, was out easily.

“That fired me up,” Harmon said. “Jerry played very well back there today and called a great game.”

Mark Ban gave Northridge its first two runs with his seventh home run of the season in the first inning and a run-scoring triple in the third. The hit was the Matadors’ last against Pepperdine starter Tony Lewis until a leadoff single in the seventh by Todd Mustin which started a CSUN four-run inning.

Mustin moved to second on a sacrifice and Bryant Long bunted for a hit putting runners on first and third with only one out. McKay then drove in the go-ahead run with a single to right giving CSUN a 3-2 lead.

Pepperdine Coach Dave Gorrie brought in left-handed reliever Jon Smith who retired Ban on a fly ball. But the strategy backfired. After Smith threw a wild pitch to Paul Kaplan, then walked him intentionally to load the bases, Dick Jaquez broke the game open with a three-run double to left that gave the Matadors a 6-2 lead.