NCAA Division II Softball : Slaten Ends Her Career Today as Northridge Goes After Title

Kathy Slaten will pitch the final game of her collegiate career today as Cal State Northridge goes for its third consecutive NCAA Division II softball championship against the University of Akron at 3:30 p.m. at Northridge.

On Saturday, Slaten pitched a three-hitter and struck out 16 as the Lady Matadors (61-18) defeated Stephen F. Austin (Texas), 2-0.

Akron (50-9) eliminated top-seeded Stephen F. Austin, 4-0, later Saturday to advance to the final, which will be a rematch of last year’s national championship. It was the second win of the day for the Zips, who defeated Sacred Heart, 2-0, in a morning game.

Northridge, seeded second, is undefeated in the double-elimination tournament and would play a doubleheader if it loses the first game today.

Slaten, a junior All-American who has announced that she will not return for her senior season, picked up her 100th career win and second shutout in two days. Slaten’s 16 strikeouts tied her own tournament record for a seven-inning game--set in 1983 when she threw a perfect game against Stephen F. Austin.

Overall, Slaten (40-10) has 510 strikeouts and 30 shutouts this season.

Northridge scored both its runs in the fifth inning on Beth Onestinghel’s one-out, bases-loaded single. Right fielder Terri Lamoree scored on the hit, and Lori Shelly scored on first baseman Donna Savage’s throwing error to the plate.

The Lady Matadors had seven hits off Stephen F. Austin All-American Pam Clay, whose record dropped to 28-2. Northridge center fielder Barbara Jordan had two singles and a walk before leaving the game in the fifth inning with a stomach bruise.

Jordan, an All-American and most valuable player in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., was injured diving back to third base on Michey McAnany’s inning-ending double play in the fifth. Jordan is a probable starter for today’s game.