CSUN Breaks the Scoreboard, 18-3

Baseball Coach Terry Craven was irritated after Cal State Northridge’s season opener Tuesday against Cal State Long Beach.

“This would’ve been nice,” Craven said, “if they hadn’t screwed up my scoreboard.”

Craven was upset with the students operating the Matador Field scoreboard, which locked up on the number 16 during the seventh inning.

But he probably should have blamed his players. They were the ones who made the board tilt in an impressive 18-3 win at home.

CSUN, ranked second in NCAA Division II by Collegiate Baseball magazine, rapped out 19 hits in a victory that helped the Matadors avenge two losses to Long Beach last year.

The key for CSUN was a seven-run third inning which, combined with two runs in the second inning, gave the Matadors a 9-0 lead.

Sophomore right-hander Jeremy Hernandez pitched six scoreless innings to earn the victory.

“Getting a big lead early allowed me to try some things,” said Hernandez, who gave up three hits. “I’ve been working on a change-up and a slider. Having that lead gave me the opportunity to work on those pitches.”

As Hernandez was breezed, the Matadors pounded five Long Beach pitchers. Every Matador starter had at least one hit.

CSUN third baseman Chris Pinsak led the onslaught with three hits, three runs batted in and four runs scored.

“I was just trying to hit line drives,” said Pinsak, a junior who transferred to CSUN from Glendale College. “Every time I go up to the plate, that’s what I tell myself to do.”

Pinsak lit up the Matador scoreboard for the first time this season when he lined a home run over right-field wall in the second inning to give CSUN a 2-0 lead.

Pinsak was involved again in the third when the Matadors broke the game open.

Senior right fielder Todd Mustin led off the inning with a double into the alley in right field. One out later, he moved to third on a wild pitch by Long Beach pitcher John Agundoz. First baseman John Balfanz walked and catcher Scott McIntyre drove in Mustin with a single to right.

Pinsak followed with another single to right field that drove in Balfanz, and left fielder Mark Anderson doubled off the center-field wall to score McIntyre. That made it 5-0, and Agundoz was replaced by Greg Mayer.

“They put on a good demonstration of opposite-field hitting,” Long Beach Coach John Gonsalves said. “I kept telling my kids to get the ball in on them, but we didn’t make the adjustment.”

Pinsak, who had moved to third on Anderson’s double, made it 6-0 when he scored on a wild pitch.

First baseman Dan Jones kept the rally alive when he belted Sisk’s first offering over the center-field wall for a two-run homer that widened CSUN’s lead to 8-0.

The Matadors scored their final run of the inning when second baseman Jim Mitchell walked, moved to second on an error, then scored on an errant pick-off attempt.

“We didn’t get to play too many games this winter, so I didn’t know what to expect,” said Craven, whose team travels to Azusa Pacific for a game this afternoon. “We got just about everything today. The pitching, defense, hitting and run production were all very good.”