CSUN Survives a Twist of Fate : Lady Matadors Dodge Mishaps, Sweep Dominguez Hills

Gary Torgeson, Cal State Northridge softball coach, says he keeps 25 players on the roster because, “You never know when an accident might happen.”

And Torgeson expects the unexpected whenever the Lady Matadors play Cal State Dominguez Hills.

On Saturday at CSUN, the Lady Matadors swept Dominguez Hills, 4-0 and 3-1, in a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. doubleheader.

That was no accident, but Northridge players were involved in all kinds of mishaps before and during the games.

It all began Friday when senior second baseman Nancy Lucero fell and broke her nose while chasing a cat down the stairs of an apartment building.

Before the conference-opening doubleheader Saturday, pitcher Kathy Slaten fell off her bicycle, hitting her head on the curb and her shoulder on the pavement. The incident forced Slaten to be scratched as the opening-game pitcher.

Barbara Jordan, the Lady Matadors’ All-America center fielder, made it through pregame exercises and the first game of the doubleheader unscathed. Her number came up in the second game, however, when she was struck in the head by a ball and hit on her wrist by a pitch. She also collided with the Dominguez Hills catcher at home plate.

“I’m glad we won,” Torgeson said. “But I’m also just happy we survived it.”

This is the second year in a row that Slaten has suffered an accident before a game with Dominguez Hills. Last season, Slaten was warming up with the rest of the Lady Matadors when a ball thrown by a teammate hit her in the head, knocking her momentarily unconscious.

“When I woke back up, they asked me, ‘Who is the President of the United States?’ ” Slaten said. “When I answered, ‘Richard Nixon,’ they called for help.”

Northridge (30-6-1, 2-0) received plenty of help Saturday from a number of players.

Jordan, CSUN’s leadoff hitter, singled and then scored what proved to be the game-winning run in the first inning of both games. She finished the day with three hits, two runs scored and one stolen base.

Delanee Anderson earned a save in the first game by retiring eight consecutive batters after relieving starter Lisa Martin (8-1) with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth inning. Anderson’s 2 innings of shutout made it 72 innings that she has pitched without giving up an earned run.

Slaten (10-3-1) gave up four hits and only her second run of the year when Dominguez Hills (17-16, 2-4) scored in the sixth inning of the second game.

Notes

Nancy Lucero is expected to return Saturday for a doubleheader against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. . . . Left fielder Beth Onestinghel had three singles and drove in a run against Dominguez Hills. Second baseman Kim Bernstein and first baseman Kelly Winn each had three singles.