LaRosa’s 5-Hitter Is Soothing to Northridge : He Strikes Out 11 in Matadors’ Rout

If Cal State Northridge pitcher John LaRosa had been healthy, there’s no telling how well he might have pitched. As it was, LaRosa limited Chapman College to one run and five hits Friday despite pitching with a sore muscle.

LaRosa overcame the discomfort and struck out 11 batters as the Matadors routed Chapman, 9-1, in a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. game at Orange’s Hart Park. It was the third start of the season for LaRosa, a converted reliever, and his first complete game.

“He had a sore muscle beneath his shoulder and got a little stiff,” Matador Coach Terry Craven said. “But he did a great job, his best outing by far.”

That LaRosa was able to muzzle the Chapman bats was no small task. The last time the teams met, the Matadors won a wild one, 15-14.

Two of LaRosa’s strikeouts were at the expense of Darren Nelson, who started the game with a .399 batting average, 15 home runs, 55 runs batted in and a 21-game hitting streak. Nelson finished 0 for 3.

Northridge (27-15, 11-7) thus remained within striking distance of Cal Poly Pomona (10-5) for second place in the CCAA, and prevented Chapman (20-20, 8-7) from moving into third.

The Matadors provided a comfortable cushion for LaRosa in the second inning. With two out, John Balfanz singled, Chris Pinsak walked and Craig Burns singled to load the bases. That set the stage for catcher Scott McIntyre, who hit his ninth home run off Chapman’s Steve Dunn for a 4-0 lead.

Northridge added two more runs in the third as Jim Vatcher and Lenn Gilmore led off with singles, moved up on a fielder’s choice and scored on Balfanz’s second hit.

With a 6-0 advantage, the attention then shifted to LaRosa, who allowed only one ball past the infield through the first seven innings. LaRosa struck out two batters in the second inning, two in the fourth, two in the fifth, three in the sixth and one each in the seventh and eighth. It was the most strikeouts against Chapman this season.

“I was in discomfort, but not pain,” LaRosa said. “Through the whole game, I was looking at the scorekeeper, but he said ‘go away.’ I knew it was a jinx to look at the stats, but I was thinking about them.”

Craven said LaRosa started experiencing stiffness in the fifth inning, but never seriously considered taking him out of the game. LaRosa threw 150 pitches, his season high, as he improved his record to 5-2 overall, 2-1 in the CCAA.

The Matadors scored twice more in the sixth when Burns singled, moved to third on a wild pickoff throw and scored on a bloop single by McIntyre. An error allowed McIntyre to advance to second base, from where he scored on Vatcher’s double.

LaRosa finally allowed Chapman a run in the eighth, and was aided by two strong defensive plays. Tim Rapp robbed Chapman’s Jeff Morrison of a hit at third base and second baseman Pierre Rodnunsky followed by backhanding a grounder behind the bag, then spinning and throwing to nip Jeff Kidwiler at first.

The balanced Matador attack was led by Balfanz, who had three hits. Burns, McIntyre, Pinsak and Rapp had two.