CSUN Stymied by UC Davis but Wins Shot at Redemption

What started as a double-elimination softball tournament became single elimination Friday as the three teams competing in the NCAA Division II West regional took turns beating each other.

Cal State Northridge, the top-ranked team in the nation, lost its first game, 1-0, to UC Davis but defeated Cal State Sacramento, 5-0, in its second game. Sacramento beat Davis, 2-1, in its first game.

That forced coin flips to see which team got the bye leading to today’s championship game and which of the teams in the semifinal would be the home team. Again, the Lady Matadors went 1-1, losing to Sacramento for the bye but winning the toss with Davis for home-team status.

Earlier, Davis became only the third Division II team this season to defeat Northridge (53-7) as Laurie Salo limited the Lady Matadors to three singles.

Davis (34-13-1) also had three hits off CSUN’s Delanee Anderson and Debbie Dickman, but two came in the fourth inning and, together with a sacrifice and an error by shortstop Lori Shelly, allowed the Aggies to score the only run they needed.

Salo (32-9) twice allowed CSUN runners to third--in the fifth and sixth innings--but pitched out of trouble on both occasions.

Northridge, which had a 14-game winning streak snapped, had considerably better luck hitting Sacramento starter Kim Mourer.

The Lady Matadors scored twice in the first, twice in the fourth and added one in the fifth off reliever Angie Smith. CSUN had at least two runners reach base in every inning but the third.

Torgeson, who is 286-87-5 and in his sixth year as coach of the Lady Matadors, offered a simple explanation for his team’s offensive outburst in the second game after being shut out in the first.

“Things worked the the second game that didn’t work in the first,” he said, shrugging.

Actually, Torgeson made two key lineup changes, inserting Lisa Hall in the lineup at third base and Tricia Saxton in right field.

Hall made a couple of nice defensive plays and had a double. Saxton singled and doubled.

“I wanted to go with our power lineup,” Torgeson said. “We needed some hitting. We weren’t doing anything exciting that first game.”

Northridge also got power pitching from Dickman, a freshman, who allowed only two hits in improving her record to 19-3.

Dickman, who pitched effectively in relief in the first game, allowed one Sacramento runner to second. That was in the second inning when Margaret Schubert lined a double over the head of CSUN center fielder Barbara Jordan. The Hornets’ other hit came in the sixth inning when Stephanie Levine looped a changeup into left field for a single.

Torgeson said he likely will start Dickman today against Davis, then go with junior Lisa Martin (10-1) if the Lady Matadors advance to the championship game against Sacramento (35-20).

Northridge, which has won five consecutive regional championships, has history on its side. In 1985, it also lost its first game and the three-way coin flip. But the Lady Matadors rebounded to win the regional and, ultimately, a national championship. The winner of the regional advances to the national championship tournament, May 15-17 in Quincy, Ill.