Bonilla Leads Northridge to Sweep of CLU

John Bonilla hopes to make a habit of being in the right place at the right time.

If Bonilla is doing his job, the Cal State Northridge leadoff hitter’s place is on second base--in scoring position--when the Matadors need the game-tying or go-ahead run.

Bonilla did his job and more Saturday in the first game of CSUN’s doubleheader against visiting Cal Lutheran. The junior center fielder hit a two-run home run to snap a 5-5 tie and lead Northridge to a 10-5 victory.

He added a triple in the second game and scored a run as CSUN won, 9-4, and evened its record at 2-2. The Matadors have lost only once to CLU in 29 games in the past 22 years.

Bonilla was one of three CSUN players to homer in the first game. Designated-hitter Geoff Curtis smacked a two-run home run in the third inning and Mark Anderson homered in a four-run CSUN seventh.

It was Bonilla, however, who gave CSUN its biggest punch. He singled twice, walked, stole three bases, knocked in two runs and scored three in the first game.

While Bonilla’s job as leadoff hitter is to get on base, he hopes to bolster his power hitting with the 15 pounds he has added to his 5-foot, 10-inch frame. Bonilla now weighs 175.

“I was hitting a lot of ground balls and line drives last year but not with much power,” Bonilla said.

But Bonilla does not need to hit with power to satisfy CSUN Coach Terry Craven, who will be happy if Bonilla just gets on base.

“He’s a good batter, but we’re not really looking for that,” Craven said. “We just want him to make contact and get on base.

“We expect other teams to be concerned about him, throwing over to first, keeping him close.”

Bonilla scored CSUN’s first run on a day in which the Matadors scored 19 runs in 16 innings. After walking in the first inning of the opener, Bonilla scored on Mark Bowen’s fly to center with the bases loaded.

CLU led for most of the first six innings before CSUN erupted for four runs in the seventh on home runs by Bonilla and Anderson.

Kingsman starter Matt Shepherd left after six innings with the score tied, 5-5, but losing pitcher Jay Anderson was rocked for five runs in two innings of relief.

Despite the shaky outing, CLU Coach Rich Hill was not disappointed in his pitchers.

“For their first time out, I think they did pretty good,” Hill said.

CSUN’s Dave Feeley picked up the win in the opener in relief of Mike Rooney. Feeley took over in the seventh and gave up two hits the rest of the way.

The Matadors continued to produce runs in the second game, scoring three times on a hit and two Kingsmen errors in the second inning. They added four more in the third on designated-hitter Scott Stewart’s two-run home run to right and Rob Scott’s two-run single.

CSUN starter Cary Snyder went five innings to pick up the win.

Dan Weis and shortstop Henry Campos provided CLU’s power. Rice homered in the first game, and Campos tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the first game and hit three doubles in the second game. CLU’s Kevin Wynn also had a two-run double.

While CLU dropped to 0-2, Hill was more concerned about CSUN’s dominance over the Kingsmen.

“We knew we had not beaten them in a long time and we were kind of keying toward this game,” Hill said. “We were hoping they would be overlooking us, with their Division I teams coming up.”

CLU played without shortstop Daren Cornell, who has been declared academically ineligible and may be out for the season, and center fielder Tom Bonds, who recently suffered ligament damage in his right ankle.