Punchless CSUN Women Settle for Split

The Cal State Northridge softball team split a nonconference double-header against Cal Poly Pomona on Tuesday at Northridge, defeating the Lady Broncos, 3-0, in the first game before falling, 4-2 in the second.

Debbie Dickmann’s two-hit pitching masked the lack of Northridge offense in the opener, but when Lady Matador pitching failed early in the second game, the Lady Matador bats were already in a deep slumber.

The Lady Broncos took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the second game against starting pitcher Kate Bennitt but most of their damage the next inning against Christy Alves, who replaced Bennitt after a leadoff single in the third.

Alves, a freshman from Burroughs High, recorded two quick outs but lost her control, hitting a batter and walking two to force in a run. Heather Lindstrom replaced Alves and walked home another run before Holly DeLuca singled in the third run of the inning to give Pomona (1-1) a 4-0 lead.

Pomona’s Lori Thompson had a shutout going until Northridge awoke in the seventh. The Lady Matadors (2-4) got on the scoreboard when Lisa Hall scored on a wild pitch.

Alves followed with a single that scored Erin McGuire to cut the Pomona lead to 4-2. Michelle Blaha singled and Lisa Erickson was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Bronco Coach Carol Sparks had seen enough. And so had the Matadors. Sparks called in reliever Caryn Askey, who recorded the final out.

“We looked a bit inexperienced today,” Sparks said. “We did some bad things, but we did some things I’m proud of, too. In the second game we stayed cool under fire.”

In the first game, Dickmann struck out seven.

“Hey, what can I say. I had it going today,” she said.

Erickson set up CSUN’s first score with a leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning.

The fleet-footed outfielder stole second and third, allowing Pam Smith to collect her first run batted in of the season with a squeeze bunt.

Northridge increased the lead to 2-0 in the third when Anna Getherall singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice and scored on an an error. The Lady Matadors scored their final run in the fourth when Hall doubled home catcher Char Schmitt, who had reached third on a throwing error.

Erickson had two hits for the Lady Matadors, but the game belonged to Dickmann.

“I was throwing hard today today,” she said.

Indeed, Dickmann (2-2) walked seven--including DeLuca three times--but was close to unhittable, allowing only singles to Kathy Twisselman and Nicky Luce in the fifth.