Martinez, CSUN Hold On to Win CCAA Opener, 8-6

Fili Martinez made the Cal State Northridge baseball team the old-fashioned way.

He earned it.

Martinez, a three-sport letterman out of Franklin High, joined the Matadors as a walk-on in 1986 and has quietly become one of the top pitchers on the staff.

Friday night, Martinez was sailing along with a five-hitter and a comfortable six-run lead going into the ninth inning of Northridge’s California Collegiate Athletic Assn. opener at Cal State Los Angeles. But suddenly the bottom dropped out, and Martinez had to earn this one, too.

Los Angeles scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, but Martinez and Northridge hung on to win, 8-6, when Martinez retired pinch-hitter Dave Adams on a game-ending double play.

Martinez finished with an eight-hitter, striking out eight and walking seven. Five of the Golden Eagles’ runs were earned.

Martinez, whose record improved to 1-1, was 5-3 last season and was a first-team all-conference selection.

Martinez received plenty of support from his teammates as well as from Cal State L. A., which committed seven errors that led to five unearned runs.

Ted Weisfuss, Craig Clayton, Denny Vigo and Randy Thompson each had two hits to lead the Matadors’ nine-hit attack.

Martinez coasted through the first two innings, striking out two and picking off two runners, but he gave up a solo home run in the third to William Silvan as the Golden Eagles took a 1-0 lead.

Vigo led off the fourth inning with a double and scored when shortstop Brent Bish let Rusty McLain’s grounder go through his legs. McLain scored on Thompson’s single up the middle to put the Matadors ahead to stay, 2-1.

Northridge broke the game open with a five-run fifth. Chae-Ho Chong walked with one out, stole second then scored when pitcher Abdom Pinon threw the ball into left field as Chong was stealing third.

Vigo followed with a single, Anton Siegl walked and McLain got aboard on an error before Weisfuss cleared the bases with a triple to center. Weisfuss also scored on the play when Bish’s relay sailed over third base as CSUN built a 7-1 lead.

The Matadors (8-1, 1-0 in conference play) added a single run in the eighth. John Bonilla singled, went to second on a wild pitch by reliever Mike Utke, advanced to third on a groundout and scored when Siegl’s ground ball went through the legs of third baseman Ed Pimental.

Los Angeles added an unearned run in the eighth to close to within 8-2, then exploded in the bottom of the ninth.

Martinez walked Silvan to open the inning, then struck out Brad Mengel. An error (one of five by the Matadors) by Thompson put runners on first and second and they advanced a base on a wild pitch by Martinez.

Martinez knocked David Johnston’s grounder down but had no play, and it was 8-3.

A double down the third-base line by Rex De La Nuez made it 8-5, and a single by Pimental scored another Eagle run, still with only one out.

After the Golden Eagles loaded the bases on an error and a walk, Martinez induced Adams into a double-play ground ball to end it.