Bronco Nine Faces Two Crucial Games With Northridge

There is still nearly a month remaining in the conference season, but the Cal Poly Pomona baseball team will have two important games against California Collegiate Athletic Assn. rival Cal State Northridge today and Friday.

The Broncos, 10-8 in conference play and 16-23 overall, will visit Northridge at 3 p.m. today and play host to the Matadors at 3 p.m. Friday.

Pomona is in second place in the conference and Northridge, 9-8-1 in the CCAA and 20-12-1 overall, is in third. With Cal Poly San Luis Obispo leading the conference at 12-7, the Pomona-Northridge loser could see its CCAA title hopes fade.

The teams have split in two meetings, Northridge winning 9-8 and Pomona 5-3. Both entered the week having won five of their last seven games.

Pomona had won five in a row before dropping a double-header to Chapman, 4-1 and 10-6. In the second game, senior catcher Chris Goldbach of the Broncos saw his hitting streak snapped at 30 games, the second longest hitting streak in school history, one behind Larry Beardman in 1983.

Goldbach leads the Broncos with his .411 batting average, six home runs and 44 runs batted in. He is hitting .526 in CCAA play.

Pomona outfielder Chris Butterfield is hitting .393. Pitcher Wayne Koklys has a 2-0 record and 1.42 earned-run average in CCAA games.

Northridge, ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division II, has been led by freshman second baseman Craig Clayton with a .343 batting average and senior designated hitter Chae-Ho Chung, who has eight home runs and 22 RBIs. The top pitcher for the Matadors is senior Ron Wheatcroft, who is 8-2 with a 3.74 ERA.

The Matadors have a 7-3 record against Division I teams, including a 4-2 win over 12th-ranked Fresno State last week.

In a wide-open race for the Golden State Athletic Conference baseball title, the top four teams are separated by only one game.

But that could change when two of the leaders, Azusa Pacific University and Westmont, meet in a double-header at noon Saturday in Santa Barbara.

Westmont entered the week in first place in the GSAC at 12-5 and is 23-13 overall. Azusa Pacific is 11-5 and 23-14.

The teams have been among the traditional powers in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District III in recent years. Azusa Pacific defeated Westmont for the District III title last year but Westmont has won 10 of the last 14 games between them.

Azusa beat Westmont 8-6 this season but dropped an 18-9 decision March 21.

Azusa, the top hitting team in the GSAC, is sparked by junior catcher Carlos Salazar and senior utility player Dan Hornbuckle.

Westmont will counter with one of the top pitching staffs in the conference. The leaders are seniors Jeff Ludwig and Lucky Arviso.

Azusa has been led in pitching by Ron Bush, who is 9-1 with a 2.67 ERA, and Jose Gallardo, 4-2 with a 4.40 ERA. In GSAC play Bush is 5-0 with a 2.38 ERA and Gallardo 4-1 with a 1.60 ERA.

The Cougars also visit District III rival Biola in a non-conference game at 2:30 p.m. today in La Mirada.

After splitting two games with third-ranked Fresno State last week, the Cal Poly Pomona women’s softball team will have a rematch with the Bulldogs in a double-header at 1 p.m. Sunday at Fresno.

Pomona, ranked No. 13 in NCAA Division I, entered this week 28-17 overall and 16-8 in the Big West Conference. Fresno State is 36-9 overall and 14-4 in the Big West. The Broncos defeated Fresno, 2-1, before losing to the Bulldogs, 3-0, last week.

The Broncos have received outstanding pitching from senior Lori Thompson and sophomore Nicky Luce. Thompson is 13-6 with an 0.81 ERA and five shutouts and Luce is 13-8 with a 1.17 ERA and seven shutouts.

Fresno has a solid one-two pitching combination in All-American Carie Dever and freshman Terry Carpenter. Dever has a 16-4 record and Carpenter is 20-4 with a minuscule 0.58 ERA.

The Bulldogs have a strong hitter in shortstop Martha Noffsinger, who has a .372 average.

Pomona catcher Denise Correa is batting .305 with a team-high seven doubles and six triples. Outfielder Nikki Busch and freshman shortstop Shellie McCall lead the team with 19 RBI.

Pomona concludes its road trip with a double-header against Pacific (20-21, 4-14) at 5 p.m. Monday at Stockton.

The Cal State Los Angeles baseball team will try to stay within reach of the conference leaders when it plays California Collegiate Athletic Assn. games against UC Riverside on Friday and Saturday.

The teams play at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Riverside and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Cal State.

Cal State entered the week in fourth place in the conference with an 8-9 record and 18-22 overall. But the Golden Eagles are only three games behind first-place Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (12-7). Riverside entered the week at 8-10-1 in the CCAA and 16-21-1 overall.

The Golden Eagles have been led by the pitching of freshman Paul Spere, an All-CIF Southern Section performer from Diamond Bar High School who has a 4-1 record, and senior Mike Utke.

On offense, the team has been paced by outfielders Rex De La Nuez and Frank James, catcher Martin Tourville and second baseman Ed Pimental.

Riverside’s leaders include outfielder Jeff Goodale, first baseman Logan Ostrander and third baseman Mike Eatinger.