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A Race Too Close to Call : San Luis Obispo, Pomona Top CCAA in Baseball but Youthful Northridge Remains in the Hunt

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Times Staff Writer

Bill Kernen took his young Cal State Northridge baseball team to Cal Poly Pomona for the first time in February and the Matadors came away with a win that dropped Pomona to 2-12 overall and 0-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.

On Tuesday, Kernen returned with his Matadors to Pomona where the Broncos defeated Northridge to improve to 17-23 overall, 11-8 in conference play.

The result was different, but Kernen’s outlook on how the CCAA race would unfold remained the same.

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“I stood on this same field back in February and said it was going to be Pomona,” Kernen said. “I still think it is.”

As CCAA teams prepare for the final stretch of their conference schedules, the defending-champion Broncos appear to be the favorites even though they are in second place behind Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (12-7).

With three weeks left, the always-tight CCAA race is even closer this season with Northridge (9-9-1), Chapman (10-11), Cal State Los Angeles (9-9), UC Riverside (8-10) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (6-11) chasing the leaders in a race that might not be decided until the season’s final day.

“I think this race is going to be tighter yet,” said Pomona Coach John Scolinos, whose team visits Northridge at 3 this afternoon. “I think 11 losses could win this thing, maybe even 12.

“The way I look at it right now, everyone is still in it. There’s no team that’s outstanding and there’s no team that’s poor.”

Pomona leads the conference with a .309 team batting average, but the Broncos’ biggest advantage has been the return of junior right-hander Wayne Koklys, the CCAA Pitcher of the Year last season when he compiled a 13-5 record.

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Koklys lost his first two starts this season--against USC and Arizona State--before sitting out six weeks with what was thought to be a bone chip in his elbow. The injury, however, turned out to be a sprained ligament that apparently has healed with rest. Koklys pitched a complete game against Northridge on Tuesday, improving his record to 4-3 and lowering his earned-run average to 3.43.

Northridge has remained in the race despite the presence of four freshmen who are regular members of the starting lineup.

Despite his youth, Craig Clayton, who has played outfield and infield, has been the Matadors’ most consistent player and is batting a team-high .338 with four home runs and 19 runs batted in.

Third baseman Denny Vigo (.225, two homers and 15 RBIs) has been both heroic--he hit a two-run, game-winning homer in the ninth inning against Fresno State--and inconsistent--he booted a ground ball with the bases loaded Tuesday that allowed Pomona to score what proved to be the game-winning run.

Center fielder Greg Shockey (.205, one homer and seven RBIs) has struggled at the plate but has been solid defensively. And shortstop Mike Solar (.277, 13 RBIs) has been effective despite nagging injuries.

After Northridge plays Pomona on Friday, the Matadors will play host to independent Cal State Sacramento in two games that may have a bearing on at-large postseason bids.

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For the first time in seven years, the Western region is guaranteed three berths in the NCAA Division II playoffs. The winner of the CCAA gains an automatic berth with the other two bids awarded to the winner of the Northern California Athletic Conference, an independent school such as Sacramento or other members of the CCAA.

Kernen, however, claims he is not as concerned about the CCAA race as he is with the race against time as Northridge prepares for its move to Division I in 1990.

“You know what’s the most important thing for me right now?,” Kernen said. “Recruiting.

“My job is to get a Division I-level team in here and continue to keep in perspective that I’m trying to get that thing built. I want to win the league as much as anybody does but not at the expense of the future.

“The race is with me and Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine and USC and UCLA and Arizona State and Fresno State for the players that are in the pool right now.”

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