Vigo’s Pinch-Hit Homer Lifts CSUN Over Riverside

On a day when two Cal State Northridge baseball players and two Northridge coaches were tossed out--and an umpire was actually chased out--it was left to Northridge pinch-hitter Denny Vigo to hit one out.

Vigo’s three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning gave Northridge a 12-10 California Collegiate Athletic Assn. victory Tuesday at UC Riverside. The Matadors are 26-16-1, 12-10-1 in conference play and in third place in the CCAA standings.

Vigo, a freshman third baseman who did not start because of a pulled groin, blasted a delivery from reliever Doug Pierce over the 25-foot-high fence in center field, 400 feet from home plate at the Riverside Sports Complex.

It was Vigo’s third home run of the season and his second game-winner. On April 12, Vigo hit a two-run shot in the ninth that gave Northridge a 4-2 victory at Fresno State.

“I was waiting for that moment,” Vigo said. “(Northridge) Coach (Bill Kernen) told me, ‘Tape up, and if I need you to pinch-hit, I’m going to call on you.’ ”

Kernen did his calling from the bleachers, where he sat after his ejection during an explosive fifth inning.

With Northridge leading, 5-3, Chae-Ho Chong led off the inning with a single. Rusty McLain, the next batter, hit a ground ball near second base. Riverside second baseman John Holmes and Chong collided but base umpire Bob Hernandez ruled that no baserunner interference had occurred and called Chong safe.

Riverside Coach Jack Smitheran left the dugout to argue the call and Hernandez reversed his decision, calling Chong out.

“In all honesty, I didn’t think I would be able to get him to change the call,” Smitheran said. “But I had to give it a shot.”

Randy Day, Northridge’s third base coach, argued with Hernandez over the reversal and was thrown out of the game. Kernen asked for an explanation, which quickly erupted into an argument, and he also was ejected.

Play resumed and Anton Siegl doubled before Northridge center fielder Greg Shockey was ejected after arguing with Hernandez over being called out at second while trying to stretch a run-scoring single into a double.

Things calmed down until the bottom of the sixth, when Northridge third baseman Greg Hansen bobbled Jeff Goodale’s ground ball, then accidentally hit Hernandez with his throw to first base.

The play allowed Scott Einhorn, who had tripled, to score and it also brought plenty of catcalls from the Northridge dugout and from Kernen in the stands.

Hernandez walked off the field and left the stadium, presumably because he had had enough abuse, both mental and physical.

But things weren’t about to return to normal yet.

Siegl was ejected in the seventh inning when he forearmed Riverside first baseman Logan Ostrander after grounding out to third.

“It was a circus out there today,” said Northridge pitcher Fili Martinez (6-5), who went the distance despite allowing 17 hits.

Riverside provided some entertainment in the eighth inning, breaking an 8-8 tie as Scott Hayward’s single drove in Ostrander, who had singled and moved to second on a fielder’s choice.

Mike Solar led off the Northridge ninth with a walk and moved to third one out later on a single by McLain. The Matadors tied the score, 9-9, when Martinez popped up a bunt attempt that fell just out of the reach of second baseman Ty Murphy, allowing Solar to score.

Vigo followed with his game-winning blast that made meaningless a ninth-inning homer by Troy Percival.