CS Northridge Defeats USC, 4-3, in Baseball

With an eye toward 1991, when it will move up to NCAA Division I, the Cal State Northridge baseball team took a giant step forward Tuesday when Scott Sharts hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to beat USC, 4-3, at Dedeaux Field in the opener for both teams.

It marked the second consecutive season Division II Northridge had beaten the Trojans on their home field.

Senior right-hander Vale Lopez pitched a complete game, scattering 11 hits and striking out four against the Trojans, who were ranked No. 1 by Baseball America in a preseason poll.

Sharts, a 6-foot-6, 221-pound right-handed hitter, had struck out three times against right-handed starter Randy Powers before hitting the home run off left-hander John Cummings.