Northridge’s Surprise Attack Knocks Out Pomona

Forget any thoughts of Cal State Northridge’s youthful baseball team quietly sneaking up on anyone in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. race.

With a .500 nonconference record and a field full of freshmen and sophomores, CSUN could have been considered a team of the future going into its conference opener at home Tuesday against Cal Poly Pomona.

And if that’s true, Pomona can take some solace that CSUN’s future isn’t at the Division II level.

Northridge, playing its first CCAA game in what will be its last season in the conference, defeated Pomona 13-0, pounding out 18 hits against three Bronco pitchers.

And while the Matadors made a habit of circling the bases, Pomona batters couldn’t find second. Vale Lopez, the only senior in CSUN’s starting lineup, scattered three singles and did not allow a runner past first base in recording his first shutout of the season.

“That was as thoroughly a dominating performance as you’re going to see from the mound without a no-hitter,” said Bill Kernen, CSUN’s second-year coach. “That was as good a pitched game as I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”

Lopez, mixing his pitches well, recorded 15 groundouts, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter until the ninth inning. A right-hander from Oxnard, Lopez improved his record to 3-1 with his second complete game of the season. The other came in Northridge’s season debut, a 4-3 decision over USC, the nation’s top-ranked Division I team at the time.

CSUN (6-5), which will play on the major-college level next season, scored the only run it would need in the third inning. Greg Shockey led off the inning with a single and came around to score on a successful double steal.

The Matadors added single runs in each of the next two innings. Denny Vigo blasted a solo homer in the fourth and Eric Johnson singled home Shockey in the fifth to put CSUN ahead, 3-0.

Brett Lachemann, Pomona’s starter, bobbed and weaved his way through the first six innings, but the Matadors delivered a knockout blow with a seven-run seventh.

Lachemann (0-3) faced four batters in the inning, allowing two walks and a double to Craig Clayton before being replaced by David Olson.

But instead of squelching the rally, Olson added fuel to the fire. Vigo’s second homer of the game and his third of the season, a two-run shot to left, was the big hit of the inning. The home run made the score 7-0. After a walk to Mike Solar, Kyle Washington added another two-run home run, his first of the season, and the rout was on.

“That was probably the most positive thing we did,” Kernen said of CSUN’s late-inning outburst. “We just had a day where everything fell into place. Our kids are certainly talented enough where this is going to happen once in a while.

“And when it does, it sure is nice.”

Northridge tacked on three more runs off Yanni Aghili, Pomona’s third pitcher, in the eighth.

Vigo, Clayton and Shockey all had three hits in five at bats for the Matadors, while Washington was two for five with four runs batted in. Pomona, 3-10 overall, 0-4 in CCAA play, play host to CSUN today in a rematch.