CSUN Dusts Off Pomona; Lopez Shows His Grit

It was difficult to tell who breathed a bigger sigh of relief, second baseman Scott Richardson or pitcher Vale Lopez, after Cal State Northridge had defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 4-3, in a 10-inning California Collegiate Athletic Assn. game at Matador Field on Thursday.

A pair of errors by Richardson had helped Pomona tie the score, 3-3, in the eighth inning, and Lopez had thrown 146 pitches in the first 10 innings and was ready to raise that total in the 11th if needed.

“I was ready to go back out there,” Lopez said after improving his record to 6-4 and throwing his fifth complete game. “I didn’t feel like I had lost much from the early innings.”

Because of a throwing error by Bronco relief pitcher Kevin Chavez, Lopez didn’t have to test his right arm further.

Chavez, who replaced starter Erick Gomez with runners at first and second and no one out in the 10th, fielded Kyle Washington’s sacrifice bunt, but his throw to third base got past a lunging Grant Stephens, allowing Andy Hodgins to score the winning run.

The victory was the ninth in the past 10 games for Northridge (21-13, 8-5 in conference play) and kept the Matadors two games behind first-place UC Riverside (25-9, 9-2), which beat Cal State Dominguez Hills, 1-0.

Eric Johnson (two for four) walked on a full count to start the winning rally, and, after being replaced by pinch-runner Hodgins, Mike Solar followed with a single through the right side of the infield that knocked out Gomez (2-7).

Gomez gave up nine hits and eight walks while throwing 159 pitches, most of which were breaking balls.

“We’ve never hit him very hard,” Lopez said.

Perhaps not, but the Matadors appeared to have all the runs they needed when Denny Vigo (two for five) singled in Richardson to give Northridge a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning.

Facing the top of the Pomona lineup in the eighth, Lopez retired Danny Andrews and Ed Cartwright on called strikes but walked Scott Daniels on five pitches.

John Helvin’s single put runners at first and second, and, when Jason Kieline’s line drive popped out of the glove of a diving Richardson, the bases were loaded.

Designated-hitter Yanni Aghili (two for four) followed with a routine ground ball toward second that took a wicked hop at the edge of the infield grass and went under Richardson’s glove to score two runs.

“I just told Scott not to worry about it,” Lopez said. “I figured we’d score again and I really felt like they weren’t going to score any more off me. . . . They didn’t hit me hard. They were getting a bleeder here and a bleeder there.”

Northridge took a 2-0 lead in the third. Mike Sims led off with a walk and Craig Clayton doubled him to third. Sims scored and Clayton went to third on a wild pitch by Gomez. Richardson (two for four) grounded out to score Clayton.

Lopez retired eight in a row after giving up consecutive singles with one out in the second, but Pomona (9-25, 3-11) used a walk and two singles to score a run in the fifth.