NCAA DIVISION II BASEBALL : Northridge Gets Regional Title

Scott Sharts pitched and batted Cal State Northridge to a 2-0 victory over UC Riverside in the title game of the NCAA Division II West Regional Sunday at Northridge.

Sharts, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, pitched an eight-hitter and hit his 26th home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth inning.

Eighth-ranked Northridge (36-21) advances to the eight-team Division II World Series, starting Saturday at Montgomery, Ala. The last time the Matadors qualified for the World Series was in 1984, and they won the title.

Sharts, a sophomore from Simi Valley High who transferred from Miami (Fla.), struck out eight.

Riverside (39-18) threatened to score in both the second and ninth innings, but Sharts got out of both jams. He pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the second inning.

Riverside’s Bill Jordan also went the distance and he gave up only five hits. The Matadors scored their other run with one out in the fifth inning when Craig Clayton singled in Kyle Washington, who doubled.

In two victories over Riverside in the regional, Northridge pitchers Sharts and Vale Lopez, Saturday’s starter, gave up only one run and 15 hits--14 of them singles.

Northridge and Riverside shared the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. title.