Kernen Using Mind Games as Way to Fire Up CS Northridge : Division II World Series: Matadors’ coach attempts to motivate his team by relaying confident comments of his counterpart at Lewis, CSUN’s opponent tonight.

Coach Bill Kernen has resorted to rather unorthodox methods to give the Cal State Northridge baseball team a psychological edge.

Last week, three days before the start of the NCAA Division II West regional, Kernen suggested that the Matadors ceremoniously burn the awards they earned during the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. season.

A fire was started behind the plate during a practice session, and the players’ all-conference plaques and the team’s CCAA co-championship trophy became the kindling.

The point of it all: A playoff team has no time to revel in its accomplishments.

CSUN’s second-year coach then turned his attention toward preparing the Matadors for the Division II World Series at Paterson Field this week.

Northridge (36-21) will open the eight-team, double-elimination tournament tonight at 5 (PDT) against Lewis University (47-12) of Romeoville, Ill.

And Kernen again has found some psychological ammunition.

In a conversation with Lewis Coach Irish O’Reilly on Friday night, Kernen learned that the Flyers’ coach of 21 years was going to miss tonight’s game to attend the graduation of his oldest daughter, Tricia, from Bishop McNamara High in Kankakee, Ill.

Then came the kicker.

According to Kernen, O’Reilly added: “They won’t miss me, though. We’re throwing our right-hander at you and he hasn’t had a bad outing all year.”

Kernen says O’Reilly was implying that CSUN’s lineup of freshmen and sophomores did not stand much of a chance against Lewis’ ace, Rich Huisman, a 6-foot-3 junior who was offered a contract by the Toronto Blue Jays.

“I guess we’ve got a real problem then,” Kernen told O’Reilly.

The conversation--or an ever-so-slightly slanted version of it--was relayed to the Northridge players.

“I told them we should get ready to play again Monday night because this guy apparently was going to kick our butt,” Kernen said.

The loser of tonight’s game faces elimination in a losers’-bracket game Monday. The winner will play Tuesday.

Relying predominantly on his fastball, Huisman has compiled a 12-3 record and a 1.43 earned-run average with 155 strikeouts in 106 2/3 innings.

Kernen, however, seems to think his team is best suited to face a hard thrower.

“If he’s going to rare back and throw fastballs by us, they’d better be good fastballs,” Kernen said. “Real good fastballs.”

For their part, Northridge players seemed content to wait and see.

“He’s supposed to be a pretty legitimate guy,” Scott Richardson, CSUN’s second baseman said with a trace of a smile. “We’ll just get on the field and find out.”

Vale Lopez, the only senior who plays for Northridge, will start against Lewis.

Lopez (10-4) has won his past seven decisions, including a 4-1, complete-game effort against UC Riverside in the regional semifinals.

“I want our most experienced guy out there the first day,” Kernen said. “The first day is when you need experience the most and Lopez is a big-game pitcher.”

Scott Sharts (5-2), who shut out Riverside in the regional championship game, will start for the Matadors in their second game.

That game will be at night and Kernen figures Sharts’ fastball will be difficult to gauge under the lights.

Craig Clayton (12-6), the CCAA’s Pitcher of the Year, might be saved for relief should the Matadors continue to win.

If CSUN wins both today and on Tuesday, the Matadors’ third game would be Thursday and Kernen said he might come back with Lopez as the starter.

Eric Johnson, who missed two regional games because of a back injury, is expected to be in CSUN’s lineup today.

But whether the switch-hitting freshman from Chatsworth High will be in the outfield or play as the designated-hitter depends on the availability of shortstop Mike Solar.

Solar is hobbling on a sprained right ankle that he sustained in practice Tuesday.

Solar reported after Saturday’s practice that the injury had improved dramatically, but Kernen said the sophomore might be limited to use as the designated-hitter today.

“We won’t know for sure until after we take infield (practice),” Kernen said. “It doesn’t bother him hitting or taking a ground ball right at him, but it hinders his movement laterally.”

Andy Hodgins, a freshman from Simi Valley High, will start in Solar’s place, if needed.

Hodgins, normally an outfielder, started at shortstop in early-season games against Nevada Las Vegas and USC while Solar was recovering from a hernia operation.

“I’m fairly comfortable with it,” Hodgins said, “but this isn’t really the time of year that you want to be switching around.”

Northridge has only 10 position players on its roster, but Solar doesn’t believe his ankle will be a major hindrance.

“It’s one of those things that when the game starts, you forget about it,” he said. “Once the adrenaline starts going, I probably won’t even notice it.”

The Lewis roster includes some faces familiar to Kernen.

Kenn Blair, a catcher and designated-hitter, and Tom Michalak, an infielder, were cut from the team at Illinois when Kernen was an assistant there in the fall of 1987.

Blair is batting .345 and is second on the team with 11 home runs. Michalak is batting .272.

Northridge sorely is lacking in one category that seems to be a strength of its World Series opponents: speed.

The Matadors have 56 stolen bases, fewer than any other team.

Columbus (Ga.), Jacksonville (Ala.), Central Missouri and Lewis all have more than 100 steals. Lewis leads all World Series teams with 176.

Central Missouri’s Sittichoke Huckuntod is the tournament’s top base-stealer with 47.

Greg Shockey leads Northridge with 15 steals in 18 attempts. Solar, who isn’t apt to do much running, is 12 of 13.

Notes

Top-seeded Jacksonville (Ala.) and fourth-seeded Tampa emerged victorious in Saturday’s games. Jacksonville downed Philadelphia Textile, 3-1, as Todd Altaffer and Tim Vanegmond combined on a six-hitter. Tampa defeated Central Missouri, 10-2. Tampa had 18 hits, including two home runs by Paul Russo, giving him 20 for the season. . . . Weather report: The high temperature is expected to be near 90 with the low in the mid-60s. . . . Field report: Paterson Field is considered a hitter’s park. The infield is hard and fast. The outfield dimensions are 330 feet down the lines and 380 to center. And the ball carries well. Lewis has 75 home runs, the only team in the tournament with more than CSUN’s 72. Scott Sharts leads all players with 26, two more than Ernie Young, Lewis’ center fielder. . . . Rich Villa, Lewis’ No. 2 starter, is 10-0. Nick Spoviero, a right-hander from New Haven, Conn., is 12-0. Sam Militello, a right-hander from Tampa, Fla., is 14-1.