Sharts, Clayton All-Americans And Then Some

Craig Clayton and Scott Sharts of Cal State Northridge went two for two Monday even though the Matadors did not play a game in the NCAA Division II World Series.

In addition to learning they were first-team selections on the Division II All-American squad, Clayton and Sharts were among 30 college players asked to participate in tryouts for the Team USA baseball squad that will compete in the Goodwill Games in Seattle this summer.

Only four Division II players are among the group. The tryouts will begin June 10 in Millington, Tenn.

The Team USA squad will be trimmed to 24 after 10 days of workouts and the final 20-member team will be announced July 24.

The invitations took the Northridge players by surprise.

“When I started out here I just wanted to get back into the swing of things and get ready for when we go Division I,” said Sharts, who transferred to Northridge from Miami last summer. “Getting a shot at making a national team is something I only dreamed of doing.”

Said Clayton: “The tryout was a total shock. I thought making the All-American team was great, but even that I didn’t really expect to achieve.”

Clayton and Sharts are the 26th and 27th baseball players from Northridge to earn All-American status.

Clayton, who has played left field and first base in addition to pitching, was listed on the All-American squad at designated-hitter.

The sophomore from Anaheim is batting a team-high .390 with 11 home runs and 53 runs batted in. As a pitcher he is 12-6.

Sharts, a sophomore from Simi Valley, made the team as an infielder. He has pitched and played first base for Northridge.

Sharts leads Division II players in home runs with 27 and is batting .303 with 70 RBIs. As a pitcher, he entered Tuesday night’s game with a 5-2 record.

Sam Militello, a pitcher for Tampa, was selected Player of the Year. Militello, a junior right-hander, was 14-1 during the regular season with 160 strikeouts in 128 innings and an earned-run average of 1.76.

Four California Collegiate Athletic Assn. players were listed on the 15-member first-team. Joining Clayton and Sharts were Doug Noce, a catcher from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Pete Weber, an outfielder from UC Riverside.