Northridge Changes for the Better : College softball: Matadors modify lineup to salvage split of doubleheader.

After watching his team stumble through a season-opening 4-1 loss to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal State Northridge softball Coach Gary Torgeson knew something wasn’t right. So he scrapped his lineup and started anew in the second game, helping the Matadors escape with a 2-1 victory and a split of Saturday’s doubleheader.

“We were out of position in the first game,” Torgeson said. “It took me a while to figure it out.”

So for the second game, Torgeson moved Denise Swank from shortstop to third base--a position she played most of last season--and Debbie Barnard from right field to shortstop.

Offensively, Michelle Blaha’s run-scoring single gave CSUN a 1-0 lead in the second and the Matadors pushed across the decisive run in the fourth when Swank singled to center to score Patti Pearson from third.

Defensively, the Matadors continued to have problems despite Torgeson’s shuffling. San Luis Obispo halved CSUN’s lead in the fifth when second baseman Tamara Ivie couldn’t find the handle on Cheryl Lutes’ grounder, allowing Kim Farnum to score.

But that was all Heather Lindstrom allowed. The junior right-hander pitched seven innings, giving up five hits and striking out one to earn the win.

CSUN scored first in the opener, Ivie racing home on a second-inning wild pitch by Mustang starter Laura Fawcett.

But in the top of the fourth, San Luis Obispo took advantage of the shaky CSUN defense to score a pair of runs. With two out and runners at first and third, Kelly McInerny lifted a fly to right-center, but Barnard and Beth Calcante collided in the gap and both runners scored.

“I guess it was miscommunication,” Barnard said.

Offered Calcante: “We didn’t call for the ball.”

In the next inning, San Luis Obispo added two insurance runs, one courtesy of another Northridge error. The Matadors, attempting a comeback, stranded two runners in both the fifth and sixth innings.