CSUN Salvages Softball Split With 2-0 Win

After losing a morning game, 2-1, to Texas A & M on a controversial call at the plate, Cal State Northridge bounced back six hours later Friday with a 2-0 victory over Cal Poly Pomona in the PONY softball tournament at Cal State Fullerton.

The Matadors (23-19) pounded out 10 hits against Pomona (10-21) in a first-round game of bracket play and will face Cal State Fullerton in the quarterfinals this morning at 11.

Heather Lindstrom (10-4), a junior right-hander, scattered six hits against Pomona and earned her third shutout of the year. “Everything was working,” Lindstrom said. “I felt good and we were playing well.”

Northridge Coach Gary Torgeson was heartened by the victory over Pomona.

“I really feel (Northridge) is a good team,” he said. “And I think we’re going to surprise some people down the stretch. There’s a lot of hitting power here. We’ve got a lot of offense and our defense seems to be coming together.”

Leading the offense against Pomona was freshman Tamara Ivie, who was three for three with a triple.

The Matadors, who had beaten Pomona, 3-1, earlier this year, scored their first run in the second inning on a two-out single by Debbie Barnard.

Northridge added a run in the third. With one out, Ivie ripped a line drive into right-center for a triple. Beth Calcante followed with a hard-hit chopper at second baseman Kris Hauge. The ball took a wild hop over Hauge’s head and Ivie scored easily.

The victory eased the Matadors’ pain over their loss to Texas A & M (27-8), which is ranked ninth in the nation.

Calcante was four for six on the day. She blasted her third home run of the year over the left-field fence to give Northridge a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the first game.

The lead was short-lived, however as the Aggies countered with a run in the third.

In the eighth, the Aggies’ Jennifer McFalls ripped a 1-0 pitch to the left-field fence, sending outfielder Kelly Martin into the fence, which she knocked down while in pursuit. The ball appeared to clear the fence, but the umpire ruled it a ground-rule double, saying it hit the top of the fence before it went over.

McFalls advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Then Karen Kalhoefer hit a fly ball into center field. Jen Fleming made the catch and threw a perfect one-hop strike to catcher Patti Pearson in an attempt to catch McFalls trying to score.

Pearson applied the tag on McFalls, who dived inside the plate and reached around with her right hand. She was called safe.

The umpire’s call drew loud, derogatory remarks from about 100 onlookers, and even McFalls appeared surprised by the call.

“That play at home . . . well that was a tough way to lose it,” Torgeson said.