Fresno State’s Jones Turns Back Northridge; Miami, Stanford Win

Bobby Jones of Fresno State avenged his only loss this season, pitching a five-hitter and striking out 14 as the Bulldogs defeated Cal State Northridge, 7-2, in the first round of the NCAA West II Regional at Beiden Field Thursday night.

Top-seeded Miami (Fla.) defeated Portland, 13-1, and second-seeded Stanford beat San Diego State, 12-5, in other games.

Northridge (41-17-1), making its first appearance in the playoffs as a Division I school, defeated Jones in the Fresno tournament in March. The Matadors took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run home run by Scott Richardson.

Jones (14-1), the Big West Conference pitcher of the year, retired 17 of the next 19 batters and the Bulldogs took the lead for good in the sixth inning on a run-scoring single by Bryan Judice. Phillip Romero added four hits and three runs batted in and Todd Johnson had a two-run home run for the Bulldogs (38-20).

Miami (46-15) scored eight runs in the sixth inning to break open its game against the Pilots (30-18). Stanford (38-21) got four RBIs from Jeffrey Hammonds and three from David Holbrook to overcome the Aztecs (43-20).