CS Northridge Batters Miami, 13-6

Miami might have traveled 3,000 miles coast to coast to take part in the NCAA West II Regional, but Friday the Hurricanes met a Cal State Northridge baseball team that had to come considerably farther--though not in actual mileage--to reach the same place.

And it quickly became apparent that the Matadors were not yet willing to go home.

Faced with the prospect of elimination with a loss, Northridge responded with one of its biggest offensive eruptions of the season, the Matadors’ first in Division I.

And one for the Miami record book.

The Matadors defeated the top-seeded Hurricanes, 13-6, hammering 17 hits in the process. It marked the most runs allowed by Miami in 20 years of playoff appearances.

“They wanted it more than we did and they got it. They just blew us out,” Miami Coach Ron Fraser said. “What you saw was a good ballclub that played great.”

And so Northridge (42-17-1) will keep playing for at least another day. The Matadors will meet Portland today at 3:30 p.m. Portland (31-18) eliminated San Diego State, 12-5, Friday.

Scott Sharts will be Northridge’s starting pitcher. On Friday, Sharts, a transfer from Miami, was the designated-hitter. And although he went hitless, his teammates had a field day.

“The guys were really up,” said Greg Shockey, one of four Matador hitters to have at least three hits. “We knew there was no tomorrow and that’s pretty much the way we played it.”

That much was obvious early.

Five of Northridge’s first six batters reached base safely as the Matadors scored three in the first inning. They added three more in the second and two in the third en route to an 8-4 lead.

Craig Clayton and Scott Richardson, the first two batters in the Northridge order, each had a hit in each of the first three innings. Clayton had two singles and a run-scoring double, then added an RBI single in the sixth.

Richardson had a single and a pair of RBI doubles, then powered a home run in the fifth.

“We knew we had to get on them early,” Clayton said. “If we put some pressure on them right out of the gate, we knew we’d be fine.”

Shawn Purdy, the ace of Miami’s pitching staff for most of the season, lasted only 11 batters. He was replaced after giving up singles to Kyle Washington and Clayton and a double to Richardson leading off the second inning.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” Purdy said, “and they capitalized on just about every one of them.”

The recipient of Northridge’s power surge was Ken Kendrena, who survived 10 Miami hits, including two eighth-inning home runs, to complete his 11th consecutive victory.

Kendrena (13-1) struck out 11, including the side in the ninth, after struggling early.

“We faced good people all year long. Ability-wise we’ve probably faced better,” Fraser said, “but competitive-wise I don’t think we’ve seen anyone better. He just came right after us.”

Kendrena settled down in the middle innings, retiring 11 of 13 batters in one stretch from the third to seventh innings. He allowed a one-out double to Chris Anderson in the fourth but stranded him at third. In the sixth, Alex Miranda led off with a single, but Kendrena induced Juan Llanes to ground into a double play.

“Before it got out of whack we had some opportunities, but he bore down and got us out every time,” Fraser said.

Steve Day, the second of three Miami relief pitchers, similarly slowed the Matadors after he took over to start the fourth inning.

Slow, not stop. And even that was temporary.

After retiring the side in order in the fourth, Day allowed a solo home run to Richardson in the fifth. It was Richardson’s sixth homer. The sophomore from Rialto did not have a home run last season in 239 at-bats.

In the sixth, Northridge played some more long ball. Shockey led off the inning by smashing his seventh home run far over the 380-foot sign in right-center field.

Denny Vigo followed with a single and two outs later Mike Sims, Washington and Clayton strung together consecutive hits to account for three more runs and a 13-4 margin.

Miami scored twice in the eighth on home runs by Jorge Fabregas and Llanes.