CSUN Signs Pitchers for Pair of Sports

Cal State Northridge has signed two pitchers--one for baseball, the other for softball. One has little experience and the other has proven ability.

Jason VanHeerde, a 6-foot-5 right-hander from Eisenhower High, has committed to play for the Matador baseball team, for which he will be tried extensively as a pitcher for the first time.

In high school, VanHeerde batted .390 and as a catcher played well enough to earn a berth on a California team that competed in the Sunbelt Classic all-star series in Stillwater, Okla.

VanHeerde pitched only two innings for Eisenhower, yet managed to catch the attention of the Montreal Expos, who selected him as a pitcher in the late rounds of the June draft.

In softball, Northridge signed Kathy Blake, a right-hander from Paso Robles High who pitched 177 innings as a senior without allowing an earned run.

Blake had a record of 24-2 and pitched Paso Robles to a second-place finish in the Southern Section 2-A Division playoffs.