Northridge Fit to Be Tied After an 8-7 Loss to Santa Barbara : College baseball: Matadors blow 6-0 lead, then settle for 2-2 finish in resumption of earlier game.

Which is tougher to take: A loss or a tie?

The Cal State Northridge baseball team was handed one of each on a tough Wednesday afternoon at UC Santa Barbara.

In the regularly scheduled game, Northridge blew a six-run lead and fell, 8-7, in 10 innings.

The second game--the resumption of a March 3 game that was called after 10 innings because of darkness--ended in a 2-2 tie when neither team scored after seven more innings. Again, darkness fell.

In the opener, Northridge blew a 6-0 lead and had its nine-game winning streak snapped. The Matadors (9-5-1) wasted a pair of solo home runs by catcher Mike Sims as well as homers by Kyle Washington and Greg Shockey.

Santa Barbara scored four runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-4, then added three in the next two innings. Senior right-hander Ken Kendrena surrendered six earned runs on 10 hits over 8 1/3 innings, walked two and struck out eight.

Junior right-hander Kevin Kloek (3-1) relieved in the ninth and was the loser. Santa Barbara’s Danny Lane led off the 10th with a double and moved to third on a single by Dan Clapinski. After a strikeout, Nick Satriano sent a ground ball to first baseman Mike Solar, who elected to attempt an inning-ending double play.

Solar’s throw to shortstop Andy Hodgins got the second out but Solar couldn’t handle the return throw at first and Lane scooted home with the winning run.

Sims had three hits and Scott Mowl, Hodgins and Shockey each had two.

Second baseman David Waco, a Chatsworth High graduate, had three hits for Santa Barbara.

In the suspended game, the teams played seven scoreless innings before the game again was called because of darkness. It is not scheduled to be completed.

The Matadors loaded the bases with none out in the 11th inning, but Santa Barbara (15-6-1) used a pair of strikeouts and a ground ball to get out of the jam. Northridge stranded six runners over the seven innings of the rescheduled game.

Pat Bennett, a Crespi High product, pitched the final seven innings for Santa Barbara and Kloek pitched for Northridge. Kloek allowed four hits and struck out six.

Perhaps it was a fitting ending: The overall series between Northridge and Santa Barbara stands at 30-30-3.