VALLEY-AREA ROUNDUP : CSUN Goes Extra Yard for Title

They call it the “Yard Ball,” but it is more commonly known as the home run.

Facing a full-count pitch Sunday in the championship game of the 14th Cal State Fullerton PONY softball tournament, Cal State Northridge’s Scia Maumausolo was thinking only about going “yard” against Oklahoma State.

With one fierce tomahawk swing at a pitch well above her strike zone, Maumausolo ripped a solo home run to left field with one out in the bottom of the seventh, lifting Northridge to a 1-0 victory. “I told myself I was hitting the next pitch no matter what,” Maumausolo said. “I was psyching myself up for a home run.”

Amy Windmiller (12-2) picked up the victory with a one-hitter, facing only three batters over the minimum.

Seventh-ranked Northridge (26-3-1) went 7-0 in the five-day, frequently rain-delayed, 16-team tournament, upsetting three of the country’s top five ranked teams en route to its first PONY tournament title.

“I was just thinking when I went to lunch today that I didn’t dream three years ago that we’d even be here (in the championship game of the PONY tournament),” Northridge Coach Gary Torgeson said.

Northridge, in only its third Division I season, didn’t blow out any teams in the prestigious tournament, but the Matadors’ hard-hitting lineup and come-from-behind tendencies turned more than a few heads. Northridge rallied in all three of its preliminary-round bracket games to get to fifth-ranked Oklahoma State (26-5).

Sunday’s competition started at 9:45 a.m. for the Matadors, who were continuing a suspended game against third-ranked Nevada Las Vegas (16-7). Twelve hours earlier, the Northridge-UNLV quarterfinal game was halted in the bottom of the seventh because of rain. The teams picked up where they had left off with Northridge leading, 4-2, and with UNLV runners at first and second and two out.

The only difference was that Friday’s starter, Windmiller, was replaced by Kathy Blake when play resumed. Blake got Stephanie Gonzales to ground out for the final out.

In a semifinal game that started 15 minutes later, the Matadors overcame a 3-0 deficit against unranked Utah (9-11) in a 4-3 victory. Laurel Simmons hit a two-run home run off Blake in the first inning, then a sacrifice fly in the third to give Utah a 3-0 lead.

Northridge, which had only three hits in the first six innings, scored once in the fifth on a wild pitch. But the Matadors remained two runs behind when Missy Cress hit into a double play to end a rally one inning later. In the bottom of the seventh, Shannon Jones led off with a home run and Northridge had life again.

The homer chased starter Amy Bigelow and the Utes brought in hard-throwing Melissa Halkinrude. Halkinrude (6-5) struck out Denise Swank and Vicky Rios, but then had to face the top of the lineup. Terry Pearson drew a full-count walk and Jen Fleming followed with a single to left field. When the liner caromed off the glove of left fielder Tammy Beer, speedy Pearson bolted home to score the tying run.

With Fleming at second, Beth Calcante ripped her first pitch into right field and Fleming scored the winning run. “I knew I had to get on to let Beth hit,” Fleming said. “I knew she could hit it out of the yard if we needed her to.”

Going yard, as the Matadors call it, is something they do quite well. Only one other Division I team has done it more frequently. Top-ranked Arizona has 22 home runs, Northridge 20.

Many of the nation’s top middle- and long-distance runners are expected to compete in the Twilight Classic at Birmingham High on May 21 and 22. The eighth annual meet was known as the Santa Monica Distance Classic from 1986-92 when it was held at Santa Monica College.

The invitational portion of the meet will be held May 21 and the collegiate races will be contested the following night. The starting time for both sessions is 7:30 p.m.

The schedule of events consists of the men’s 800, 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters, and the women’s 800, 1,500, 3,000 and 10,000.