CS Northridge Falls in 10th Despite Strong Effort by Contreras : College baseball: Struggling Matador pitcher has an improved outing but throwing error by Hodgins sinks Matadors, 7-6.

Pitcher Marco Contreras made a courageous comeback and his Cal State Northridge teammates rallied to send the game into extra innings. But in a cruel twist of fate, shortstop Andy Hodgins made a crucial throwing error for the second consecutive night and the Matadors fell, 7-6, to Fresno State on Saturday night.

With two out in the 10th, Hodgins’ high throw forced first baseman Jason Shanahan to leap to make the catch. He came down late and Gary McNamara scored from second base.

“It’s a heartbreaking thing to see it happen to someone like Andy Hodgins,” Northridge Coach Bill Kernen said. “Two days in a row? I guess that’s life.”

Before 3,240 at Beiden Field, Northridge’s Andy Small and Keyaan Cook smashed solo homers in the seventh and eighth innings, tying the score, 6-6, against the Western Athletic Conference Western Division leaders.

Their blasts were gratefully appreciated by Contreras, who pitched well relative to his recent performances.

The emotional Contreras had openly accepted blame and passionately expressed the torment he has experienced since his fastball lost its pop and his slider wouldn’t drop over his last five appearances.

As Contreras struggled to throw strikes, his confidence eroded and the pressure mounted. Kernen considered starting Johnny Najar against Fresno State instead of Contreras. But in the end Kernen gambled and started Contreras.

Contreras retired the Bulldogs in order in the first inning. He was shaky in the second inning and the Bulldogs scored on two hits and two walks to tie the score, 1-1.

In the third, Contreras induced an inning-ending groundout with two on. With a 3-1 lead, he sailed through the fourth.

Hodgins belted a two-out triple in the fifth and scored on a wild pitch, giving him a 4-1 lead, but Contreras gave up three hits in the fifth, including a two-run single by slugger Todd Johnson, and the Matadors led by only one run, 4-3.

The sixth inning was equally trying. Contreras walked two, including the leadoff batter, and allowed a pair of two-out, run-scoring hits as Fresno took a 6-4 lead.

After Small smacked a solo home run to pull the Matadors within one in the seventh, Contreras got back on track, retiring Fresno State in order on eight pitches. Najar, a junior transfer from Fresno State, took over in the eighth, ending a masterful performance by Contreras in light of the pressure-packed situation and his frame of mind.

Matador Notes

Second baseman Chris Olsen was ejected by home plate umpire Rick Scarbery who, according to Coach Bill Kernen, randomly picked a player out of the dugout for complaining about a questionable called third strike in the seventh inning. Kernen said that he was the one who was critical of the call and that he should have been ejected. According to Kernen, the umpire apologized later for throwing out a starting player. With Olsen in the stands, designated hitter Keyaan Cook took over at second base. As a result, with the score tied, 6-6, two on and two out in the eighth, Kernen pinch-hit David Prosenko for pitcher Marco Contreras, who was batting in Olsen’s position. Prosenko struck out on three pitches. It was his first at-bat since April 16 when, he fractured his left pinky finger.