Kempton Takes Over Role as Northridge Ace

Marco Contreras began the season as Cal State Northridge’s ace, throwing shutouts in his first two starts. Then left-hander John Bushart became the top gun, winning eight of his first 10 starts, including a 4-3 victory over UCLA.

With Contreras struggling--although his shutout of Hawaii on Saturday could mean a resurgence--and Bushart hampered by tendinitis, Keven Kempton (9-3) has taken over the lead role.

The junior transfer from East Los Angeles College has 12 complete games to lead Western Athletic Conference pitchers and his 3.02 earned-run average is the second lowest in the conference. A crucial part of his complete-game 9-8 victory over Hawaii last Friday was his strikeout of Kenny Harrison, the WAC’s leading hitter.

Harrison had belted two home runs off Kempton on April 2. This time, Kempton got Harrison to swing and miss at a fastball above his hands. Then he delivered two sliders that Harrison missed with uppercuts.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE

BASEBALL

Despite his defensive difficulties, including two throwing errors in recent losses at Fresno State, shortstop Andy Hodgins has kept his spirits up. Moreover, the senior from Simi Valley High has not allowed his defensive problems to affect his hitting. He is batting a team-high .400 in WAC play and has a WAC hitting streak of nine games.

“It has been rough, but luckily I’m able to keep both things separate,” Hodgins said. “I had a rough time in Fresno. It’s something I have to get over. If I let it affect me now, it’ll be more costly.” . . .

The sweep over Hawaii moved Northridge to No. 23 in Baseball America’s national poll. The Matadors were ranked as high as 13th in Collegiate Baseball’s poll when they were 15-3. . . . Contreras is 10th in the WAC in ERA at 3.69 and Bushart is 14th at 4.04. . . .

Matador trivia question: Name the brothers, both pitchers, who were selected in the major league draft, one in 1985, the other in 1991. . . .

Northridge batted .380 against Hawaii. Third baseman Andy Small and right fielder Greg Shepard each were six for 10. Small homered twice and doubled twice. He is second in the WAC in home runs with 15, fourth in runs batted in with 55, tied for fourth in walks with 39 and fifth in slugging percentage at .679. . . .

Shepard is 20th in the WAC with a .352 batting average. . . . Although outfielder Jonathan Campbell, a sophomore from Poly High, is batting only .255, he is hitting .323 with runners in scoring position. . . . Catcher Mike Sims, a senior from Alemany, is batting .396 during a 13-game hitting streak. . . .

In his first at-bat since his senior year at San Fernando High, junior pitcher Johnny Najar, a transfer from Fresno State, legged out a two-out infield single in the 10th inning of a recent game against Fresno State. Najar also pitched well against his former teammates, holding them to two hits and no earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Bulldog Coach Bob Bennett said that Najar has made great strides since leaving Fresno State, where he was limited to 3 2/3 innings in two seasons.

Similar to the Sports Illustrated cover jinx, the players selected for the covers of Northridge’s pocket sports calendars have not materialized as the stars of their teams. Football player O.J. Ojomoh was academically ineligible and missed the season. Basketball player Percy Fisher quit the team and baseball player Steven Morales has been limited to one appearance because of an elbow injury. . . .

Matador trivia answer: Steve Sharts, left-handed pitcher, 17th round Philadelphia Phillies, and Scott Sharts, right-handed pitcher-first baseman, 10th round Cleveland Indians.

FOOTBALL

Spring drills end Saturday with the annual intrasquad scrimmage. The time has been changed from 7 p.m. to 1 p.m. at North Campus Stadium to avoid a conflict with the men’s volleyball team’s participation in the NCAA final four Saturday night.

Football coach Bob Burt is pleased that his players can attend the men’s volleyball match. Not only are several football players friends of volleyball players, three-time All-American volleyball player Coley Kyman is a quarterback on the football team.

In Kyman’s absence, Albert Razo will start at quarterback Saturday and Rino Marconi will back him up. Robert Trice is the starting tailback in the offense-versus-defense format.

The new starting time for football leaves Northridge fans with three home events to choose from at 1 p.m. The No. 2-ranked softball team will play a key Western Athletic Conference doubleheader against Fresno State and the baseball team will play UC Santa Barbara.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Volleyball players are regulars at the Northridge baseball diamond where they position themselves close to the visiting dugout so their taunts can be heard.

During the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament championship match against Cal State Long Beach last Saturday, it was time to reciprocate.

A group of a dozen men--most of them Matador baseball players--sat behind the Long Beach bench during the showdown, giving the 49er players an earful.

Outfielder David Prosenko was among those who reveled in the volleyball team’s victory. “Somebody just asked me where in the heck Northridge was,” Prosenko crowed during the celebration afterward. “I said, ‘At Pauley Pavilion! That’s where Northridge is. Northridge is in the final four!’ ”. . .

Overheard at Northridge’s team hotel at UC Irvine late Saturday night as the Matadors were celebrating their tournament championship:

Said Bushart, after glancing at his watch: “It’s past midnight. I guess I’d better get going since I’m pitching today.”

Note: Less than 13 hours later, Bushart, pitching with a slight case of tendinitis, was the Matadors’ starter in an important Western Athletic Conference game against Hawaii. He pitched a complete game, throwing 144 pitches. He gave up 16 hits and survived three errors to win, 11-10.

SOFTBALL

Beth Calcante has a team-high 44 RBIs--more than twice as many as Scia Maumausolo, who is second on the team with 21. Calcante, who has a 14-game hitting streak, also leads the Matadors with a .383 batting, six doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and 13 sacrifices. She is batting .520 with runners in scoring position. . . .

Northridge and Arizona each have 35 home runs, a Division I record. The record for all divisions is held by Virginia Union, a Division II team that clubbed 36 last season. Northridge had the Division I record to itself until last week. . . .

Pitchers Kathy Blake and Amy Windmiller have turned WAC doubleheaders into a Can You Top This? challenge.

Last Saturday against New Mexico provided a prime example. Blake tossed a one-hitter in the opener, winning 4-0. Windmiller responded by fanning 12 in the second game, a 13-1 victory.

Blake, a sophomore, is 15-2 with an 0.82 ERA. Windmiller is 17-3 with an 0.92 ERA.

CAL LUTHERAN

BASEBALL

The Kingsmen don’t play again until the first round of the NCAA Division III regionals, on May 20. Although the playoff teams are not announced until May 16, Cal Lutheran, top-ranked in the nation, is considered a lock.

Coach Rich Hill said the Kingsmen will not practice until Wednesday, which is midway through finals week at Cal Lutheran.

“The time off is going to help us,” he said. “Their minds are on finals and term papers. They need a mental break.”

Also time to heal. Several key players are banged up.

Jason Wilson, Cal Lutheran’s center fielder and leadoff batter, has an injured right (throwing) shoulder. So does shortstop Gabe Diaz. Outfielder Carlos Cardenas has a sore wrist, second baseman Joe Cascione has a pulled quadriceps and pitcher Jeff Berman, who has four complete games and three shutouts, needs rest.

Wilson is batting .305, is second on the team with 30 runs, and has a team-leading 17 stolen bases. He has been caught only twice. Diaz is batting .357 with a team-high 13 doubles. He has 30 runs.

Cardenas, is an extra-base hitting machine. He is batting .330 and has six doubles, four triples and seven home runs among his 31 hits. Cascione is second on the team with a .376 batting average and 31 RBIs. Berman is 8-2 with a save and a 1.66 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 76 innings.

Among the reserves, Pete Martin (.339) has a pulled hamstring and David Chapman (.327) has a bruised kneecap. . . .

The break in Cal Lutheran’s schedule comes at a bad time for Chris Fick, who was on a tear. After missing four games because he had chicken pox, Fick came back to bat .429 (six for 14) in four games last week. Half of his hits were home runs, giving him a team-high eight. . . .

Eric Johnson is batting .431, barely off the school record for highest single-season average, held by Jonathon Knight, who batted .433 in 1986. . . .

Cal Lutheran has put in a bid to play host to the West Regional--probably against either Menlo, Redlands or UC San Diego--at Moorpark College. But there is a catch. The Moorpark Little League has the Moorpark College field rented May 22. Hill has proposed that the Little League move its senior league games to Cal Lutheran for that Saturday, but he is awaiting approval from the league’s board of directors.

Cal Lutheran cannot play host to the West Regional at its own field because the seating is limited.

Staff writers Theresa Munoz and Mike Hiserman contributed to this notebook.