Playoff News Mixed for Northridge : College softball: Second-ranked CSUN to serve as host in regional against nemesis Fresno State.

Call it a classic good news-bad news scenario for the Cal State Northridge softball team.

First, the good news: For the first time, second-ranked Northridge will play host to one of eight regionals in the NCAA Division I softball championships, May 22-23.

The bad news? Northridge will play host to Western Athletic Conference rival Fresno State, the only conference team to beat the WAC champion Matadors this season--and the Bulldogs did it twice in four meetings.

Northridge Coach Gary Torgeson and the Matadors were not at all pleased with the draw, which was announced Sunday and broadcast live from the NCAA offices in Kansas via closed-circuit television.

The Matadors (45-6-1), who showed at Matador Gymnasium to watch the news conference, let out sighs of disbelief when their draw was announced. “I can’t believe it” were the first words out of Torgeson’s mouth as he sat staring at the television a bit dumbfounded.

By virtue of their No. 2 national ranking, the Matadors expected an easier draw in the best-of-three series regional--not a team from its conference with a powerhouse reputation and a penchant for beating Northridge.

“I really don’t care who we play, but we should have top priority over everybody--except for (top-ranked) UCLA,” first baseman Tamara Ivie said. “It upsets me that they didn’t cater to us. We should be catered to--we’re No. 2 in the nation.”

In determining the pairings for each playoff regional, a Division I committee groups teams according to regional proximity to cut down on travel costs.

Eleventh-ranked Fresno State (35-22), which finished third in the WAC, is a perennial power despite its inconsistent play this season. The Bulldogs and No. 15 Cal State Fullerton, which will face UCLA, are the only teams in the 20-team playoff pool to have participated in every NCAA Division I playoff, which began in 1982.

A fact not lost on Torgeson: “To think we got a pigeon. . . . there is no doubt--we didn’t. Fresno is really a class operation and we’ll have our hands full.”

A year ago, the Bulldogs swept Northridge, 3-0 and 6-0, in a regional playoff--the Matadors’ first at the Division I level--at Fresno State. This season in WAC play, the teams split two doubleheaders.