CSUN Tries to Heat Up With Weather : College baseball: Second-seeded Matadors look for fast start in NCAA West Regional today against St. John’s amid 100-degree temperatures.

In 100-degree temperatures and dry desert air, second-seeded Cal State Northridge practiced for the last time Wednesday in preparation for today’s 2:30 p.m. NCAA West Regional baseball opener against sixth-seeded St. John’s.

Despite the sticky conditions, it was a businesslike workout, the kind the enigmatic Matadors have embraced the past 10 days.

Coach Bill Kernen, who has always used his psychology degree as a guide, has settled on an intense approach after being mystified by his team all season. Often, his demanding motivational ploys did not work.

Eventually, Kernen discovered that the players respond more favorably to a looser atmosphere. He also loosened the reins out of necessity when his already shorthanded coaching staff was reduced to one after the midseason resignation of assistant Stan Sanchez.

Since Northridge’s last regular-season game against Pepperdine, however, Kernen reverted to a more vocal approach.

“If you’re going to have a chance to win one of these (regionals), it is not a loose deal,” Kernen said. “Not with the crowd and the environment. We gotta play it like we played against Pepperdine, where every at-bat is treated like the last at-bat in the ninth inning.”

Kernen’s inspirational demands for total concentration helped the Matadors rally from an 8-0 first-inning deficit to a 10-9 victory over the Waves in 10 innings.

“That was extraordinary,” Kernen said. “The most responsive they’ve ever been to what I told them all year.”

Kernen’s belief that the Matadors can win this regional, despite the presence of No. 1-ranked Arizona State and defending NCAA champion Pepperdine, stems from their strong finish. After going 8-8 in April, “the cruelest month,” they have won eight of their last 11 games.

“You are who you are now,” he said. “Our struggles in April are behind us. If we put together four of our best games in a row, it gives us a chance to win this thing.

“It is a gamble, but we can’t win it any other way. The only way to win a regional is to fight your butt off.”

Second baseman Chris Olsen got the message.

“It’s gotta be intense,” he said. “We can’t be just happy to be here.”

Right-hander Marco Contreras (7-4, 4.30 earned-run average) will start for Northridge (34-18). St. John’s (25-18), the Big East tournament champion, will counter with left-hander Tom Danulevith (6-4, 4.73).

In other games today, Pepperdine (40-15) plays Big Ten Conference champion Minnesota (43-36) and Arizona State (42-18) meets George Mason (40-15).

Matador Notes

Catcher Mike Sims will have to adjust to an unfamiliar glove--a glove borrowed from Pepperdine--when the Matadors meet St. John’s in their NCAA West Regional opener today. Sims’ $135 catching glove, his backup glove, his bat, mask and shin guards, all of his uniforms, and the uniforms of reliever Evan Howland and bullpen catcher Matt Ornelaz, were stolen from the Northridge clubhouse late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Other equipment also was stolen. Mysteriously, the clubhouse was not broken into. Coach Bill Kernen believes a key was used because the door was relocked. The team could have been wiped out, but for reasons they cannot explain, all of the players except Sims, Howland and Ornelaz took their uniforms and equipment home Tuesday night. Usually, they leave everything in their lockers. Replacement uniforms are expected to arrive today by mail.