COLLEGE BASEBALL PREVIEW : Experts Make Northridge Climb the Charts Again

Cal State Northridge Coach Bill Kernen calls his players a collection of “no-names.”

Heck, he’ll even go a step further.

“Bunch of mutts,” he said, grinning.

To be sure, the roster is not littered with recognizable names. No preseason All-Americans or can’t-miss pro prospects.

Often as not, it’s been that way during Kernen’s five previous years at the school. Usually, there’s more bite in his team than bark.

Need proof? Only two teams from the Southland have qualified for NCAA Division I postseason play in each of the past three seasons--Pepperdine and an overachieving team from Northridge. What’s more, the Matadors have been playing at the Division I level for only three seasons.

Even Matador Field gets no respect. Last year, a national baseball publication called the Northridge facility the worst in Division I.

Fast fact: Only four current Northridge players have been selected in the June amateur draft, none before the 50th round.

Bow-wow wow, eh?

Emphasis on the wow. These guys win anyway.

“It’s not a team of guys who are gonna be drafted in the first, second or third round,” pitcher Keven Kempton said. “At least, not right now.”

Considering the abundance of new faces and the exodus of big bats, it might take Northridge time to get warmed up heading into today’s opener at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Northridge last season tied for second in the Western Athletic Conference West Division at 13-11, two games behind Fresno State. The Matadors, who were 36-20 overall, earned an at-large berth in the West I Regional at Tempe, Ariz., where they split four games and were eliminated.

Baseball America magazine picked Northridge to finish third in the WAC West behind Hawaii (34-25 in 1993) and Fresno State (41-22). The publication did not include Northridge among its preseason top 25.

Said Kernen: “I don’t put much stock in those things. They’re historically inaccurate.”

It is accurate to say that Northridge lost a ton of key contributors to graduation. Gone are outfielder Greg Shepard (.345 average, 11 home runs, 64 runs batted in), third baseman Andy Small (.332, 20, 66), four-year starting catcher Mike Sims (.338, seven, 42), infielder Chris Olsen (.293, seven, 41 runs) and shortstop Andy Hodgins (.328, three, 31). Collectively, the group accounted for 62% of the team’s RBIs in 1993.

“Some of the players who were in more of a supporting role last year are going to have to raise it a notch,” Kernen said.

If they don’t reach that plateau, the team might level off. Of the returning Matadors, the offensive load likely will fall on the shoulders of second baseman Keyaan Cook, first baseman Jason Shanahan and outfielders Joey Arnold and Jonathan Campbell.

Shanahan, a junior from Missoula, Mont., hit .271 with five homers and 35 RBIs. Cook, a senior from Montclair Prep, batted .306 and hit seven home runs. Campbell, a fleet junior from Poly, hit .257 with no homers and 15 RBIs in 101 at-bats. Arnold, a senior from Reseda High and Pierce College, hit .264 with four homers and 30 RBIs.

The rest of the starting lineup? Some comes from without, little from within.

A pair of junior transfers from Bullard High and Fresno City College, shortstop Chad Thornhill and power-hitting outfielder Kevin Howard--also a possible designated hitter--are expected to start. Eric Gillespie, a freshman from Millikan High in Long Beach, replaces Sims at catcher, and Pierce College transfer Josh Smaler is a candidate for an outfield berth.

First baseman Andy Shaw, a sophomore from College of the Canyons and the 1993 Western State Conference player of the year, is out for the season because of a knee injury, which won’t help boost Matador run production either.

Shaw batted .405 with 12 homers and 51 RBIs, winning the WSC’s triple crown while leading Canyons to the conference title last spring.

Yet, even if the regulars don’t find the offensive groove, it might not matter much. Northridge has a trio of solid right-handers in its starting rotation. In fact, six of the team’s eight pitchers who saw action in 1993 are back.

The core of the staff are starters Kempton, Marco Contreras and John Najar, who collectively posted a record of 23-10 and an earned-run average of 4.44. Kempton, a senior transfer from East L.A. College, is one of the WAC’s top returning starters. He was 10-4 with an ERA of 3.99 and walked only 32 batters in 119 2/3 innings.

“As a pitching staff, we’re pretty excited,” Kempton said. “We’ll carry the load over the short term if we have to. These guys (offensively) are good, they just don’t know it yet.”

Contreras, a senior transfer from Citrus College, finished 8-4 and led the team with 122 innings pitched, a 3.98 ERA, 82 strikeouts and 17 appearances. He set a single-season Matador record by tossing three shutouts in ’93 and didn’t allow an earned run in February.

Kempton and Contreras combined for a 7-3 record against nationally ranked competition. Najar, used primarily in relief last season as a sophomore, had an ERA of 3.71 in WAC play.

OK, so the roster isn’t chock full of nationally feared movers and shakers, but the Matadors might nonetheless make a name for themselves. They usually do.

“I think we can be a very, very good team,” Kempton said. “We have a chance to put Northridge on the map--without the word ‘earthquake’ written after it.”