Contreras Escapes at UCLA : College baseball: Northridge pitcher, in process of blowing four-run lead in ninth, finds himself and holds on for 7-5 victory.

You are under my spell. Your eyelids are feeling heavy. Uh, but your arm isn’t.

Cal State Northridge pitcher Marco Contreras was wobbling noticeably when Coach Bill Kernen came out to work on his noggin Friday at UCLA.

Contreras was in the process of blowing a four-run lead in the top of the ninth inning.

Two runs had scored and the go-ahead run was at the plate when Kernen sauntered out to give his pitcher a brief lecture in comparison and contrast.

An inning earlier, Contreras had retired the Bruins on nine pitches, with two strikeout.

“You mean to tell me you’re not the same person you were in the eighth?” Kernen said.

Contreras got the message and served up a game-ending double play on the next pitch and Northridge escaped with a 7-5 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Comparison and contrast. . . . Last week, the senior right-hander gave up eight earned runs in a dismal 9-8 loss to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Against the Bruins, however, Contreras (1-1) was a different pitcher.

Staked to a 5-0 lead, he bulled his way through the UCLA lineup. He challenged every hitter and often got away with it. He finished with 10 strikeouts and allowed three earned runs on nine hits.

“I was going right at ‘em,” Contreras said. “When you have a five- or six-run lead, even if they hit it out, it’s only a run.”

Northridge designated-hitter Eric Gillespie hit one out and then some. In the bottom of the first--Northridge was officially the home team--the freshman ripped a three-run homer to right for a 3-0 lead.

Northridge (1-3) added two runs in the second.

With runners at second and third and none out, shortstop Chad Thornhill and outfielder Joey Arnold sent groundouts to the right side to drive in runs.

Just to prove it was no fluke, with runners in the same position in the fourth and Northridge leading, 5-2, Thornhill and second baseman Keyaan Cook each drove in runs on groundouts to re-establish the five-run lead.

Comparison and contrast. . . . UCLA (1-2) had runners at second and third with none out in the seventh, but Contreras retired the Nos. 3-4-5 hitters--allowing only one run on a groundout--to escape with a 7-3 lead.

“It was a good turnaround for (Contreras) as an individual,” Kernen said. “He had much better stuff this time.”

But it almost wasn’t enough.

Trailing in the ninth, 7-3, the Bruins started ripping liners. Zak Ammirato reached base on a throwing error by first baseman Jason Shanahan to open the inning, but the defense squared its account when shortstop Thornhill stole a hit on an acrobatic, backhanded catch of David Roberts’ liner.

Contreras, who had allowed only six hits, surrendered a double to Brett Schafer and run-scoring singles to Mike Mitchell (Rio Mesa High) and Chris Lohman (Notre Dame) as UCLA closed to 7-5.

However, catcher Tim DeCinces--whose father Doug was a major league third baseman--ended it on the next pitch by sending a double-play grounder to Cook at second.

Comparison and contrast. . . . Sophomore right-hander John Mitchell (0-1) took the loss, allowing seven runs in three innings.

Mitchell pitched five innings in an alumni game Sunday at UCLA against former Bruins such as Eric Karros, Todd Zeile, Sean Berry, Torey Lovullo and Ryan McGuire. He allowed one run on three hits.

Matador Notes

The cinder-block outfield wall at Matador Field, a longtime nemesis of outfielders, will be torn down because of earthquake damage. The wall will be replaced by an eight-foot chain-link fence, hopefully in time for next Saturday’s scheduled home opener against Cal State Fullerton.