Northridge Opens Tightly Bonded : Camaraderie Developed After Earthquake Could Benefit Softball Team in Title Quest

Togetherness. Coaches teach it and clergy preach it, but perhaps only a natural disaster can make it absolutely necessary.

Since the Jan. 17 earthquake, the Cal State Northridge softball team has been as together as is humanly possible. In fact, for about a week, a majority of Matador players lived under a single cracked ceiling--in the Reseda home of senior center fielder Jen Fleming.

“We were supposed to go to Big Bear for our bonding thing,” said Fleming, whose family was host to almost two dozen Northridge athletes. “Instead, the earthquake was our bonding.”

The trip to the mountains surely would have been more fun, but probably far less effective. The Matadors, an already confident group, say they have found a source of additional strength by becoming more of a family.

“There are hundreds of teams out there, but how many have gone through what we’ve been through?” said senior right fielder Terri Pearson. “There is a difference knowing I can count on my teammates not only in a softball situation, but also if I need a place to live or if I need food or if I’m scared and need somebody to talk to.

“Our team pulled together so much during the earthquake. You’ve never seen so much generosity.”

Northridge is likely to need the added boost because obstacles still abound. The Matadors, 48-9-1 last season, are at less than tip-top form as they open today with a doubleheader at Cal State Fullerton.

The earthquake drove many Northridge players from their homes and forced the team to lag far behind its training schedule. Several players have sore backs and arms, kinks that are normally worked out by now.

The Matadors not only are behind in practice time but also in practice space. Portable trailers that have been moved on campus as makeshift classrooms have been placed over a practice field adjacent to the softball diamond and batting cages.

Fleming expects the environment to actually add--someday--to Northridge’s home-field advantage.

“Teams are going to come in and see all this mess and they’re going to be all shook up,” she said. “Once we get used to it, we’ll be fine.”

For now, the conditions are yet another inconvenience.

Northridge, which was ranked second in the nation much of last season, should have its best-ever team. The Matadors are rated between third and sixth in preseason polls and have six regulars, plus their entire pitching staff, returning.

Beth Calcante and Scia Maumausolo, the school’s first Division I softball All-Americans, should provide plenty of offense. Calcante, a senior outfielder, is the school’s home run leader with 25 in her career. She is coming off a season in which she batted .343 with 12 homers and 51 runs batted in. Maumausolo batted .307 with seven homers and 28 RBIs as a freshman.

Fleming, the Matadors’ leadoff hitter, batted .294 with 20 RBIs and scored 27 runs. Tamara Ivie, another senior, batted .288, slugged nine home runs and led the Matadors with a .393 on-base percentage.

Northridge’s pitching staff has a pair of top right-handers, Kathy Blake and Amy Windmiller, in addition to a solid ace in the hole, Jennifer Richardson.

A trio of pitchers, and three different looks.

Blake, who was 22-3, keeps the ball down and away. Windmiller, who struck out an average of one batter per inning while posting a 19-6 record, throws a nasty rise pitch. Richardson, who won her only seven decisions, keeps batters guessing with off-speed pitches.

“I’m in a great spot,” said Coach Gary Torgeson, who plans to use Richardson more often to keep Blake and Windmiller fresh. “I have three pitchers I have a lot of confidence in.”

The only changes on defense are at catcher and second base. Maumausolo, the designated hitter last season, takes over at catcher. Ivie, a first-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection at first base, moves over to second.

Kelly Hunt, a transfer from Cal State Fullerton, is the first baseman, and her understudy, Kelli Koens, will serve as designated hitter.

Ivie is a step slower than her predecessor, Denise Swank, but she is smart and played well at second for a top amateur team last summer. She also has approached the switch with a positive attitude.

“If we’re going to win with me at second base, fine,” Ivie said. “I don’t care where I play as long as we win.”

Maumausolo is not a fast runner, but she has a strong arm, deceptively quick hands and is an intimidating presence behind the plate.

Hunt, who has hurt Northridge in the past with extra-base hits, provides additional batting pop.

“We have even more power than we did last year,” said Torgeson, whose club hit an NCAA-record 40 home runs in 1993.

Returning to their positions are shortstop Vicky Rios, third baseman Shannon Jones, left fielder Calcante, center fielder Fleming and Pearson, the right fielder.

“This team is good enough to win a national championship,” Torgeson said. “They’re confident enough, they’re experienced enough. We have the pitching and we have the hitting.”

The Matadors had all of the above last season too, but lost two of three games in the World Series. In the elimination game, Northridge was no-hit by UCLA All-American Lisa Fernandez.

“We stopped hitting at a bad time,” Torgeson said.

During the upcoming season, Northridge has a WAC championship to defend on its way to what the Matadors hope will be a second chance for a national championship.

Torgeson genuinely seems more concerned about reaching the playoffs than he is about how his team will perform should it get there.

The Matadors play their first 19 games away from their home diamond--10 against highly regarded teams.

“We’re behind, but if any team is capable of pulling through all this, it’s this team,” Torgeson said. “They know they’re good and they have a good healthy outlook on what they can do. They’re cocky. Nothing bothers them.”

Rather, nothing compares to what they already have been through.

Or, as Pearson put it, “Let’s put it in perspective: If we can survive an earthquake, regroup, and put our lives back together like we have, we can win a national championship.”