Northridge Clutch Slips in 7-1 Loss

The search continues.

Maybe the side of a milk carton or post-office wall could be rented. But then the missing party would have to be described, which isn’t easy, either.

A clutch hit can look like a wounded duck, a frozen rope, a soaring home run. It can sound like plink , clank or plunk .

By both sight and sound, timely hits have been missing from the Cal State Northridge attack for three games, all defeats.

Same story Tuesday, when Northridge stayed within striking distance of USC for seven innings before the Trojans pulled away to win, 7-1, in a nonconference game at Dedeaux Field.

“That’s just the way it is when you’re struggling a bit,” Northridge Coach Bill Kernen said. “Nobody knows why, it’s just baseball. Bad vibes from the gods?”

Heavens yes, it was another frustrating day for the offense, which had a handful of chances to put the hurt on 13th-ranked USC. Before the Trojans (5-4) broke through with five runs in the seventh, the game was a coin toss.

With USC leading, 2-1, the Matadors (4-6) mounted a threat in the top of the seventh. With Chad Thornhill on second and two out, Tyler Nelson sent a grounder up the middle that seemed destined to tie the score.

However, shortstop Gabe Alvarez knocked down the ball behind the bag with a headfirst dive, forcing Thornhill to stop at third. Right-hander Javier Mejia (2-0), who relieved freshman starter Randy Flores with one out in the fifth, struck out Josh Smaler to end the threat.

An inning earlier, with Kevin Howard on first, designated hitter Eric Gillespie had Northridge’s most head-shaking at-bat. He first sent a screamer down the third-base line that peeled foul by two feet. A moment later, he lined a bullet to third baseman Aaron Boone, who fired to first to easily double up Howard.

“It was a good at-bat,” Gillespie said. “What can you say? We have to put all the pieces together.”

Northridge right-hander John Najar (1-2) put together his best effort of the season before the Trojans banged him around in the seventh. He gave up two runs on three hits in six innings, and one of USC’s runs scored on a wild pitch--Najar’s 10th in 22 innings this season.

He walked Walter Dawkins to open the seventh, gave up an infield single to Boone and balked the runners up a notch. J.P. Roberge, a St. Francis High graduate, singled home two runs for a 4-1 lead and scored one out later on a single by Alvarez.

“I felt fine physically,” said Najar, who was charged with seven earned runs on as many hits over 6 1/3 innings. “I guess they just caught up to me.”