For Visitors, a Deep Hole in the Road : College baseball: Northridge, with psychological edge of a woeful facility, hopes to parlay home-field advantage into a conference title.

One national periodical called Cal State Northridge’s baseball facility the worst in NCAA Division I.

The outfield wall at Matador Field is made of cinder block. Two different colors, no less.

There’s a black high-top tennis shoe sitting on top of the home dugout that’s been there so long it’s starting to crack and fade.

The home clubhouse looks like a railroad boxcar. In several places, duct tape holds what’s left of the carpet to the cement floor. There is no carpet in the visitors’ clubhouse, because there is no visitors’ clubhouse.

Last year, Hawaii believed the Matadors’ home-field advantage was more like a mine-field advantage. When the Rainbows showed at Matador Field and looked around, the players weren’t at all shocked. They figured a bus would be taking them to the real field when warm-ups concluded.

“They asked if it was our practice field,” Northridge outfielder Jonathan Campbell said. “We said, ‘Uh, no.’ ”

The Rainbows weren’t exactly enamored of the lumpy field conditions. After the series opener, a Hawaii infielder showed the next day wearing a mouthpiece.

“I think he went a little too far,” Campbell said.

Northridge pushed Hawaii further and swept the three-game series. But that was last year.

If a fourth postseason berth in as many seasons of Division I competition awaits, Northridge (9-10) must first take care of business at home. The Matadors open Western Athletic Conference West Division play at 2 p.m. today with a key series against the conference-favorite Rainbows.

For obvious seismological reasons, Northridge recently renamed the school gym The Epicenter. Suggested change for the baseball field: Decrepicenter. But be it ever so humble, there’s no place like. . . .

“(Winning at home) is a prerequisite,” Coach Bill Kernen said. “You have to do the job at home to have a chance.”

The three-game series with Hawaii, ranked 24th in the nation by Collegiate Baseball, gives Northridge a chance to prove its mettle at the opening gun. It’s time to get those home fires burning, or the season might be toast.

Because of the way the Matadors struggled during nonconference play, Kernen figures the only way the team will qualify for an NCAA regional is by winning the overall conference title. The winner receives an automatic NCAA bid.

Chances of an at-large bid are slim because Northridge is 1-6 against nationally ranked competition, Kernen said.

Despite its record and ranking, Hawaii (14-6) may be ripe for the picking. The Rainbows have yet to play a game on the mainland. Northridge played 17 of its first 19 on the road.

Last year, Northridge finished behind Fresno State in the five-team WAC West and the Bulldogs recorded a division-high 10 victories at home. Northridge won nine home games--and finished tied for second with Cal State Sacramento.

Kernen predicts that a record of 15-9 would be good enough to win the title, and that the conference race will be so tight, “probably four games will separate the top (team) from the bottom.”

Northridge, which has won five of its last seven, is a respectable 8-9 on the road. Since baseball is the most stat-happy of sports, here’s some quick math: If the Matadors again win nine WAC home games and continue to play at a .500 pace on the road over the 24-game conference season, Kernen hits his mark of 15-9.

Entering the week, four of five WAC West Division members had winning percentages of .500 or better. Hawaii is considered the favorite; no other WAC team is ranked nationally.

The Rainbows are followed by San Diego State (13-6), Cal State Sacramento (9-7), Northridge (9-10) and Fresno State (7-11).

It’s a free-for-all.

“We don’t stand head and shoulders above anybody,” Kernen said. “And neither does anybody else.”