Vargas Offers Enough Relief to Earn a Start : College baseball: Northridge right-hander impressive in 15-6 loss to Loyola, will join rotation for key series.

The hopefuls lined up for the audition and gave it their best shot. The mound was their stage. They wore eye black instead of grease paint.

Jason Vargas won the role.

Vargas, a junior right-hander, pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief Tuesday as Northridge was hammered by Loyola Marymount, 15-6, in a nonconference game at Page Stadium.

Nonetheless, there is a bigger picture: Namely, who gets the ball for Northridge in Saturday’s Western Athletic Conference game against Cal State Sacramento.

“Today, Vargas was the winner,” Coach Bill Kernen said. “So he starts Saturday. He pitched the best of the bunch.”

In what was essentially an open tryout for a spot in the team’s three-man weekend rotation, Vargas stepped forward. Two others fell into the orchestra pit. First baseman Jason Shanahan, making his fourth pitching appearance, started and was shelled.

“I’m here to hit,” said Shanahan, who gave up nine runs and 11 hits in 1 2/3 innings. “It’s an emergency thing. I don’t really want to be out there (on the hill), but if they want me to try it. . . .”

Shanahan (0-2) gave up five runs--including a grand slam by Andy Collett--before he recorded an out. Vargas took over in the second, and allowed one hit during his middle-relief stint.

Despite their 21-22 overall record, the Matadors are 9-6 in WAC games and trail West Division leader San Diego State by one-half game. Brian Vasey will start against Sacramento on Friday and Marco Contreras will start Sunday.

Vargas, who had been banged around the past few weeks, was clearly pleased that he will be given another opportunity to fill the void created when starters Keven Kempton and John Najar were injured.

“I had a more positive attitude,” said Vargas, a transfer from Valley College. “I was (upset) at my past few performances.”

The Matadors closed to within 9-5 on a two-run single by Kevin Howard in the sixth, but reliever Aaron D’Aoust couldn’t keep it close.

D’Aoust, who had been in the starting rotation, gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings to raise his earned-run average to 8.63.

Northridge tied a record for most losses in Kernen’s six-year tenure. The Matadors were 39-22 in 1990.

Loyola Marymount (18-26) turned four double plays to tie a school record.