Northridge Goes Without a Fight, 9-0 : College baseball: But Matadors show some fire after the game, scuffling among themselves in the wake of Rivera’s five-hit shutout.

The plot thins.

The clean-up hitter was benched for disciplinary reasons, a scuffle broke out among teammates after the game, Cal State Northridge rolled a zero at home for the second time in six years and set a record for single-season defeats over the same span.

And it could get worse.

“These guys are going to blow out the negatives in everything (statistically) before this year is over,” Coach Bill Kernen said. “We’re seeing a lot of things that have never been seen around here before.”

What the Matadors didn’t see Friday were runs. Right-hander Willie Rivera pitched a five-hitter as Cal State Sacramento trounced Northridge, 9-0, in a Western Athletic Conference game at Matador Field.

Rivera, a junior transfer from Valley College, recorded only the second shutout of the Matadors at Northridge in Kernen’s six-year tenure.

The Matadors fell to 21-23, setting a single-season record for defeats under Kernen, who has led the team to three consecutive NCAA Division I playoff berths. Any chance for a fifth consecutive postseason trip for the Matadors--who fell to 9-7 in WAC West Division play--is slipping away by the hour.

Several of Rivera’s former Valley coaches and teammates watched him strike out seven, walk three and generally waltz through the Matador lineup.

His mother, Ive, also attended the game, marking the first time she’d seen her son pitch since the sixth grade. Nice timing, Mom. Rivera (3-4), a graduate of Burbank High, allowed hits to the first two batters, three thereafter and none beyond the fourth inning.

All this from a guy who is listed at 5-foot-9 in the Sacramento (21-20, 8-8) program. Ain’t so, Rivera said.

“I’m barely breaking 5-8,” Rivera said with a grin. “ No way I’m 5-9.”

Nonetheless, Northridge has giant problems, which isn’t exactly news.

While meeting in left field for the team’s customary postgame talk, frustration boiled over when pitcher Marco Contreras and third baseman Tyler Nelson had to be separated.

As the scuffle erupted, Kernen seemed equal parts embarrassed and upset. After several players fired pieces of equipment and apparel around the dugout, he quieted the team with a verbal blast.

“The only emotion we show the whole day was directed against ourselves,” Kernen said. “That sums up the whole deal.”

Not quite. Clean-up hitter Keyaan Cook, batting .321, was benched for skipping class and arriving late to practice. Seldom-used Steve Moreno, batting .083, took over for Cook at second base.

“I won’t compromise the basic requirements it takes to play here,” Kernen said. “We’ll continue to do this on my terms, win or lose.”