2 Matadors Miss Out on Home Games

Chad Thornhill and John Najar have more in common than their disabled right arms.

Najar, out for the season with a broken bone in his forearm, and Thornhill, sidelined indefinitely with a broken bone in his elbow, both won’t play in this weekend’s sink-or-swim Western Athletic Conference series at Fresno State.

Both know the territory, too.

Najar attended Fresno State for two years before transferring to Northridge in 1992-93. Thornhill, who played high school and junior college ball in Fresno, played several all-star and summer-league games on Fresno State’s Beiden Field.

For Thornhill, so much for playing before family and friends.

“Shoot, I wouldn’t have minded if they’d booed me,” Thornhill said. “Just to hear them (at all).”

For Najar, so much for getting even. He pitched 3 2/3 innings in two years wearing a Bulldog uniform. What’s more, Najar is 0-2 against Fresno State since he became a Matador.

“Guess I’ll just have to beat them next year,” Najar said.

Najar and Thornhill are juniors. Outfielder Kevin Howard, who also played his high school and junior college ball in Fresno, is expected to start.

Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Northridge is tied with Fresno State in WAC West Division play at 12-9, one game behind San Diego State. Northridge needs to win the divisional title to keep alive any hopes of a fourth NCAA playoff berth in as many seasons at the Division I level.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE

A Painful Walk

Najar wasn’t exactly impressed when he heard the news of Cincinnati Reds’ pitcher Tom Browning’s injury.

Browning broke his arm while throwing a pitch over the weekend. Najar broke his right arm, now encased in a cast, a month ago while throwing a pitch.

“That’s the big leagues for you,” Najar cracked. “They carry Browning off on a stretcher. I had to walk off on my own.”

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Quotebook--From former Cal State Northridge infielder Andy Hodgins, a product of Simi Valley High: “They retired my number at Simi. Of course, it was also worn by (Chicago White Sox reliever Scott) Radinsky.”

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Brian Vasey sounded a tad envious.

The Northridge utility whiz, drafted into duty as a pitcher because of injuries to several teammates, was the losing pitcher in last week’s 13-1 defeat to Cal State Fullerton.

Fullerton used four pitchers--including a freshman to start the game--and each looked strong enough to go the distance.

“They’re not like us (having to use position players),” Vasey said. “I’m sure they had a few more guys they could have used, too.”

In three games against Fullerton, the Matadors scored six runs.

JUNIOR COLLEGES

Playing Through

College of the Canyons golf Coach Gary Peterson will be delighted when Caltrans finishes repairs to the earthquake-damaged stretch of the Golden State Freeway near Valencia.

With easier access to the campus, Peterson figures he can attract more players for next season. This year began with a good nucleus, but the ranks diminished because of difficulties some players faced in getting to the school.

“I know I lost three players directly and it was really tough for another (to get to the school),” Peterson said. “Hopefully, the reopening of the freeway (scheduled for next week) will make it more enticing for the players to come here.”

This season, Canyons slipped to third in the Western State Conference with a 12-8 record after winning the state title in 1993, and did not qualify for the Southern California regional.

“(The freeway) might have had an impact but I don’t want to use it as an excuse,” Peterson said. “But simply to lose the numbers (of players) didn’t help our program.”

Two freshmen, Julio Cano from Kennedy High and Glen Musser from Alemany High, started with the team on Feb. 1 but dropped out when the commuting began to wear them down. Cano and his family have since moved to Las Vegas.

“At times they would car-pool, but sometimes they would spend 1 1/2 hours on the road, sometimes just one way,” Peterson said. “Glen stuck it out a little longer, but it became really difficult.”

Another freshman, Paul Muniz from Granada Hills High, was able to complete the season and averaged 80.4 strokes.

CAL LUTHERAN

Playoff Snub

Coach Keisha Davis says she is frustrated, and who can blame her?

Cal Lutheran’s softball team did not receive an invitation to the NCAA Division III softball playoffs despite a 29-8 record, 23-1 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

“I just didn’t know what (the NCAA selection committee) wants us to do,” Davis said. “The girls were heartbroken.”

Cal Lutheran had more victories than 12 of the 24 playoff teams and fewer losses than 13 of them.

The playoff teams all come from locales north and east of Iowa. The two regionals that included “western” teams had four teams from Iowa, two from Minnesota and another from Illinois.

Davis was told by one NCAA official that Cal Lutheran was the victim of a soft schedule. Although the Regals were ranked 18th in the final Division III poll, the team’s “power rating” was weak.

At first, Davis blamed herself. But then she considered the obvious--under the circumstances, Cal Lutheran’s schedule could not have been tougher.

The school’s budget doesn’t allow the team to travel to the Midwest, small-college softball’s hotbed. Nor can the school afford to pay for opponents to come play at Cal Lutheran.

“We’re getting penalized because of our (financial) limitations,” Davis said. “What can we do but say, ‘We had a wonderful season’ and try to figure out what we can do next year to get in?”

For its part, the SCIAC is going through the annual formality of filing paperwork so that its champion might receive an automatic invitation to the playoffs.

Another possibility, according to Davis, is that several Southland schools will band together to hold a spring tournament and will invite several of the nation’s top small-college teams to take part.

Cal Lutheran should be even stronger next season. Outfielders Laree Reynolds and Deborah Clements are the only two Regal regulars who are seniors.

Around the Campuses . . .

* Five Cal Lutheran regulars batted better than .400 during the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball season. Reynolds led the contingent, batting at a .493 clip. She was followed by Heidi Stevens at .479, Tracy Little at .476, Shani Smyth at .470 and Aimee Snider at .439. In 24 conference games, the Regals batted .387 while their opponents were limited to a .211 average.