Matadors Let Defense Down in 12-4 Defeat : College baseball: Northridge commits five errors, is all but eliminated from race in loss to Fresno.

Sooner or later.

Keyaan Cook said it. Bill Kernen echoed the thought.

After Friday night’s debacle, both would have preferred later, no question about it.

Cal State Northridge, playing with a patchwork defense, committed five errors--three in a nine-run inning--as Fresno State hammered the Matadors, 12-4, in a Western Athletic Conference West Division game before 4,142 at Beiden Field.

Northridge (25-28, 12-10 in conference play) must win the remaining two games of the series, the season finale for both teams, to have any shot at the West Division title and the NCAA playoffs.

The Matadors fell a game behind hard-charging Fresno State (34-23, 13-9) and two behind first-place San Diego State (34-22, 14-8)--which scored twice in the ninth to edge Cal State Sacramento, 8-7, Friday night.

Fresno State has won 13 of its last 14.

For most of the past three weeks, since an elbow injury to shortstop Chad Thornhill forced another lineup shuffle, the patchwork defense held up fairly well, all things considered.

This time, however, nothing went right. Cook, who before Thornhill’s injury hadn’t played shortstop since his senior season at Montclair Prep in 1990, committed three errors in the fourth inning as the Bulldogs scored a season-high nine runs.

Cook, normally a starter at second base, had only made one error at short in five starts since Thornhill’s injury.

“Sooner or later, it all sifts itself out,” said Kernen, the Northridge coach. “When you’re out of position, sooner or later the ball’s going to find you.”

Cook shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t ask for the assignment, but has been giving it best shot.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Cook said. “We don’t have a lot of options. I’ve been fielding pretty well all season without many problems.”

Right-hander Brian Vasey had allowed two hits entering the fourth, but in a precursor of the carnage to come, the defense made two errors behind him.

In the fateful, ignominious fourth, Fresno State sent 12 batters to the plate as the Bulldogs blotted out a 4-0 Northridge lead.

Matt Curtis, Noel Roberts and James Borges each doubled in the inning and Bryan Judice capped the rally with a monstrous two-run homer over the 400-foot sign in dead center. In all, the Bulldogs had six hits in the inning--four for extra bases--though five of the runs were unearned.

Vasey (1-3) allowed 11 runs, six earned, on 11 hits over 4 1/3 innings.

The fourth was deflating for more than the obvious. In addition to the errors, the Matadors also blew a four-run lead against one of the WAC’s toughest pitchers, ace right-hander Tommy Minor, who entered the game with an earned-run average of 2.60.

In fact, before Minor (11-4) recorded the second out, Northridge had rolled up 10 total bases to take a 4-0 lead.

Freshman Eric Gillespie opened the game with a double and Joey Arnold duplicated the feat to give the Matadors a 1-0 lead. After a groundout moved Arnold to third, he was doubled home on a 400-foot blast off the center-field fence by Cook.

Outfielder Josh Smaler ripped an opposite-field homer over the fence in right that landed among several dozen fans in the stadium’s picnic area.

However, Northridge managed only five hits after the first, two of which never left the infield.