CSUN’s Crabtree Gives USC Splitting Headache, 4-2

Such a cute little name. Innocuous, almost.

Such a nasty result.

Right-hander Rob Crabtree calls it a “splitty,” which is shorthand for split-finger fastball. For fourth-ranked USC, side-splitting it wasn’t.

Crabtree struck out 12 and allowed seven hits as unranked Cal State Northridge upset the Trojans, 4-2, Tuesday at USC’s Dedeaux Field.

In his first start for Northridge, Crabtree, a junior from Cypress College, was close to masterful. He threw 126 pitches, walked one and allowed one earned run. Even Crabtree was a somewhat taken aback by his performance.

“The splitty usually breaks straight down,” he said with a shrug. “Today it went low and out, too.”

Down and out went the Trojans, who started All-American left-hander Randy Flores in their season opener. Flores and Crabtree were close to perfect for half the game. Flores, a sophomore, allowed one hit over five innings while Crabtree allowed two hits through six and fanned six of seven batters in one stretch.

When crunch time arrived in the eighth, Crabtree had enough in reserve to muster the game’s biggest strikeout. With two out, runners at first and third and Northridge holding a 4-2 lead, up stepped junior All-American shortstop Gabe Alvarez.

Alvarez already had struck out twice. With another All-American, outfielder Geoff Jenkins, standing in the on-deck circle, Alvarez whiffed again. Splitty.

“That was just one on one,” Crabtree said. “Me and him.”

To frame the moment, consider that Alvarez struck out only 16 times in 236 at-bats last season.

Flores finally wobbled in the seventh, when Northridge (3-0) scored three times to take a 4-0 lead. It was a typical Northridge rally--wild, weird and crudely effective.

With runners at the corners and nobody out, Adam Kennedy dropped a bunt in front of the plate and pinch-runner Jonathan Campbell bolted home from third. Halfway there, Campbell hit the brakes and got caught in a Keystone Kops rundown. Third baseman Derek Baker missed the tag, accidentally stepped on Campbell’s leg and then fired toward second in an attempt to nail Eric Gillespie.

Campbell, who was initially supposed to wait until the bunt was past the mound before breaking for home, scored easily.

“I kind of messed up,” Campbell said. “I was lucky in a skillful way, I guess.”

Flores was yanked and shortstop Chad Thornhill greeted reliever Scott Henderson with a run-scoring single and Kevin Milligan followed with a sacrifice fly to hand Northridge its four-run lead.

Though Crabtree gave up a pair of runs on three hits in the bottom of the seventh--partly attributable to his throwing error--he had more than enough to finish what he started.

“We haven’t had anybody throw that pitch like that in a long time,” Northridge Coach Bill Kernen said. “The splitter was outstanding.”