Kempton, Northridge in Sync, 12-1

The good news Thursday for the Cal State Northridge baseball team was not that the Matadors hammered Cal State Los Angeles, 12-1.

The good news was how they did it.

Keven Kempton, whose right arm was surgically reconstructed last spring, made his second start of the season and pitched a masterful seven innings in the nonconference game at Matador Field.

“We’ve been looking for him to finally become a part of this team,” Northridge Coach Bill Kernen said. “That was the most encouraging thing. I really don’t have anything significant to say about the rest of it.”

The rest of it included 16 Northridge hits, three each by Jason Shanahan and Eric Gillespie, and a home run and triple by Jonathan Campbell. But all of that pales in comparison to Kempton’s performance.

In seven innings, Kempton gave up one unearned run and three singles. He struck out seven and walked one. He threw 82 pitches, 59 for strikes. His first pitch to 21 of the 27 batters he faced was a strike.

In Kempton’s first outing, last Thursday against Pepperdine, he threw 66 pitches in four innings and did not earn a decision.

“I haven’t felt this good in two years,” Kempton said. “Parts of my body are sore that haven’t been sore in two years. That’s a good sign.”

Kempton’s outing could not have come at a better time for the Matadors (10-6), who had lost six of their previous nine games. On Wednesday, Northridge led UCLA, 2-0, in the ninth but lost, 4-2.

Kempton also helped the Matadors snap a streak of nine games in which they allowed four or more runs.

“I feel very fortunate that I’ve worked hard in the off-season and now I can be a leader by example and not just by voice,” Kempton said.

“We need to learn to battle. . . . I think I exemplified that on the mound. I hope it carries over to everyone else. There is something inside you that can carry you to a higher level, and you just have to find it.”

The only inning in which Kempton was in trouble was the fourth. Two errors helped load the bases with none out, but Kempton struck out Brian Chwan, induced a run-scoring ground ball from Jon Cornelius and retired Randal Harris on a fly ball.

Kempton then set down nine of the next 11 batters before turning the game over to reliever Juan Velazquez, who retired six batters in a row.

The pitching overshadowed a busy day of offense for the Matadors, who scored in every inning after the third. Cal State Los Angeles (5-8) used five pitchers.

Shanahan, the Matadors’ slumping No. 3 hitter, lifted his average from .196 to .230 with a three-for-five performance. Gillespie had three singles and two runs batted in in six at-bats.

Catcher Robert Fick added a double and a triple in five at-bats. Cleanup hitter Andy Shaw was two for two with three walks.

Campbell, the No. 9 hitter who had not started in four games, had his first triple and his first home run, a three-run shot in the eighth.