Northridge Gets as Good as It Gives : College baseball: Matadors score nine runs, but Cal State Sacramento goes four better.

Even the relatively uninitiated can figure out what’s happening with Cal State Northridge.

Left-hander Mike Eby pitches for Cal State Sacramento, which has beaten the Matadors in four of five games. Based on head-to-head play and scores from other Western Athletic Conference games, the trend becomes obvious.

“It seems like Northridge always scores a lot of runs,” Eby said. “But they seem to give up a lot too.”

And that describes Saturday’s game in a nutshell. Sacramento racked up eight extra-base hits and buried Northridge, 13-9, in a WAC game at Matador Field.

“You can’t play baseball with brutal pitching,” Northridge Coach Bill Kernen said. “Actually, you can, but you won’t win.”

No doubt about it, Northridge’s pitching staff took another step backward. Starter John Najar (4-5) allowed six earned runs over 2 2/3 innings and freshman Erasmo Ramirez allowed two runs in an inning of relief--which is significant for one reason: After the pair were banged around, Northridge (19-19, 6-8 in the WAC) was left with one pitcher on its active roster carrying an earned-run average under 5.00.

Sacramento (18-20, 8-9) had 17 hits and has scored 13 or more runs in three of five games against Northridge. Who hasn’t?

The Matador staff, with an overall ERA of 5.89, has allowed 98 runs in 122 innings of conference play--a stomach-churning ERA of 7.23.

The outcome wasn’t remotely as close as the score would indicate. Eby (6-4) held the Matadors to three runs on seven hits over eight innings and struck out 10. By the time a reliever was inserted to start the ninth, Sacramento led, 13-3.

Eby, a Westlake High graduate who also played at UCLA and Pierce College, kept it interesting by issuing seven walks. “Without the walks, I probably cruise for the whole nine,” he said. “With ‘em, I had to battle for eight.”

Northridge took a standing eight-count in the third.

With his team already trailing, 2-0, Najar gave up three extra-base hits, including a three-run triple by outfielder Brian King. A hit batsman, wild pitch and an error aided the six-run rally.

Najar, who like fellow senior rotation member Keven Kempton suffered a season-ending arm injury in 1994, hasn’t found a groove.

“They just haven’t come back,” Kernen said. “I said before the season that we needed those two guys healthy, plus for one of the freshmen to step up. Not only have we not had that happen, we haven’t had any of the three happen.”

Northridge scored six in the ninth, including home runs by Eric Gillespie and Robert Fick, and Jason Shanahan homered in the fifth.

With the way teams are teeing off against his staff, Kernen could not care less.

“Pitching is to baseball what putting is to golf,” Kernen said. “Shanahan hit one 300 yards right down the middle, and so did Gillespie and Fick.

“Who cares? If you can’t putt, you can’t win.”