Northridge Hits Wall but Little Else

Scott Henderson took the mound braced for a beating. He left to cheers after a career-best performance.

After being fully apprised of Cal State Northridge’s recent slugging exploits, the USC right-hander silenced the Matadors’ bats in a 6-1 nonconference victory Tuesday at Dedeaux Field.

Henderson (2-1) allowed six singles in eight innings, striking out five and walking three.

“My teammates were comparing Northridge to the 1927 New York Yankees,” Henderson said. “They told me I wouldn’t get through the first inning. I just decided to go out and have fun.”

Not enjoying themselves in the slightest were the Matadors (19-3), who loaded the bases in the fourth and ninth innings but scored only on a double-play grounder by Eric Gillespie in the eighth.

“We were real flat,” said Gillespie, the Northridge third baseman. “It’s like we weren’t here. This wasn’t our team.

“Maybe this carried over from Sunday. We aren’t used to losing.”

Northridge had a 14-game winning streak snapped by Fresno State on Sunday, one day after setting a Division I record by hitting 13 home runs against the Bulldogs.

The Matadors brought a team batting average of .319 to USC, but faced a lineup every bit as impressive.

The Trojans (13-4), with eight players batting .400 or better, hit six doubles and a home run. Northridge starter Gary Stephenson (1-1) pitched out of several jams in six innings of work but he allowed two runs in the second, one in the third and two in the sixth.

A two-run homer in the sixth by Paul Cruz, the first of his two-year Trojan career, gave USC a 5-0 lead. That was plenty for Henderson, whose split-finger fastball gave the Matadors fits.

“We recognized that the Northridge hitters really are dangerous, they are not a fluke,” USC Coach Mike Gillespie said.

“But Scott did a great job. He got his fastball over the plate and kept the ball away from their left-handed hitters.”

The top four hitters in the Northridge lineup, all left-handers, managed only three singles--two by Robert Fick and one by Adam Kennedy.