No Party Favors at Northridge’s WAC Farewell Baseball Bash

Those college kids and their parties . . .

The raging farewell frolic the Cal State Northridge baseball team is throwing in its last season in the Western Athletic Conference is rolling thunder, lasting for weeks on end.

We’re talking three-day weekend binges. Have a blast on Friday. A blowout on Saturday. Wake up Sunday and finish with one more bash.

Midweek? Get that homework done because more fun and games are scheduled.

A logo atop news releases from the conference boasts of “The New WAC,” and proudly lists 17 members that include Southern Methodist, Texas Christian, Tulsa, Nevada Las Vegas, Rice and San Jose State, schools that will join the conference in July.

No mention of Northridge, a lame duck serving out its notice.

Yet scan the standings and notice who is on top, slam dancing on the competition. The guys with the logo of a caped crusader, Matadors one and all.

They are kissing this conference goodbye in style: 32 home runs in dashing to an 11-2 WAC record and first place with a three-game cushion.

Northridge (30-6 overall and ranked No. 5 in the nation) already has bolted past the victory total of last season’s 28-29 team.

At the halfway point of conference play, the Matadors have swept a three-game series at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and another at Cal State Sacramento, won two of three from San Diego State and Fresno State, and defeated Hawaii in the only game completed during a rain-drenched series.

But the Matadors weren’t drummed out of the WAC because they’ve gotten too good for their knickers. Actually, the decision has little to do with baseball. Beginning next fall the WAC will be restricted to schools that compete in the WAC in all sports. Northridge, without a Division I-A football team, can’t meet that requirement.

Never mind the logic. The Matadors are using the heave-ho for all the motivation they can. Thwack the WAC so the sting is felt long after Northridge is gone.

“If they don’t want us in the conference, we’ll leave them with some memories,” catcher Robert Fick said with a sly smile.

Truth be told, a WAC drawback should make Northridge indifferent about leaving the conference in baseball. Beginning this year, the WAC champion no longer gains an automatic berth in the regional playoffs.

“It’s become such a rough road that staying in the WAC is not something we were high on anyway,” Coach Mike Batesole said.

To secure the automatic bid, the Matadors must win the WAC Western Division, defeat the Eastern Division champion in a three-game playoff, then . . . catch your breath . . . defeat the West Coast Conference champion in a three-game playoff the NCAA is calling a “play-in” for no apparent reason.

And, oh, by the way, all playoff and play-in games would be on the road.

The nation’s top 18 conferences as determined by an NCAA power rating get automatic bids. The WAC ranks No. 19 and the WCC (Pepperdine should be the runaway champion) is No. 20.

“It’s a direct disrespect of West Coast baseball,” Batesole said.

In the absence of an automatic bid, the Matadors must rely on an at-large berth, which would be likely if they continue their torrid pace.

Batesole has put together a schedule next season based on his team being an independent. He believes it is Northridge’s toughest schedule ever--it includes weeklong tournaments at Fresno State and Hawaii--a plus when it comes to vying for an at-large regional bid.

“I think one year would be the maximum we won’t be in a conference,” he said. “We are not panicked, not worried. We can make it a good thing to be an independent. It makes it simpler to get into a regional, which is what it’s all about.”

In addition to the WAC, the WCC and the Big West Conference lately have undergone overhauls. Who knows what can open up a year from now?

One much-discussed scenario has Pacific moving from the Big West to the WCC, where most other private universities compete. That would open up a Big West spot for, say . . .

“I’ve talked to Big West coaches, and they say they want us in,” Batesole said. “But that hasn’t happened yet.”

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A preview to what is shaping up as a play-in series between Northridge and Pepperdine will take place April 9 in a nonconference game at Pepperdine.

Northridge defeated the Waves, 10-3, at Northridge two weeks ago, but the Matadors’ power advantage will be blunted at spacious Eddy D. Field Stadium.

Pepperdine, ranked No. 22, is 21-12 and 11-1 in the WCC. The play-in is hosted by the WCC champion.