Ramirez Lets Up to Down Cal Poly

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo geared up for the fastballs Northridge left-hander Erasmo Ramirez threw past them in a victory six weeks ago, but Ramirez downshifted Thursday with pitches slower and slowest to baffle SLO.

Ramirez struck out 10 and walked one while pitching the host Matadors to a 9-5 victory in a Western Athletic Conference game.

The Matadors (33-6, 12-2 in conference play) have won 11 in a row.

“My changeup was really on,” Ramirez said. “Coach told me that of 65 off-speed pitches I threw, 50 were strikes.”

The complete game was his first since beating Cal Poly, 5-1, on Feb. 23. Ramirez (8-1) has struck out 65 and walked 15 in 73 1/3 innings.

Northridge jumped on right-hander Mike Zirelli for two runs in the first on a two-run double by Grant Hohman and got five runs in the fourth on five hits to take a 7-0 lead.

In the fourth, a single by Jose Miranda and double by Kurt Airoso were followed by an RBI grounder by Casey Cheshier, a wild pitch, a single by David Stevenson and a two-run home run by Ryan Hurd.

The homer was the fifth for Hurd, a freshman whose 11-game hitting streak has coincided with the Matadors’ second-longest winning streak of the season. Northridge earlier won 14 in a row to tie a school record.

Two batters after Hurd’s blast, Eric Gillespie belted a long home run to right field.

Ramirez struck out seven in the first four innings before Cal Poly strung together five hits in the fifth to score three runs.

Airoso singled to score Hohman in the fifth and slugged a home run in the seventh to raise his average to .303 and give Northridge a 9-3 lead.

“A different guy seems to come through for us each day,” Coach Mike Batesole said. “It’s great to see.”

Cal Poly scored two in the ninth but Ramirez was never in serious trouble.

Matador Notes

Northridge received a verbal commitment Thursday from L.A. Baptist infielder John Wilson, who is batting .455. . . . Cal Poly right-hander Mike Lee, a senior from Thousand Oaks High, pitched the eighth inning and retired Eric Gillespie, Robert Fick and Grant Hohman after allowing a leadoff double to Adam Kennedy. Lee is 0-1 with a 3.67 earned-run average in 10 appearances.