Matador Baseball in 3-D

They form a three-pronged implement of production, a pitchfork poised to impale Cal State Northridge opponents and heave them onto a heap piled 33 high to date.

Scribbled on the Matador lineup card, from the top: Adam Kennedy, SS, . . . Eric Gillespie, 3B, . . . Robert Fick, C.

All three bat left, field right and do it correctly.

In leading Northridge to a 33-6 record and No. 5 national ranking, they have combined for a .417 batting average, 36 home runs, 136 runs batted in, 191 hits, 148 runs and 31 stolen bases.

Their numbers surpass those of any trio in the nation. Only Clint Bryant, Matt Kastelic and Dion Ruecker of Texas Tech (.408, 32 homers, 165 RBIs), Jeremy Giambi, Mark Kotsay and Steve Chatham of Cal State Fullerton (.414, 17, 119), and Jacque Jones, Greg Walbridge and Jeff Inglin of USC (.408, 20, 102) come close.

“It’s not Kennedy, Fick and Gillespie as individuals, it’s those three playing as one,” Northridge Coach Mike Batesole said. “It’s really been fun to watch. They share information with each other and with me. The other guys have picked up on it and it’s made for a totally unselfish environment.

“I don’t think any one of them would be doing as well without the other two.”

And the triumvirate knows how to win. On this game show, there’s a winner behind Matador No. 1, Matador No. 2 and Matador No. 3.

Kennedy played on the J.W. North High team that won a Southern Section Division II title in 1994; Gillespie’s Long Beach Millikan team won back-to-back Southern Section Division I titles in ’91 and ‘92; Fick, from Newbury Park High, played on the American Legion national champion Newbury-Oaks team in 1992.

Yet with all their success, these three don’t crowd one another.

“It could be that on a team like this, we could be competitive and strive for better stats than the other guy,” Fick said. “But it’s not like that at all. We wish the best for each other.”

Those wishes have become commands. As certainly as three strikes are an out and three outs are an inning, Kennedy, Gillespie and Fick deliver with their bats, gloves and voices.

“We hate losing to the point where we can’t sleep at night,” Gillespie said. “If we are losing, one of the three of us speak up.”

The loudest exclamation came a month ago against Fresno State when Kennedy, Gillespie and Fick slugged consecutive home runs in the second inning to trigger an outburst that resulted in Northridge belting an NCAA-record 13 homers in the game.

Power, however, is only part of their package. All three bunt for hits and steal bases. They are well-rounded offensive players, the result of hard work last fall.

All three were coming off solid 1995 seasons, but in order to become less vulnerable to left-handed pitchers, they focused on using the whole field, driving outside pitches to left.

“There were days in the fall they spent the entire practice hammering pitches to left field,” Batesole said.

The result? Northridge is unbeaten against left-handed pitchers and Kennedy, Gillespie and Fick have hit several opposite-field home runs.

“Batesole told us in the fall we would be at the top of the lineup and teams would throw their best left-handers against us,” Gillespie said. “He got us prepared way in advance.”

Even more preparation was devoted to defense. Here again, a huge payoff.

Fick, a rugged, limber catcher, has one passed ball and has thrown out 15 of 40 runners attempting to steal. Kennedy and Gillespie, starters in the outfield last season, swallow up balls hit to the left side of the infield.

That was not a given last fall, when Batesole laughed at the notion of Gillespie playing third, and assistant Chris Stevens had serious doubts about Kennedy’s ability at shortstop.

“I had to talk Mike into putting [Gillespie] at third,” Stevens said. “And at first, Kennedy was raw, stiff and unsure of himself.

“But they literally got better every day. They are sponges; they picked up everything they were taught.”

Now they are sponges of a different sort, picking up most balls hit their way and occasionally making spectacular plays.

The bases were nearly covered. Defense. Offense. The final piece in becoming complete players was developing leadership, something that comes naturally to the gregarious Fick but less so for the quieter Kennedy and Gillespie.

“I draw from all of them,” said senior pitcher Robert Crabtree, the Matadors’ ace with an 11-1 record. “They lead in their own ways and everyone sees that.”

Off the field, they are close friends. Kennedy and Gillespie share an apartment, and they often grab Fick for pickup basketball or marathon video game sessions.

“Any time something goes wrong, we are the first to call each other,” Kennedy said. “We stick together.”

Yet their three-part harmony includes a distressing refrain. Outside of Northridge, none have received the recognition they believe they’ve earned.

“I feel like I have gotten no respect and I feel the same way for Adam and Eric,” Fick said. “Those are the best players I’ve ever played with. We all feel that way.”

*

They would dearly love to try out in June for Team USA, which will compete in the Olympic Games in Atlanta. But so far their love is unrequited. Thirty of 40 invitations have gone out and none were mailed to Northridge.

The Matadors’ mediocre 28-29 record last season and absence from the regional playoffs since 1993 is blamed by Gillespie for the lack of recognition.

“People forgot about Northridge,” he said.

They could try out for Team USA on a walk-on basis, but Fick (6 feet 1, 190 pounds) and Gillespie (5-11, 200), juniors and draft-eligible, instead will turn their attention to professional baseball.

Fick is having a better year than the catchers invited to Team USA--Fullerton’s Brian Loyd, USC’s Chad Moeller and Stanford’s A.J. Hinch--but even less enamored by glittering statistics than Team USA officials are major league scouts.

Their job is to evaluate tools and project how a player will do in a professional environment, hitting with a wood bat and playing every day against other professionals.

Fick is batting .452, leads the nation with 71 hits and has been held hitless in only four of 39 games. Scouts project him as a line-drive hitter who uses the whole field and a savvy catcher whose arm is not yet up to major league standards.

“I see him making the big leagues as a guy with a good left-handed bat who can catch when somebody with a good pickoff move is on the mound,” said one American League scout. “The best things with Fick are that he is still growing and improving, and he is extremely motivated. He knows how to play.”

Gillespie is batting .379 with 13 homers and has hit .354 in his Matador career, but scouts are unsure of his defensive skills because he has played three positions in three years.

“How far Gillespie goes will be determined by how well he hits, and hitting is the hardest thing to project,” a National League scout said, adding that Gillespie’s best shot professionally is at catcher, where he played as a freshman.

A factor favoring both players is that this year’s crop of draftable players is considered weak. As for signability, let’s just say their pens are poised.

Fick, 22, was drafted last year in the 44th round by the Detroit Tigers and in 1992 after his senior year in high school by the Oakland Athletics in the 39th round. He never seriously considered signing.

“This time, I want to go no matter what,” he said. “One hundred per cent, I want to play pro ball after this season. I just want to go out and prove myself.”

Gillespie, 20, is an accomplished jazz pianist and a biology major who plans eventually to attend medical school. But all that takes a backseat to baseball.

“You never can tell with the draft and I’m not basing everything on it,” he said. “But I’ve wanted to play pro ball since I was 8 years old and now is the time to take the shot.”

To bone up for the pros, Gillespie played last summer in the Cape Cod League, hitting with a wood bat. Kennedy (6-feet, 180), who was most valuable player of the Alaskan League last summer, will go to Cape Cod this summer.

Kennedy, 20, batting .416 with 12 homers, must overcome similar skepticism next year. Although he already has developed into a first-rate college shortstop, some scouts believe he must move to second base as a pro because they doubt his arm strength.

*

The speculation about the draft and the Olympics leaves the three players frustrated because it is beyond their control.

Instead, they remain focused on this season, something very much in their control. Northridge is the surprise team of the nation, and should the success continue, notice will follow.

“Whether we win the conference, how we do in the regionals, that will determine what scouts really think about us,” Kennedy said. “For all three of us, going to the College World Series is our No. 1 goal.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

ADAM KENNEDY

Avg.: .416

Runs: 58

HR: 12

RBI: 50

Comment from Coach Batesole:

“He goes about every repetition of every drill as hard as he possibly can, so that by game time, where other guys have to turn it up a notch, he’s been going full speed anyway. This enables him to think about other ways to win, to focus on the little things, because he is already game-ready.”

ERIC GILLESPIE

Avg.: .379

Runs: 47

HR: 13

RBI: 40

Comment from Coach Batesole:

“He was a freshman All-American and he has gotten better each year, which is unusual for someone who started so strong. He’s a lot better athlete than some people think he is. The intelligence and class he projects make him somebody you are proud to have wearing the same uniform.”

ROBERT FICK

Avg.: .452

Runs: 43

HR: 11

RBI: 46

Comment from Coach Batesole:

“He is always there for other players on the team. He gives a lot of himself for this club and that is not such an easy thing to do. He has as much leadership to offer as any player I’ve seen. Some opposing players don’t like him because he is hard to beat, and that’s a compliment.”