CSUN Lands in Hitters’ Paradise

Cal State Northridge finally gets to play in a real hitter’s park.

OK, stifle the laughs. The Matadors are plenty used to watching the ball jump out of their ballpark on a breezy day.

But Matador Field is a pitcher’s paradise compared to Brigham Young’s Cougar Field, where Northridge begins a best-of-three series for the Western Athletic Conference championship today at 2 p.m. The dimensions are short, plus the field is 4,500 feet above sea level.

Lofty altitude makes for lofty statistics. Northridge (45-14), the Western Division champion, is rightfully proud of its .312 team batting average, 98 home runs and 8.4 runs per game average. But Eastern Division champion BYU (37-17) is batting .355 with 106 home runs, and averages 9.8 runs.

Northridge’s Robert Fick, Adam Kennedy and Eric Gillespie have combined for 51 home runs and 195 runs batted in.

BYU’s team earned-run average is 6.19 and the ERA of opponents is 8.66. Cougar pitchers have allowed 535 hits and 363 runs in 419 innings.

The Cougars (25-6) have two left-handers, one of whom, Tom Gatten, will start today. Gatten is 3-3 with a 5.91 ERA, having allowed 67 hits in 53 1/3 innings.

Northridge counters with two of the best starting pitchers in the nation. Left-hander Erasmo Ramirez, who will start today, is 12-1 with a 2.79 ERA and 80 strikeouts and 20 walks in 103 1/3 innings. The sophomore has a seven-game winning streak.