CSUN’s Dream Year Ends

Adam Kennedy led off the first inning with one of his patented drives to the opposite field, but unlike his three homers in earlier West Regional games, this one died short of the wall and was caught.

Kennedy and his Cal State Northridge teammates continued to fall short for nine innings, hitting a wall of fatigue brought on by playing two games the night before and falling to Florida State, 9-2, Sunday before 1,527 at Sunken Diamond.

The Seminoles (51-15), 4-0 in the regional, will advance to the College World Series beginning Friday in Omaha, Neb., for the 15th time and third year in a row.

Northridge (52-18) ended its finest season in uncharacteristic fashion, committing seven errors and mustering only three hits against two Seminole pitchers. After losing their regional opener, the Matadors had won three in a row, including one-run victories over Mississippi State and Stanford on Saturday night.

“I’d like to say that we weren’t feeling any effects, but I was feeling yesterday a little bit today,” Northridge third baseman Eric Gillespie said.

Their emotional hangover was not helped by falling behind, 5-0, in the first. Five of the first six Seminole batters hit singles against right-hander Gary Stephenson (4-3), and Northridge outfielders made poor throws on several of the hits.

“The main problem in the first inning lies with me,” Coach Mike Batesole said. “I didn’t have them as prepared as I should have. I’ll take the heat for that one.”

The Matadors made three errors in the inning, which did not end until left-hander Nathan Rice came on to record the final two outs. Rice held down Florida State, allowing one run over the next six innings.

A two-run home run by Casey Cheshier in the seventh was all the offense Northridge could muster, however. A single by Jose Miranda in the second and a bunt single by Robert Fick in the fourth were the only other hits.

Left-hander Steve Morgan (12-3), 2-0 in the regional, allowed two runs in six-plus innings and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Mark Chavez relieved after Cheshier’s home run and allowed no hits the rest of the way.

Florida State extended a 6-2 lead with three in the ninth off three Matador relievers. A pinch-single by Jeremiah Klosterman drove in the final two runs.

Northridge loaded the bases on three walks in the ninth, but Chavez struck out Kurt Airoso for the final out. Chavez, a hard-throwing right-hander, struck out eight and only one of the 13 batters he faced hit a fair ball.

“This was a tough way to end a really good year,” said Batesole, a first-year coach. “This is my first group of players, but I don’t know if I will ever be prouder of a team. Those 52 victories will stand out in our minds for a long time.”

Northridge set or tied 41 school and individual single-season records, including marks for victories and winning percentage.

“Those are things we’ll remember forever,” said pitcher Robert Crabtree, who made his fourth appearance in the five regional games. “I wish things turned out differently; it hurts to end it like this. But our team played with a lot of heart.”

Kennedy and Fick were named to the all-tournament team. Kennedy was 13 for 23 with 10 runs and 12 runs batted in. He hit three home runs, including two grand slams. Fick was nine for 21 with one homer and eight RBIs.

Jon Schaeffer, Stanford’s designated hitter from Harvard-Westlake High, also was named all-tournament after going seven for 15.

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Miami took the Central I Regional, defeating UCLA (36-28) at Austin, Texas, 8-4. The Hurricanes (47-13) jumped on Bruin starter Ryan Lynch for five runs in the first in earning their 15th--and third consecutive--trip to the College World Series.

Earlier, the top-seeded Hurricanes eliminated fifth-seeded Southwest Missouri State, 8-2, to stay alive. Denis Pujals pitched an eight-hitter and struck out nine.

“We came in here and did a good job. You just can’t spot a team like Miami five runs,” said UCLA catcher Tim DeCinces, a member of the all-regional team. “We came in here as the fourth seed and we got to the finals. That doesn’t make missing your goal any easier, but we did a good job.”

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Paul Doyle’s two-run double was the key hit in a six-run eighth inning as Rice eliminated defending national champion Cal State Fullerton from the Midwest Regional in Wichita, Kan., 13-10.

Fullerton (45-16), which eliminated Rice last season, scored four runs in the top of the eighth to take a three-run lead. Mark Kotsay’s three-run homer was the big hit.

But Rice came back to score six runs in the bottom of the inning. A single and a walk followed a leadoff home run, then Will Ford drove in one run and Doyle followed with his double off Scott Hild (9-4) to give the Owls the lead.

“Rice was able to overcome our best effort,” said Titan Coach Augie Garrido. “We took a three-run lead on [Kotsay’s] home run, and they responded.”

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Oklahoma State eliminated USC from the Central II regional with a 10-2 victory at Lubbock, Texas. The Trojans, drained from an 11-inning, come-from-behind victory over Texas Tech, 13-10, earlier in the day, managed only five hits, scoring on two solo home runs, one each by Jacque Jones and Robb Gorr.

Paul Sanchez, making his first career start for the Trojans (44-16-1), held the Cowboys scoreless for the first three innings, but in the fourth Oklahoma State scored five runs on six of its 14 hits.

“I think after [the fourth inning] we all settled down and weren’t really into it,” USC shortstop Marc Mirizzi said. “We didn’t have any energy left.”