Miranda Rights Matadors with Home Run

Jose Miranda hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie and give the Cal State Northridge baseball team a 6-4 victory over the University of San Diego in a nonconference game Tuesday at Northridge.

The home run, which caromed off the top of the scoreboard in right field, was Miranda’s 10th of the season. But it was only the last and most damaging of the four among the Matadors’ nine hits.

Adam Kennedy, who scored on Miranda’s eighth-inning blast, had a first-inning solo homer among his three hits and has nine home runs this season.

Casey Cheshier’s two-run shot in the second inning was his fifth of the season and gave the Matadors a 3-0 lead, and Terrmel Sledge hit a game-tying solo shot for his second home run of the season as Northridge trailed, 4-3, with one out in the eighth.

Northridge (13-4-1) needed every one of the home runs after starting pitcher Jason Cole sailed along with a two-hitter through seven innings, but hit a rough stretch in the eighth.

Brian Mazone and Eli Cecil opened the eighth with consecutive singles to right field. Miranda tried to field Cecil’s hit on a hop, and the ball glanced off his glove and past him for a two-base error that scored Mazone from first base and allowed Cecil to go to third.

Alan Leuthard doubled to score Cecil and bring San Diego to within 3-2 with none out. Cole struck out the next two batters but leadoff hitter Juan Garcia’s two-out, two-run home run put the Toreros (6-6) ahead.

Northridge has 45 home runs this season. San Diego has five.

Left-hander Bryant Fick (1-0) faced just one batter but got his first victory of the season. He relieved Cole with two out in the eighth, got Errol Smith to ground out to third and was the pitcher of record when Sledge and Miranda came up in the bottom of the inning.

Cole gave up four runs and seven hits, struck out five and walked none in 7 2/3 innings.

Benny Flores pitched the ninth and gave up a hit and a one-out walk before pinch-hitter Chris Humpert hit into a double play to end the game and give Flores his second save.