Northridge Back on Solid Ground

Back on the mainland, main man on the mound, Cal State Northridge renewed its quest for an NCAA regional baseball berth by cooling off Long Beach State, 12-4, Wednesday at Matador Field.

Northridge (25-14-1) narrowly averted disaster last week in the Hawaii tournament by winning three of its last four games to finish 3-4. Each loss was by one run.

Unimpressed were Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball magazines, both of which dropped the Matadors from their national rankings.

Northridge, an independent, needed more than a strong performance against a ranked opponent. A victory was imperative.

The Matadors turned to left-hander Erasmo Ramirez (6-3), who allowed one earned run in eight innings and displayed the aggressiveness missing from several of his earlier outings.

Ramirez struck out seven and walked one against the 16th-ranked 49ers (20-13), who had won 13 of their previous 14 games and lead the Big West Conference.

“I was making the hitters participate by throwing strikes,” Ramirez said. “They had to swing at all that junk I threw up there.”

The victory was the 20th of Ramirez’s Northridge career. The junior was 14-1 and an All-American last season.

“Mo understands this park and he understands the quality of this opponent,” Northridge Coach Mike Batesole said. “Some guys would get an 8-1 lead and let down. He knows that if you do that here, all of a sudden it’s 8-6.”

The Matadors jumped on left-hander Mike Gallo, the first of eight Long Beach pitchers, with two out in the second inning. Freshman catcher Jeremy Sickles--a former teammate of Gallo’s at Millikan High--singled to score Jose Miranda, and Ryan Hurd followed with a three-run homer.

In the fourth, an RBI groundout by Hurd and run-scoring singles by Terrmel Sledge and Dan Pierce increased the lead to 7-1. Two 49er errors helped the Matadors add two runs in the fifth.

The outcome was less important to Long Beach, which leads the Big West with an 11-1 record, than it was to Northridge. Long Beach Coach Dave Snow changed pitchers like a disc jockey spinning records.

Even when the Matadors didn’t hit, they scored. Daryl Grant opened the seventh by walking three, and the runners scored on a wild pitch, a groundout and a sacrifice fly.

Ramirez exited with a 12-2 cushion, and the Matadors left the park with smiles. After playing 20 of 21 games on the road, they needed this one.

Northridge plays four more at home this weekend, but the opponents are Division II teams. Far more important are the 11 games remaining against Division I opponents with winning records.

Northridge must win more than half to stand a chance at reaching a regional.

“To be sitting where we’re sitting, I feel pretty good,” Batesole said. “We’re still in good shape.”