Flores Proves Big Relief for Matadors, 6-3

Some may have considered it a gamble, but not Cal State Northridge baseball Coach Mike Batesole.

Not when he had Benny Flores ready at a moment’s notice.

Flores, Northridge’s ace, pitched in relief for only the fourth time this season and helped the Matadors beat Cal Poly Pomona, 6-3, Friday at Matador Field.

The unusual role didn’t seem to faze Flores (8-2), who deployed a sharp-biting slider to strike out eight batters in 3 2/3 innings, bailing out starter Brian Downing from a tight spot in the fourth.

“It takes a special guy to be able to come in and handle those situations,” Batesole said of Flores.

Batesole chose to start the seldom-used Downing against the Division II Broncos (16-18-1) to reward the junior left-hander for solid relief work in recent games.

The gesture nearly backfired in the first inning, when Downing struggled with his control and spotted the Broncos a 1-0 lead.

Northridge (26-14-1) rallied in the second against right-hander Josh Egan (1-5), taking a 2-1 lead on Adam Kennedy’s two-run triple to left-center field.

But Downing got into trouble in the fourth, giving up a leadoff single and a one-out walk, and Batesole summoned Flores.

The left-hander retired Brad Downing on a run-scoring grounder to shortstop that tied the score, 2-2, and then struck out five consecutive batters.

But with nobody on and two out in the sixth, Flores struck out Anthony Iten with a slider that got past catcher Jeremy Sickles. Iten later scored on a bases-loaded walk to put Pomona ahead, 3-2.

The Matadors bounced back in the sixth, scoring two runs on a triple by Cesar Martinez, who later scored on Adrian Mendoza’s sacrifice fly for a 5-3 lead.

Right-hander Gary Stephenson pitched two shutout innings to pick up his third save.