One Up, One Down
How couldn’t he be proud? Against severe odds, Mike Batesole guided Cal State Northridge to a 94-38 record the past two seasons, more victories than all but a small handful of teams in the nation.
But last summer as he stood in line at a grocery store in front of two young boys wearing Matador T-shirts, his heart sank. The words “Northridge Baseball” were crossed out in black marker.
Ouch.
That was one of a series of indignities suffered by Batesole in the days after Northridge cut baseball and three other men’s sports.
He learned of the cuts by reading about them in a newspaper. His best players transferred and his strongest recruiting class scattered to the wind, finding refuge in top programs all over the country. His assistant coach bolted for a plum position at Arkansas.
Batesole, in the second year of a three-year contract, simply endured. And so has his program, which begins a less-than-promising season today at Arizona.
Baseball was reinstated in August for one year because of a $586,000 bailout from state educational funds. Then, last month, Northridge President Blenda J. Wilson reacted to the recommendations of a special task force on Northridge athletics by announcing that the four sports will survive for at least one additional season.
She later said the reinstatements are permanent--an assertion confirmed by Athletic Director Paul Bubb--but Batesole continues to have difficulty recruiting because players and their parents recall Wilson’s original announcement.
“They aren’t sure whether to believe me when I tell them it’s permanent,” Batesole said. “We’ll lose a lot of kids because of that.”
Frustrated on all sides, Batesole is doing what he does best: Spending countless hours on the diamond preparing his team.
“These guys love to work, they enjoy the process of getting ready,” Batesole said. “That makes it enjoyable to me. With all that’s happened since the summer, it’s nice to just be a coach again.”
The team is a far cry from Batesole’s first bunch that led the nation with 52 victories, won the Western Athletic Conference title and advanced to an NCAA regional final. Nor will it compare with a group that went 42-20 and defeated USC, UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Clemson and Pepperdine last year.
And among the current Matadors, their probably isn’t an Adam Kennedy, Robert Fick or Eric Gillespie, Matador All-Americans making their marks professionally.
But there is Nakia Hill and Darren Dyt, transfers with solid Division I credentials. And senior third baseman Chris MacMillan, sophomore first baseman Adrian Mendoza and sophomore catcher Jeremy Sickles are returning starters.
“I honestly have no idea how we will do,” Batesole said. “It’s been really hard to evaluate because with only 13 position players, we can’t even scrimmage.”
Hill started 55 games at second base for Cal State Fullerton last season, batting .357 with seven homers and 40 runs batted in. He will play either shortstop or second base. Dyt, a senior outfielder who batted .325 with five homers and 19 RBIs for Fresno State, will play either center or right field.
Their positions depend on the status of junior Marco Estrada, who transferred from Fullerton. Estrada’s academic eligibility is in question, so it may not matter that he looks good at shortstop, center field and third.
MacMillan, who hit .318 in 35 games last year, and Sickles, who batted .310, will bat in the middle of the lineup and should provide power. Mendoza, a fine defensive first baseman, batted .274.
Because of the program’s uncertain future, freshmen were reluctant to choose Northridge. However, one who stuck with the Matadors throughout the uncertainty is Eric Horvat, whose persistence appears to have paid off with a starting job in left field.
Horvat was an All-Valley infielder at Hart High and batted .470. The only other freshman is Ricky Helland, a backup catcher who was an All-Ventura County player from Buena High, where he played pitcher and catcher.
Jamie Hay, a sophomore transfer who played sparingly at Notre Dame last season, will be designated hitter and get some action at catcher. Jeff Elorduy, a junior from Sacramento City College, can play catcher and first base.
Kevin Patrick, a junior from Fresno City College, will play second base if Hill stays at shortstop. Senior Mike McNeely, a Matador utility player last season, can play third, second and outfield. Another outfielder is Aaron Aguirre, a junior from Fresno City.
Pitching is the greatest concern. There is little experience and no one is likely to produce the quality innings logged last season by left-handers Erasmo Ramirez and Benny Flores, who both transferred to Fullerton last summer.
“A lot of these guys were available two weeks before school started,” Batesole said.
Left-hander Carey Novits, the lone Matador returner who won three of his four starts and posted a 5.85 earned-run average in eight appearances, is the only pitcher to start a Division I game.
Most of the pitchers are transfers who had moderate success at junior colleges, including right-hander Jim DeBiase from Pierce. Sophomore Tim Baron of Thousand Oaks High was an effective reliever for Fullerton last season but the Titans dropped his scholarship when Ramirez and Flores came aboard.
“They all will get chances,” Batesole said. “I can’t tell you who will be effective. There hasn’t been a whole lot of separation in practice.”
For Batesole, small blessings mean a lot. There is a team, and there will be a season.
“I can’t guarantee winning games,” he said, “but I guarantee this: They will play hard. They will go to class. They will represent the university with class. The things I can control will still be done.”
And with enough work, perhaps the pride of Northridge baseball will return and those kids will wash the marker off their T-shirts.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
CS NORTHRIDGE ROSTER
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No. Player Pos. B/T Yr. Hometown 5 Mike McNeely 2B R/R Sr. Los Angeles 6 Adrian Mendoza 1B L/L So. Simi Valley 7 Kevin Fujimoto P R/R Jr. Mira Costa 8 Chris MacMillan 3B R/R Sr. El Monte 9 Kevin Patrick 2B R/R Jr. Fresno 10 Marco Estrada SS S/R Jr. El Segundo 11 Aaron Aguirre OF R/R Jr. Fresno 15 Jim DeBiase P R/R Jr. Northridge 20 Jamie Hay C S/R So. Vista 21 Jeremy Sickles C R/R So. Long Beach 23 Tim Baron P R/R So. Thousand Oaks 25 Ricky Helland C S/R Fr. Ventura 26 Nakia Hill SS R/R Jr. San Diego 27 Darren Dyt OF L/R Sr. Tulare 30 Eric Horvat 3B R/R Fr. Tarzana 33 Jose Vasquez P L/R Jr. Buena Park 34 Eric Fuller P R/R Jr. Lomita 35 Jeff Elorduy 1B R/R Jr. Sacramento 36 Jeff Martin P L/L Jr. San Jose 38 Josh Goldberg P L/L Jr. Granada Hills 42 Ray Morawski P R/R Jr. Santa Maria 43 Carey Novits P L/L Sr. San Dimas 45 Brad Foss P R/R Jr. Los Angeles 46 Tim Bell P R/R Jr. Bakersfield
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Head Coach: Mike Batesole (Cal State Fullerton, 1990). Assistant Coaches: Randy Cooper (St. Mary’s, 1992) and Grant Hohman (CS Northridge, 1997)
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
CS NORTHRIDGE SCHEDULE
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Date Opponent Time 1-20 at Arizona 3 p.m. 1-21 at Arizona 3 p.m. 1-22 Cal Poly SLO, in Tempe, Ariz. 3 p.m. 1-22 Arizona State, in Tempe, Ariz. 7 p.m. 1-23 Florida Int’l, in Tempe Ariz. 3 p.m. 1-27 Loyola Marymount 2 p.m. 1-30 Cal Baptist 2 p.m. 1-31 Cal Baptist 1 p.m. 2-6 at South Alabama 3:30 p.m. 2-7 at South Alabama 10 a.m. 2-8 at South Alabama 10 a.m. 2-10 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 2 p.m. 2-11 at UC Santa Barbara 2 p.m. 2-12 CS Sacramento 2:30 p.m. 2-15 Albertson 1 p.m. 2-19 Grand Canyon, in Phoenix, Ariz. 3 p.m. 2-20 Northwestern, in Phoenix, Ariz. 10 a.m. 2-21 Northern Iowa, in Phoenix, Ariz. 2 p.m. 2-22 Santa Clara, in Phoenix, Ariz. 2 p.m. 2-25 at Loyola Marymount 2 p.m. 2-27 at Pepperdine 2 p.m. 2-28 Pepperdine 1 p.m. 3-1 Pepperdine 1 p.m. 3-3 at CS Fullerton 7 p.m. 3-5 at UNLV Desert Classic TBA 3-6 at UNLV Desert Classic TBA 3-7 at UNLV Desert Classic TBA 3-8 at UNLV Desert Classic TBA 3-12 Gonzaga 2:30 p.m. 3-15 Cal State L.A. 1 p.m. 3-16 Gonzaga 2 p.m. 3-18 CS Fullerton 2 p.m. 3-20 at UCLA 7 p.m. 3-21 at UCLA 1 p.m. 3-25 Biola 2 p.m. 3-29 at Nevada 1 p.m. 3-30 at Nevada 2 p.m. 4-3 Cal Poly Pomona 2:30 p.m. 4-4 Cal Poly Pomona 1 p.m. 4-5 Cal Poly Pomona 1 p.m. 4-8 Hawaii Hilo 2 p.m. 4-9 Hawaii Hilo 2 p.m. 4-10 Hawaii Hilo 2 p.m. 4-11 Hawaii Hilo 1 p.m. 4-14 at Long Beach State 7 p.m. 4-17 at Kansas State 5 p.m. 4-18 at Kansas State 5 p.m. 4-19 at Kansas State 11 a.m. 4-21 UC Santa Barbara 2 p.m. 5-2 Cal Lutheran 1 p.m. 5-3 Cal Lutheran 1 p.m. 5-8 Southern Utah 3 p.m. 5-9 Southern Utah (DH) noon 5-10 Southern Utah 1 p.m.
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All times local
