Loyola Victory Over Northridge Has a Regional Look to It

Familiar faces filled the visiting dugout Friday at Cal State Northridge. And they had reason to smile.

Loyola Marymount, with a handful of former high school players from the region on its roster, rallied for eight runs in the final three innings to post an 11-7 nonconference victory and end the Matadors’ winning streak at three games.

The teams will complete a three-game series with games today and Sunday at Loyola.

Mike Schultz, a 6-foot-7 right-hander from Cleveland High, started for Loyola against the school he originally planned to attend. Schultz struck out seven in six innings, but exited with his team trailing, 7-3.

“I didn’t feel like I had my best stuff today,” Schultz said. “I tried to battle with different pitches.”

Loyola (7-8), after scoring a single run in the seventh, turned the tide with a five-run eighth.

Right-hander Chris Gray, a former standout at Chaminade, ended a Northridge threat in the eighth by getting Matt Synhorst to ground into an inning-ending double play with runners at first and second.

In the ninth, Gray began a game-ending double-play by snaring Jeremy Sickles’ sharp comebacker and throwing to second.

“It’s nice to come back home and play ball with all these people watching,” Gray said. “You want to do well and everything came together for us today.”

Offensively, Rob Hirsh and Matt Riordan, former players at Crespi and Westlake, paced a 14-hit attack against four Matador pitchers. Hirsh had a solo home run in the fifth off Jose Vasquez and drove in three runs. Riordan singled twice and scored two runs.

“This is a great team we have,” Hirsh said. “We never quit. We just keep on trying.”

Northridge (11-10), coming off two consecutive victories over Washington and one over UCLA, appeared ready for Schultz, who decided to attend Loyola when Northridge briefly dropped its program in 1997.

Synhorst led off the first with a single and Dan Phillips followed by hitting Schultz’s first pitch over the right-field wall.

Schultz struck out the side in order in the second, but allowed a leadoff home run to Jason Watkins in the third that gave Northridge a 3-2 lead.

Watkins’ run-scoring triple highlighted a two-run sixth inning that extended the Matadors’ lead to 7-3.

In the eighth, Loyola batted around, chasing reliever Andrew Sanchez (3-2) with four hits, including a ground-rule double by Tommy Perez.

“We had a little bit of momentum going there,” Phillips said of Northridge. “They came out and kept coming.”

Northridge right-hander Tim Bell lasted only two innings, allowing three walks and two runs.

Northridge took a 5-2 lead in the fourth on a two-run single by Synhorst, who had four hits and drove in three runs.