Matadors Come Out Swinging in Season-Opening Onslaught

Distinguished alumni, dutiful major league scouts and a distressed opponent were nothing more than window dressing.

Attentive only to itself, Cal State Northridge opened the season in big-bang fashion, trouncing San Francisco, 16-2, Friday at Matador field.

The Matadors paid no attention to Baseball America preseason rankings that have San Francisco 50th and Northridge 89th in the nation.

They shrugged a two-run deficit, scoring four in the third inning, five in the fifth, three in the sixth and four in the seventh.

And they weren’t aware of the astonishing record of San Francisco starter Trip Humphrey, a transfer who was 33-0 since his sophomore year in high school, a streak that remained intact through college summer leagues and two years at Wichita State.

It ended at Northridge.

A three-run home run by Eric Horvat in the third helped Northridge to a 4-2 lead, and Humphrey left in the fifth after giving up doubles to Kevin Patrick and Jeremy Sickles and a walk to Daryl Grant.

Northridge extended the advantage to 9-2 in the inning with the help of a two-run double by Horvat and a run-scoring single by Adrian Mendoza.

Reserve Matt Synhorst hit a three-run home run in the sixth, and the Matadors tacked on four runs on four hits in the seventh.

“We were relentless in our approach to our at-bats,” said Horvat, a sophomore from Hart High who had three hits and five runs batted in.

Meanwhile, Matador starter Tim Bell and freshmen relievers Mike Frick and Andy Davidson had the Dons beating the ball into the ground.

Horvat, who moved from left field to third base this season, had eight assists and began a double play with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth.

Patrick was flawless in three chances at second base and freshman shortstop J.T. Stotts had three assists, including a diving stop to his right that ended the fifth inning.

Stotts also dove to his left and came up with a ball that was beat out for a hit.

“I admit I was nervous at the beginning, but we’ve been doing this all fall and I eased into the game,” said Stotts, who played alongside Horvat at Hart.

Humphrey’s streak is over, but Bell’s is alive. The right-hander was 4-0 last season and although he gave up leadoff home runs in the second to Taggart Bozied and Brandon Shephard in the third, he lasted six innings.

Frick, a right-hander from Buena, sailed through the seventh and eighth, and Davidson, a left-hander from Hart, retired the side in the ninth.

Batesole contemplated batting Horvat in one of the first three spots in the lineup before settling on leadoff, a hallowed place in recent years at Northridge.

All-American second baseman Nakia Hill led off last season and All-American Adam Kennedy, who holds nearly every Matador batting record, led off in 1996 and ’97.

“Batesole trusts me enough to hit me there,” Horvat said. “It’s an honor.”

Matador notes

There were 10 former Northridge players at the game, and they stood near or in the dugout. “I love watching this team because Northridge always plays hard,” said Robert Fick, an All-American catcher in 1996 who is with the Detroit Tigers. Coach Mike Batesole appreciates the support. “It makes me feel better every time they are here,” he said. “We had 43 guys play in our alumni game last week, and we organized it at the last minute. My God, that’s awesome.”. . . . The stands were littered with scouts, and also holding radar guns were coaches from Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine, conference rivals of San Francisco. . . . Chris Thogerson, a sophomore right-hander from Newbury Park High who was 6-4 last season, will start today for San Francisco.