Murphy’s Law Strikes

It was a great day to be a Cal State Northridge baseball player, past and present.

Before an overflow crowd gathered to honor the school’s 1970 NCAA Division II championship team, Bill Murphy made all Matadors in attendance proud, recording Northridge’s first complete game of the season in a 7-2 nonconference victory over UCLA on Saturday at Matador Field.

Murphy (1-4), a freshman left-hander, struck out five and scattered 10 hits--all singles--in a performance far from overpowering yet perplexing to Bruin batters.

“He wasn’t throwing anything special,” Bill Scott, a junior from Alemany High, said with a shrug. “He just didn’t pitch around us. He went after guys and that’s what it takes.”

Murphy worked out of several jams, stranding 11 baserunners. He ended three innings with strikeouts, including the eighth, in which he retired the side in order. Both Bruin runs were unearned.

“That’s as gutsy a pitching performance as you’re going to see,” Coach Mike Batesole of Northridge said. “He kept making pitch after pitch after pitch.”

Murphy retired seven of the last nine batters and seemingly gained momentum down the stretch.

“We didn’t have a scouting report on him and I’d never seen him,” Coach Gary Adams of UCLA said. “I don’t know if we had scouted him if it would have made much difference.”

Murphy, who ranks second on the staff with 51 1/3 innings, is projected to be among the Matadors’ best pitchers in the coming years. He was 13-1 last season while leading Arlington High to a Southern Section championship.

“I took a couple of deep breaths and settled down in the fourth,” Murphy said. “The whole team had a big victory.”

It certainly provided a morale boost for Northridge (14-24), weathering a long season while several young players develop.

UCLA defeated the Matadors, 10-5, on Friday at UCLA. The teams complete their three-game series today at UCLA at 1 p.m..

Before the game, Northridge celebrated the 30th anniversary of the first of two national championships in baseball. All but two members of the team then known as San Fernando Valley State were in attendance.

“It was nice to have those guys here,” Batesole said. “They had so many good things to say to the kids. They’re winners. That’s why so many of them are doing well in life. It was really nice for the kids to understand that there is a loyalty to the program.”

Northridge erased a 2-0 deficit with two runs in the second. In the fourth, the Matadors roughed up starter Bobby Roe (5-3) for four runs.

Jesus Osuna and Mike Bumstead had run-scoring doubles, and Tim Arroyo had a two-run single with two out.