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It’s a Grand Opening for Northridge, 7-2

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

For the Cal State Northridge softball team, it was the kind of season opener they expected.

For others, it was an eye-opener.

Unranked Northridge upset No. 11 Oregon State, 7-2, and tied the Beavers, 4-4, in the second game halted after seven innings because of darkness in a nonconference doubleheader Saturday at Northridge.

“We’re not [ranked] because people don’t know about us yet, [but] they’re going to get to know us,” Coach Janet Sherman said. “We’re better than people think.”

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Northridge made amends for some spotty pitching with 15 hits in the doubleheader, most impeccably timed. Oregon State (0-1-1) got little from 18 hits.

Sarah Farnworth (1-0), a junior transfer from Utah who is expected to help return Northridge to the national rankings, allowed 10 hits and struck out two in the opener.

Farnworth admitted it was a less than admirable performance and recognized her teammates for the support.

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“I played at Utah and I don’t think I’ve ever been this confident,” Farnworth said. “Here you know everybody can make something happen.

“We’re good. You could see that we can hit.”

The Matadors (1-0-1) pulled off the upset in the first game by scoring all of their runs in the fourth inning to erase a 2-0 deficit.

Northridge loaded the bases on two singles and a walk with one out and then systematically destroyed Tarrah Beyster & Co. one run at a time.

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Run-scoring singles by Ui Bal and Elizabeth Pierce tied it, 2-2. Pinch-hitter Chastity Johnson was hit by a pitch to force in the go-ahead run and Jill Passafiume singled up the middle for a 4-2 lead.

Passafiume’s single chased Beyster but the Beavers got little relief from reliever Crystal Draper. After an error gave Northridge its fifth run, Draper enticed a infield pop-up for the second out but then surrendered consecutive walks to Veronica Lopez and Farnworth to force in the Matadors’ sixth and seventh runs.

Michelle Notaro, a Westlake High graduate, had three of Oregon State’s 10 hits, including a double in the fourth.

In the second game, Northridge was hampered by two errors and a mental mistake on the base paths.

The Beavers scored two runs in the third on an error by shortstop Bal, who mishandled a two-out ground ball and failed to locate it quickly, allowing Shawna Feldt and Brooke Rutschman to score.

With Northridge trailing, 4-2, in the bottom of the fourth, Meaghan Finnerty singled home Jessica Creith who doubled with one out. The Matadors had a chance to tie it on a deep fly ball to left field by Lopez, but Finnerty was called out for leaving third base early.

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“I was anxious, a little too anxious,” Finnerty said. “I’m sure I’ll be doing tag-ups for an hour at practice [Monday].”

Farnworth relieved Summer Richardson in the fifth and did not allow a run in the final three innings.

Northridge tied it in the seventh when center fielder Parisa Plant, a Chatsworth alum, missed an attempted shoestring catch, allowing Finnerty to score.

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