UCLA Gets Matadors Behind 8-Ball

This time, it wasn’t so easy for Cal State Northridge.

The Matadors melted down in a disastrous second inning in which UCLA scored eight runs en route to a 12-7 nonconference baseball victory Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Northridge (14-8) couldn’t recover from a mess of its own making.

Left-hander Bill Murphy (4-1) pitched a complete-game victory last season against the Bruins but he didn’t survive the second.

He walked two, threw a wild pitch and hit a batter in the inning. He allowed four of the eight runs.

Shortstop J.T. Stotts made an error on a potential double-play grounder, prolonging the inning for Adam Berry, Eric Reece and Josh Arhart, who followed with run-scoring hits.

UCLA (14-7) led, 8-0, after the inning.

“We just killed ourselves in that inning,” said Stotts, who had two hits but made his eighth error of the season.

Northridge loaded the bases with one out in the fourth against left-hander Mike Kunes (1-0), but reliever Paul Diaz struck out Aaron McKenzie and retired Stotts on a fly ball to end the inning.

“Those were the biggest outs we got,” UCLA Coach Gary Adams said.

Northridge used six pitchers and allowed four runs on eight hits in the final seven innings.

But the damage was done.

“We paid the price,” Northridge Coach Mike Batesole said. “We gave them 10 outs [in the second].”

The eight-run inning was a pleasant surprise for Adams, whose teams are traditionally power oriented.

UCLA (14-7) has only 15 home runs as a team this season and had three extra-base hits Tuesday.

“[Northridge] has a nice balance between speed and power guys, and left-handers and right-handers,” Adams said. “Murphy wasn’t himself, but Northridge is legit. They can win [the Big West] Conference as well as anyone.”

Kunes, a two-time All-City pitcher at Chatsworth High, allowed one earned run in 3 1/3 innings in his first start of the season.

Designated hitter Brian Baron, formerly of Hart, walked three times and had his 21-game hitting streak snapped.