Nikolic Homers, 8 in First Add to 200 for Batesole

Mike Batesole earned his 200th victory as Cal State Northridge baseball coach Wednesday when the Matadors parlayed an eight-run first inning into an 11-9 nonconference victory over Pepperdine.

Adam Nikolic hit two home runs, including a two-run shot in the first inning to open the Matadors’ scoring, and reliever Mike Frick struck out three of nine batters to notch his fifth save.

Batesole, who has struggled to rebuild the program during his six-year tenure, said he was unaware of the milestone until an announcement was made after the final out. The Matadors are 200-129-1 under him.

“I’m dug in so deep this year, I haven’t stepped back and looked at the big picture,” Batesole said.

The Matadors (19-10) and their coach are looking forward to hosting their Big West Conference opener Friday against Cal State Sacramento. Northridge has competed as an independent since leaving the Western Athletic Conference after the 1996 season.

Batesole was forced to start from scratch in 1997 after administrators cut the program, only to reinstate it a few months later.

The heavy hitting Matadors, who collected 16 hits against Pepperdine (18-10), are brimming with confidence.

Nikolic, a sophomore outfielder and transfer from El Camino College, hit his first home run of the season with J.T. Stotts on first to pull Northridge even, 2-2.

Northridge had eight hits in the first inning, including a two-run triple by Jason Gorman. Stotts, Nikolic, Tim Arroyo and Ryan Haag hit run-scoring singles as Northridge sent 13 batters to the plate.

“We have a lot of guys who can swing the bat up and down the lineup,” Stotts said. “I think that’s our biggest strength. If you’re going to pitch around certain people, we have guys who can hit good pitches, and that’s what Adam did.”

Nikolic homered again with Stotts aboard in the fifth inning to extend the Matadors’ lead to 11-6.

“That’s not what he’s about,” Batesole said of Nikolic. “He’s about getting on top of the ball and hitting it hard through the middle and playing the defensive end for us. That’s a nice surprise that’s going to happen once in a long while.”

Frick, a junior right-hander, replaced Merrill Dunn in the seventh with one out and a runner at third. Frick recorded two outs and retired the side in order in the ninth.