Northridge Is Game Despite Its Failures

The fact UCLA has outscored Cal State Northridge, 39-1, in four softball games this season is of little consequence to the Matadors.

Coach Janet Sherman is taking a “one-game-at-a-time” approach into the NCAA Division I regional at UCLA, which starts today.

And for good reason. Northridge is 1-8 in its last four postseason appearances, including 0-2 last season.

Without a victory in the six-team, double-elimination tournament, the Matadors won’t face UCLA.

No. 3-seeded Northridge (31-22) opens against No. 4 San Diego State (38-23) today at 11:30 a.m.

The Matadors are 30-10-1 against the Aztecs since 1979, but the teams have not met this season.

“That’s a good thing because we can go at them without any prejudgments,” Sherman said.

In other first-round games, No. 2 Fresno State (38-17) faces No. 5 Wisconsin (32-25) at 9 a.m. and top-seeded UCLA plays No. 6 Coastal Carolina (27-21) at 2 p.m.

The loser of the UCLA-Coastal Carolina game will face the loser of the Fresno State-Wisconsin game at 4:30.

Five of the six teams in the regional feature players from area high schools.

UCLA senior outfielder Lupe Brambila, a Monroe graduate, is batting .282 and leads the team with eight sacrifices.

Former Louisville star Becky Witt of Fresno State is batting .398 with 46 runs, 72 hits and 17 stolen bases.

San Diego State features Sandra Durazo of Kennedy, Kellie Nordhagen of Hart, Tashie Aguinaga of Antelope Valley and Kristina Kirk of Glendale.

Durazo (27-12), The Times’ 1997 Valley pitcher of the year, set a season school record for victories and has a 1.75 earned-run average.

Nordhagen is batting .354 with eight doubles.

Aguinaga is batting .269, Kirk .152.

Wisconsin’s Meghann Reiss of Alemany leads the Badgers with a .317 average and 25 runs batted in.

Upon further review, the Matador pitching staff isn’t as bad as reported.

Each of the four pitchers lowered her ERA last week . . . without throwing a pitch.

Because of a calculating error by the Northridge sports information office, the team ERA dropped more than half a run to 1.97.

The Automated ScoreBook was programmed to multiply earned runs by nine innings rather than seven, the length of a college softball game.

Ace Sarah Farnworth (24-14), who has earned 14 of Northridge’s last 15 decisions, boasts a 1.48 ERA instead of 1.90. She has allowed 58 earned runs in 274 2/3 innings.