Matadors Ponder NCAA Snub

Mike Batesole knows now what Cal State Northridge can do to help its cause next season: win the Big West Conference title.

Batesole, Northridge’s baseball coach, was feeling the sting Monday of being snubbed by the NCAA selection committee after the 64-team Division I playoff bracket was announced without the Matadors.

Northridge (34-22) finished 9-9 in its first season in the Big West--good for fourth place behind champion Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. But not good enough to earn a postseason berth.

Batesole said the Matadors had no one to blame but themselves.

“When it’s all over, you gotta look in the mirror and say, ‘What more could we have done?’ ” Batesole said. “You don’t want to point any fingers. The bottom line is, we could have done more. The bottom line is, win the Big West.”

Northridge didn’t fare badly in the Big West. The Matadors won two of three against Long Beach State and pounded Fullerton, 15-1, the Titans’ most lopsided defeat in 10 seasons. Fullerton (41-15) is top-seeded among the 64 tournament teams.

The Matadors also finished strong, winning seven of their last 10.

Northridge improved on two consecutive losing seasons while the program continued to regain its footing four years after administrators cut the program. Public outcry led to its reinstatement two months later, but damage was telling.

“I’m not in the room [with the committee] making the decisions,” Batesole said. “I know what we’ve done this year, and we had a good year.”

Batesole said he is excited about the pending addition of middle infielder Shaun Larkin, a transfer from Texas Tech expected to make an immediate impact next season.

Larkin, who enrolled in Northridge in January, batted .309 and started all 62 games for the Red Raiders in 2000. He was a junior college All-American at Cypress College and Orange Empire Conference MVP in 1999.