COLLEGE BASEBALL : NCAA TOURNAMENT WEST II REGIONAL : Northridge Shakes Up Portland in 12-7 Win

FRESNO —  Put a hold on the Wheaties. Cal State Northridge baseball players, who have feasted on opposing pitchers for the past two days, have discovered their own breakfast of champions.

Strawberry shakes and Denny’s French Slams (not together).

Well, whatever works. And for the Matadors, just about everything has been working during the past two days of the NCAA West II Regional at Fresno State’s Beiden Field.

After their latest barrage of hits, 18 in a 12-7 win over the University of Portland on Saturday, a couple of top Matador hitters credited their eating habits.

As a result, Northridge (43-17-1) will play Fresno State, a 7-5 winner over Stanford, today at noon. If the Matadors win, the teams will play a second game immediately following the first with the winner of that contest advancing to the College World Series in Omaha beginning Friday.

Scott Richardson, who hit four home runs in 247 at-bats during the regular season, Saturday slugged his third in three regional games. In a postgame meeting, Richardson was asked about the sudden power surge. “French Slam, Denny’s, going back again tomorrow morning,” Richardson said.

Later, Mike Solar, who had his first four-hit game of the season, including a home run, was asked a similar question. “Strawberry shake. Kyle told me to have one,” he replied.

He was referring to Kyle Washington, who also homered and joined Greg Shockey with three hits.

Everyone in the Northridge lineup had at least one hit by the seventh inning. Andy Hodgins, the last in line, joined the parade with a blast over the left-center-field fence--his second homer of the season.

“It seemed like every ball we got up, every mistake, they hit,” Portland Coach Terry Pollreisz said. “And they even hit some balls down that weren’t mistakes.”

To that end, Pollreisz sounded a warning to those who might choose to count out Northridge, which is in its first season at the Division I level.

“They’re a fine ballclub,” he said. “They could go a long way.”

Before Portland (31-19) went the way of the vanquished, it gave Northridge a scare. Down, 9-4, after seven innings, the Pilots scored three in the eighth on a bases-clearing double by Phil Geisler.

Geisler was four for five--including a first-inning home run--with four runs batted in.

“He hit every kind of pitch I threw right on the nose,” said Northridge pitcher Scott Sharts, who allowed 12 hits in wobbling to his 13th complete game of the season.

Sharts, who needed 143 pitches to improve his record to 11-6, benefited from timely hitting. Every time the Pilots scored, the Matadors quickly answered.

Northridge filed its insurance policy in the top of the ninth after Geisler’s drive off the center-field fence had trimmed the Matador lead to 9-7 after eight.

With one out, Shockey doubled and Hodgins, moved into the fifth slot in the order in place of a slumping Denny Vigo, singled him in. Washington followed by smashing a one-strike pitch deep over the center-field fence.

“Every time they scored we came right back and scored more,” Northridge Coach Bill Kernen said. “We put them back on their heels by answering back the very next half inning.”

Northridge’s biggest inning was the fifth, when the Matadors scored five runs. With one out, Richardson homered to right-center. Sharts followed with a walk, Shockey singled and one out later, Washington tripled to left for the first two of his four RBIs.

Solar then smashed his fifth home run and the Matadors led, 8-3.

When Portland pushed over an unearned run in the sixth, Hodgins answered with a solo home run in the top of the seventh.

“You get in such a high gear and if you do get going, hitting gets contagious ,” Kernen said.

As it did Friday in a 13-6 rout of Miami, Northridge struck early. In the first, back-to-back, one-out singles by Richardson and Sharts, an error and an infield out gave CSUN a 1-0 lead.

Portland drew even in the bottom of the inning on Geisler’s sixth home run, a blast to right field.

A two-run double by Clayton put CSUN back on top, 3-1, in the second, but pinch-hitter Jason Geis returned the favor with his own two-run double in the fourth.

Regional notes

Stanford eliminated Miami, 15-7, in a Saturday morning game in which Mark Skeels, a former Thousand Oaks High standout, went 2 for 2 with two runs batted in for the Cardinal. . . . Craig Clayton (13-5) will start today for Northridge, coming back on two days’ rest.