COLLEGE BASEBALL PREVIEWS : Northridge Will Learn if New Patience Pays Off

NORTHRIDGE â€”  Bill Kernen, even at age 46, is learning.

A couple of times a week, the Cal State Northridge baseball coach is bossed and bullied by folks half his age.

Kernen is receiving private instruction in taekwondo. He has never been so sore.

Lessons have been learned about patience and discipline, to name but a few.

“I’m the student,� he said. “Somebody is kicking my butt. I know what it’s like to be the pupil.�

The coach’s experiences had baseball application as Northridge prepared for its season opener Saturday at 1 p.m. against UC Riverside at Matador Field.

In 1994, the Matadors finished 25-30, their first losing season in six years under Kernen. There was plenty of kicking and screaming and none of it had to do with martial arts.

The team was beset by dissension and injury. At midseason, Kernen benched several key starters in a failed attempt to build character and togetherness. He cajoled, he challenged, he criticized. He even took away their uniforms.

A handful of players didn’t respond and the team continued its tailspin. The fallout continues. The Matadors began each of their first four seasons in NCAA Division I ranked 27th or higher in the national polls. This year, they didn’t crack Collegiate Baseball’s preseason top 40.

“It was a rough time,� said senior third baseman Jason Shanahan, looking back. “It was just a mess.�

This time around, Kernen has changed his teaching tack. Little time has been spent discussing wins and losses. Focus has been on responsibility, commitment and camaraderie.

Back to Square One. Northridge players spend 10 minutes each day playing catch with a partner from a few feet away. Like a kid in the backyard with his dad.

“He’s torn it down and given it to us in bits we can digest and understand,� said Jonathan Campbell, a senior outfielder in his fourth year in the program.

Sure, Kernen has a degree in psychology--he graduated cum laude from Redlands, no less--but there’s method to this madness. Learn to walk, then learn to run.

“I need to make them listen,� Kernen said. “The way we’ve done things in the past will work if they sign up for it. But they have to believe.�

He has a point. Before last season’s embarrassment of wretches, Northridge qualified for a Division I playoff berth three years in a row. It didn’t take long to reverse the flow: Northridge lost its first three games in ’94 and dropped out of the national rankings for good.

It wasn’t all bad last spring, however. In fact, two centerpieces return in Shanahan and outfielder Eric Gillespie, though both will be changing positions.

Shanahan and Gillespie were named All-Western Athletic Conference West Division in 1994 and shared the team lead in batting average at .342. Shanahan, a senior who moves to third base from first, was named All-Alaska Baseball League last summer.

Shanahan, a switch-hitter, led the team in home runs (nine), runs batted in (50), stolen bases (seven), total bases (120) and sacrifice flies (four).

Gillespie, one of Shanahan’s teammates in Alaska, was named a freshman All-American last season as a catcher. Gillespie hit six homers and, despite batting leadoff most of the season, was third on the team with 42 RBIs. This year he will start in the outfield.

The team’s most-talented addition could be right-handed pitcher Rob Crabtree. In fact, nobody would be surprised if Crabtree emerges as the staff’s premier pitcher--namely because he already owns a pair of championship rings from 1994.

Crabtree, a junior from Cypress College, pitched in the California Community College and National Baseball Congress championship games. He was 6-2 with a 3.65 earned-run average in two seasons at Cypress.

The rest of the staff is less settled. Senior right-hander John Najar (5-3, 5.83 ERA) is back, but must prove he has recovered from a season-ending injury.

In 1994’s most horrific moment, Najar broke a bone in his right forearm while throwing a pitch against rival San Diego State. He has pitched well in preseason scrimmages, however, and should be at full strength by midseason.

Senior right-hander Keven Kempton, recovering from elbow surgery, could be ready to contribute when conference play begins in March. Kempton won 10 games in 1993 but was a medical redshirt last season. Right-handers Jason Vargas (2-4, 4.22), Aaron D’Aoust (7-4, 7.88) and Evan Howland (1-0, 11.95) also return.

The staff ERA was 6.35, the highest in Kernen’s tenure. Any of three freshmen might jump into the rotation: Carlos Velazco is a right-hander from Sylmar High; Benny Flores and Erasmo Ramirez, both Orange County products, are left-handers.

Northridge didn’t have a left-handed pitcher last spring. There are other make-overs as well.

There are 29 players on the roster, the most in Kernen’s tenure. Included are nine newcomers from junior colleges and seven freshmen.

“There are guys who aren’t on the lineup card who can help,� Campbell said. “That’s a bad thing for some of the guys, but a good problem to have as a team.�

Included in the outfield plans is Adam Kennedy, a highly regarded freshman from Riverside. Kennedy, a converted shortstop, was selected the Southern Section Division II player of the year last spring at J.W. North High. Seniors Josh Smaler (.220, 23 RBIs) and Campbell (.237) also figure in the outfield plans.

The infield has two familiar faces in Shanahan and shortstop Chad Thornhill, a senior from Fresno. Thornhill (.278, 26 RBIs) also had a season-ending injury last spring when he suffered a broken bone in his right elbow during a collision at first base.

Junior Andy Shaw, who missed last season because of a knee injury, should start at first or as the designated hitter. Shaw, one of seven possible left-handed hitters in the lineup, is a Montclair Prep High graduate who hit .425 with 12 homers and 50 RBIs during an all-state season at College of the Canyons in 1993.

Grant Hohman, a junior transfer from Harbor College, is expected to play second base. Robert Fick, a sophomore transfer from Ventura College, should start at catcher.

It isn’t the most-intimidating team in Kernen’s experience, but this model has other curb appeal.

“We have more dimension to the offense,� Kernen said. “We have no glaring strength, like power or speed, but we have versatility.�

So does the coach, evidently. He admits he has spent most of his career lecturing on the rewards associated with winning.

Now he’s preaching as much about the importance of good citizenship and deportment as anything else.

“It’s mainly been about how to compete,� Shanahan said. “He’s been giving us lots of information that’s not even directly related to baseball. Lots of it has real-life applications.�

Consequently, Kernen hasn’t spent much time fretting over who is going to play and where. All in good time.

“I think the talent is there somewhere, I think the ability is there somewhere,� Kernen said. “We still have to put the puzzle together. Right now, it’s just a bunch of pieces on the floor.�