BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? The Cal State Northridge bats came alive in game one and its pitching held up in game two as the Matadors swept a softball doubleheader from CSUB Saturday afternoon at the Roadrunner Softball Complex. Northridge took game one, 10-5, then came from behind to win the nightcap, 2-1, in eight innings.
The doubleheader was a match-up of former NCAA Division II titans. CSUB took the last meaningful Division II games from Northridge, helping to eliminate the Matadors en route to the NCAA Championships in 1988, 1989 and 1990. But Northridge (20-9 overall) has now won all four Division I encounters with CSUB (16-13), including two in extra innings.
CSUN seemed poised to get to Roadrunner starter Brittany Johnson early in game one, but the sophomore pitched out of trouble in the first three innings. The Matadors finally broke through with three runs in the fourth, sparked by Micah Putnam's RBI double.
Northridge chased Johnson with two more runs in the fifth inning, then tagged reliever Katie Chavez for five runs over the final two innings.
While the 'Runners couldn't climb out of their 8-0 hole, their offense came alive late in the game, scoring four in the sixth and one more in the seventh.
CSUB finally broke through for its first lead of the day when Kelli Bailey led off the third inning of game two with a double and scored two batters later on a Justeen Maeva single. With red-hot Shawna Truan in the circle, that seemed like enough.
But CSUN broke through in the fifth when Truan's defense misplayed Krystal Raphael's harmless pop to shallow center into a leadoff single to open the inning. After a sacrifice moved Raphael to second, former Liberty High standout Jaclyn Rymer put an exclamation point on her 8-for-8 afternoon with an RBI double to tie the game.
The 'Runners had their chances to pull the game out. Johnson, pinching hitting for Nette Puente, led off the seventh with a single. Puente came back to pinch run and moved to third on Bailey's one-out single up the middle, but two fly balls couldn't bring Puente home.
Northridge took the lead in the eighth when an unearned run turned the tide. Rymer led off with a walk but held at first after Karla Chaparro popped up her bunt attempt. Truan then forced a comebacker from Alexandria Alvarado. In trying to start a 1-6-3 double play, however, Truan's throw went into centerfield. Cleanup hitter Christina Saenz made her pay two pitches later with and RBI single that proved to be the game-winner.
The 'Runners had a golden opportunity to tie it in their half of the eight after Kristen Archuleta led off with a double. Archuleta advanced to third on Stefanie Frei's ground out. But ground balls by Heather Veitch and Puente couldn't push across the tying run
CSUB will look to bounce back the hard way when it hosts fifth-ranked UCLA for a Sunday doubleheader. First pitch is at noon.
