Matadors Tap Unexpected Power

NORTHRIDGE — The anticipated power outage at Cal State Northridge has yet to materialize.

Instead, the Matadors lit up Cal State Fullerton, belting four home runs and defeating the No. 9-ranked Titans, 5-3, Tuesday in the first of a handful of games against ranked opponents.

“We weren’t supposed to be hitting the bombs, but I guess we just reload,” said left-hander Erasmo Ramirez (1-0), who benefited from the muscle.

Adam Kennedy, Jose Miranda, Cesar Martinez and Brian Wagner all hit home runs in the first four innings to help Northridge build a 5-3 lead.

Kennedy frequently hits with power, but Miranda and Martinez combined for only eight homers last season and Wagner is a transfer catcher from Sacramento City College whose strength is defense.

Less surprising was the sharp pitching of Ramirez and right-hander Gary Stephenson, who earned his first save by shutting out Fullerton over four innings.

Ramirez survived shoddy defense, allowing two earned runs in five innings, and Stephenson allowed three hits and walked none. The hardest-hit ball off either pitcher was a drive by Aaron Rowand with two out in the ninth and a runner on second that center fielder Andy Wilson caught over his shoulder on the run.

“That ball was crushed,” Stephenson said. “That was the greatest catch I’ve ever seen.”

Stephenson, a senior from Hart High, showed the dozen or so major league scouts in attendance something they’d never seen from him: impressive velocity.

“He was throwing 88-89 mph with movement,” one scout said. “He picked up five miles per hour during the off-season.”

The extra heat enabled Stephenson to strike out the side in the eighth, as well as dangerous C.J. Ankrum after Steve Chatham had doubled with one out in the ninth. Rowand followed by driving a 1-2 pitch, but Wilson made up for two earlier misplays.

Northridge (2-0) was shaky on several routine groundballs, and Fullerton made three errors.

“That was January defense,” Northridge Coach Mike Batesole said. “Some simple things were blown, but everybody is fresh and strong, so great plays happen too.”

Kennedy opened the scoring by leading off the first with a home run to left field. He also hit one in Northridge’s season-opening victory over Cal Baptist on Friday.

Run-scoring hits in the third by Chatham and the aptly named Ryan Fullerton gave the Titans a 2-1 lead, but Northridge answered with two in the bottom of the inning.

Wilson led off with a walk, stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error and--after Kennedy walked--scored on a double-play ground ball by Terrmel Sledge. Miranda followed with a towering home run to right-center field.

Martinez and Wagner hit back-to-back homers to lead off the fourth, and the Matadors had built a lead the same way they did last season, when they hit 129 home runs en route to a 52-18 record.

An error by Kennedy enabled Fullerton to score a run in the fifth, but Ramirez pitched out of a bases-loaded jam by getting Mike Lamb on a line out to right field.

“We hit the ball on a line and they hit it in the air,” said George Horton, who made his debut as Fullerton coach. “In this type of park, you have to hit the way they did.”

Notes

Northridge, an independent, must fare well against top teams in order to gain a regional berth. So far, so good. “Our team will develop its identity,” Batesole said. “This game can go a long way toward that.”. . . . Northridge hadn’t defeated Fullerton since 1993, losing six in a row. . . . Titan right-hander Tim Baron, a redshirt freshman from Thousand Oaks High, will pitch in middle relief. “Tim doesn’t have great stuff but he has command of three pitches and changes speeds,” Horton said. “He will be counted on to get important outs.”