CSUN Armed for Final Run in Tournament

The program being sold at the Tournament of Champions opens with photographs of all the teams participating in the 13-team softball tournament at Cal State Northridge.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is seen smiling in a picturesque setting near the ocean. Chapman College looks pretty happy in the warm Orange County sun.

Then there’s Mankato State from Minnesota. The Mavericks’ team picture is much like the others except that the sun, the sea and even some lush grass are missing. The Mavericks are flanked by snow.

Saturday against CSUN, the team that came in from the cold had the misfortune of running into Lisa Martin, the hottest pitcher in the tournament.

Tournament games are being played with a 1 1/2-hour time limit, making complete games rare. But Martin took advantage of the time she had to pitch her second consecutive six-inning one-hitter as the Lady Matadors beat Mankato State, 6-0.

In other games Saturday, CSUN also shut out Cal State Dominguez Hills, 5-0, on a five-inning one-hitter by Kathy Slaten, and Cal State Chico, 3-0, on a six-inning no-hitter by Delanee Anderson.

With the victories, CSUN finished pool play 6-0 and earned a first-round bye in today’s single-elimination championship playoff. Northridge (24-6) will begin its final run toward the tournament title at 11 a.m. against the winner of a 9:30 game between Cal State Sacramento and Chico.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, seeded first in the lower bracket, also finished pool play undefeated and draws a first-round bye.

The biggest surprise Saturday was the two losses suffered by Chapman, the top-ranked team in Division II. Chapman was upset by Bakersfield, 4-3, then lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 3-2.

Northridge first baseman Kelly Winn was the main offensive force for the Lady Matadors. The junior from Fountain Valley went 7 for 9 on the day with a home run and three runs batted in.

“That’s what my role is supposed to be on this team,” said Winn, whose two-run homer against Mankato State was her first of the year and the Lady Matadors’ second in as many days. “I don’t know what I can attribute my performance to today. I guess it helped that I got 12 hours sleep last night.”

Northridge Coach Gary Torgeson figures to be sleeping pretty well these days. His pitching staff continues to dominate and the rest of the team is hitting and playing aggressive defense.

Martin had only three strikeouts, but was in total control against Mankato State.

“Lisa is the trump card of our pitching staff,” Torgeson said. “When she pitches like that, it takes a lot of pressure off Slaten and Anderson.”

Slaten and Anderson didn’t appear to be under much stress Saturday.

Slaten had seven strikeouts and was never in trouble against Dominguez Hills. Anderson breezed through the Chico lineup and made it 68 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run.

Northridge center fielder Barbara Jordan, who had four hits and four runs scored, joined Winn to pace the Lady Matadors on offense.

And on defense, Jordan, third baseman Barb Flynn and shortstop Lori Shelly all made extraordinary to take away base hits.

“You can’t wait for that team to make errors,” Mankato State Coach Lori Meyer said. “They just don’t.”

Torgeson, asked about possible games today against Chapman and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, was hoping the strong play would continue.

“We played like we’re capable of today and that was very encouraging,” he said. “I just hope it wasn’t a one-day thing.”

Notes

Northridge outfielder Priscilla Rouse, who hit a home run on one of the auxiliary fields without a fence Friday against UC Riverside, almost had another one against Mankato State. After Kelly Winn homered to give CSUN a 3-0 lead, Rouse hit a ball into the same right-center field gap that allowed her to race around the bases on Friday. This time, however, she was thrown out at the plate. . . . Cal Poly San Luis Obispo catcher Kecia Gorman, from Thousand Oaks, hit a home run over the left field fence at Lady Matador Field on Friday. Gorman’s bid for another home run on Saturday was caught at the fence.