CSUN Women Win 2 With Short-Ball Game

Cal State Northridge softball Coach Gary Torgeson now has an offense in which power overshadows its redoubtable short game.

It’s not that the Lady Matadors now lack in the small skills, however, as both Loyola Marymount and Cal State Sacramento discovered in Saturday’s second-day preliminary action in the CSUN-hosted Tournament of Champions, which concludes today with single-elimination play.

The Lady Matadors used the short game to perfection in posting shutouts over Loyola, 2-0, and Sacramento State, 7-0. CSUN (33-5, 11-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.), which has won 22 straight, has rolled past all five of its opponents.

“The short game is what really did it for us today,” said Torgeson, as all nine CSUN runs were the result of bunting and baserunning proficiency. “The short game has won it for us over the years. It’s only recently we’ve become a power team, but we probably spend as much time practicing that as anything. I believe if you can’t bunt you can’t win.”

A sacrifice bunt by Lisa Hall set the stage for Andi Goodell to knock in Kelly Winn with the winning run in the second inning against Loyola. An inning later Beth Onestinghel executed a a perfect squeeze, bringing in the insurance marker. Left-hander Tracey Fox (7-0) pitched a four-hitter, striking out six and walking only one.

Freshman Debbie Dickman benefited from CSUN’s short-game skills against Sacramento. Dickman (11-3) allowed just one hit--a fifth-inning single--while walking three and striking out five.

A three-run first inning, featuring sacrifice bunts by Hall and Priscilla Rouse, a two-run triple by Onestinghel and a squeeze by cleanup hitter Kelly Winn, typified CSUN’s day.

“We always practice on our short game,” reaffirmed Barbara Jordan, who managed a pair of bunt singles among her three hits against Sacramento. “We’re better than any other team at it. We hide bunt, drag and slap. The key is we’re able to fool the defense.”

“They (Sacramento) were playing back so we went short,” Torgeson explained. “We took advantage of the fact that they knew we had been slugging the ball.”

“I don’t blame them. They’re still a good team. It’s nice to know you can always have an alternate game plan.”