Prosenko Made Splash on Basepath

Cal State Northridge’s David Prosenko had a wild trip around the bases during last weekend’s series at Cal State Sacramento.

In a successful attempt to beat out an infield single, the 160-pound Prosenko dived headfirst into first base and lay on the ground as Sacramento’s 215-pound first baseman Will Fitzpatrick landed atop him.

Prosenko scrambled to his feet when he saw the ball sail into right field and dove into second, unnecessarily--he beat the throw easily. On a single to left by Mike Sims, Prosenko rounded third, stumbled and fell 15 feet from home.

“It was like I was swimming for my life,” he said. “I was telling myself, ‘Get there! Get there!’ ”

Fortunately for Prosenko, Sacramento third baseman Mike Carpenter cut off the throw home. Prosenko was able to scramble to his feet and stagger safely to the plate, tying the score, 1-1, in the eighth inning. The Matadors eventually lost, 5-4.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE

BASEBALL

Right fielder Greg Shepard has batted leadoff for the past four games as Coach Bill Kernen continues to experiment with the order. Shepard, who is hitting a team-leading .408, went seven for 13 in the three-game series against Sacramento.

“I’m getting more comfortable,” Shepard said. “The more you play, the more comfortable you get.” . . .

Left-hander John Bushart, a junior from Thousand Oaks High, struck out 10 batters in the Matadors’ 10-3 win over Sacramento on Sunday. Bushart (3-0) increased his strikeout total to a team-high 25 with only 10 walks. Bushart’s pinpoint control gained him 0-2 counts on 12 Sacramento batters. . . .

Although Kernen called his team’s season-opening nine-game win streak hollow, he believes the Matadors’ No. 13 national ranking is deserved. “We’re one of the best 20 teams because we’ve got pitching,” he said. “There isn’t anybody I’ve seen or the scouts have seen that has as good pitching as we do even without (injured right-hander Steven) Morales.” . . .

Jonathan Campbell, a sophomore from Poly High, started Sunday for the first time in his career, replacing Keyaan Cook at designated hitter.

“I thought he needed to play,” Kernen said. “He’s going to be a (starting) player in our program so I’ve gotta make sure I develop him. And he’s done some extra work in practice and I thought that should be rewarded.”. . . . The Matadors (11-2) have turned 28 double plays in only 13 games. . . . Matador pitchers have a combined earned-run average of 2.50. . . . As a team, Northridge is hitting .288.

TRACK AND FIELD

John Frazier’s reputation as one of the bright young weight-event coaches in the nation continues to grow as his athletes produce one personal-best effort after another.

On Saturday, senior Garrett Noel smashed the Northridge record in the men’s javelin with a throw of 244 feet 9 inches to win a quadrangular meet against USC, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Irvine.

Junior Joe Hicks placed second in the hammer throw with a school record of 205-4 and sophomore Kristin Dunn won the women’s javelin with a season-best throw of 154-4.

The previous week, Hicks and junior Marc Harisay had placed first (58 feet 6 1/2 inches) and third (58-1 3/4) in the men’s shotput at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation indoor championships in Reno. In addition, sophomore Teresa Stricklin won the women’s shotput at 48-2 1/4.

“John is just doing a phenomenal job with his kids,” Northridge Coach Don Strametz said. “He’s really got them competing well.” . . .

Sasha Vujic concluded his collegiate career with a seventh-place finish in the men’s 3,000 meters at the MPSF meet. Vujic, a fifth-year senior from Burroughs High, had completed his eligibility for outdoor track in 1992, but he had a season of indoor track eligibility remaining this year.

He concludes his Northridge career with school records in the 1,500 (3 minutes 41.23 seconds) and 3,000 (8:10.79) meters. . . .

Cindy Byrne, who won the 300-meter low hurdles as a Canyon High junior in the 1988 Southern Section 3-A Division championships, is competing for the Matadors this season after a three-year hiatus.

Byrne, who graduated from Canyon in 1989, had a personal best of 43.47 seconds in the 300 lows in high school.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Coach John Price knows that only a technicality saved the Matadors from violating an NCAA rule when he decided to practice after his team’s lackluster performance in a loss to USC on Friday.

NCAA rules prohibit teams from practicing after a game or match. Northridge got off only because the USC match was part of a tournament, and the NCAA left a loophole for teams that chose to practice after “contests, rounds or events during a multi-day or multi-event competition.”

Price admits he didn’t know about the rule or the loophole.

However, he also denies breaking the spirit of the rule, which exists to preclude coaches from monopolizing an athlete’s extracurricular activities.

The practice, Price said candidly, was called primarily as punishment for a poor effort.

“I hardly kept them out of the library,” Price said. “It was Friday night and we were down in Westwood. I don’t think they were planning on coming back home to study.” . . .

A player Price says might be “the most physically talented guy” ever to play volleyball at Northridge will spend most of this season watching from the sideline.

John Baer could become more dominating than either Bob Samuelson or Neil Coffman, both former Northridge All-Americans, Price said.

Baer, an outside hitter, comes to Northridge from Santa Monica City College, where he enrolled after leaving Pepperdine.

Baer, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, is among the more impressive Northridge players during warm-ups. Inconsistency and lack of experience in the Northridge system is holding him back, Price said.

“He’ll hit a ball straight down that bounces up to the ceiling, then he’ll put the next one into the bottom of the net,” Price said. “But he’s made major strides in just the short time he’s been with us.

“We’re hoping he can help us toward the end of this season and hopefully be a dominating player for us the next two seasons.”

WOMEN’S TENNIS

The Matadors won four matches on the road last week to improve to 8-0. Junior Amy Marks went 4-0 to raise her record to 11-1 in singles play. Fellow juniors Gabriela Knizek and Tracy Spellman are 11-2 and 10-1.

CAL LUTHERAN

BASEBALL

After earning a reputation for hitting the long ball last season, the Kingsmen expected a return this season to their scrappy, short-game attack of the past. A bunt here, a hit-and-run there . . . But the Kingsmen haven’t found it necessary to play small ball.

Cal Lutheran entered Wednesday’s home game against UC San Diego with 24 home runs in 14 games. The team leaders, with four each, are the unlikely trio of Chris Fick, Joe Cascione and Carlos Cardenas.

Early this year, Fick appeared cast for a role as a player-coach on the Kingsmen junior varsity. Cascione, batting .405, is one of CLU’s smallest players, and Cardenas is a relatively unknown transfer from Chico State.

“Their production is a real positive sign,” Coach Rich Hill said. “If the guys we expected to hit for some power start putting up some numbers we should be able to get on a roll.” . . .

Scott Sebbo, the team’s cleanup hitter, is batting .364 with six doubles and he has a streak of 53 plate appearances without striking out.

JUNIOR COLLEGES

BASEBALL

Josh Brown, a right-handed submarine pitcher at Mission, is pulling double duty this season as a starter and a closer. The sophomore from Birmingham High is 6-0 for the Free Spirit (13-4, 4-0 in the Southern California Athletic Conference). Before going the route Tuesday to beat L.A. City, 4-3, Brown had won in relief Saturday in the second game of a conference doubleheader against Cerro Coso. “The way he throws, he’s got good resiliency in his arm,” Mission Coach John Klitsner said. “We plan to use him at least twice a week. If he’s rested, he’ll probably be our closer as well as a starter.” . . .

Pierce assistant Mitch Graff is back with the team after suffering a fractured skull while throwing batting practice to the team Feb. 12. Graff was hit above the right ear by a line drive and was hospitalized briefly. He had been recuperating at home and waiting for a blood clot in his head to dissolve. “I’m actually feeling really good. . . . The doctor says the blood clot is almost gone,” said Graff, who wears a helmet when he serves as third-base coach. “I can’t throw (batting practice) yet. I hope (the doctor) will let me throw after I see him on April 2.” . . .

Ventura Coach Gary Anglin needs five more victories to reach 300 in his 16 years with the Pirates. If the Pirates (5-7, 3-5 in the Western State Conference) win their next five games, Anglin would hit the milestone at home against Santa Barbara on March 18.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Sasha Garrison, a forward from Antelope Valley, scored six points and Moorpark’s Tamara Pacheco scored four for the South team in an 88-82 loss to the North in the junior college all-star game Saturday. Ventura’s Cori Herman had three points and Valley’s Rosa Mendez had two.

MEN’S TENNIS

Pierce, the defending WSC champion, is off to a flying start. The Brahmas are 9-0, 4-0 in conference play after beating Santa Barbara City on Monday for their 19th consecutive conference victory.

“This is the best team we’ve ever had,” said Paul Xanthos, who has coached the Brahmas since 1965. . . .

No. 1 singles player Al Martinez is 6-0, No. 2 John Rom is 9-0, No. 4 Phillip Leonhardt is 7-0 and No. 6 Simon Hawa is 7-0. In doubles, Vanja Nadali and Leonhardt are 5-0. The Brahmas will meet College of the Desert in a nonconference home match Friday. The teams are tied for the top ranking in the state.

Staff writers Fernando Dominguez, Mike Hiserman, Theresa Munoz and John Ortega contributed to this notebook.