Baseball slides past CSUN in 11-inning battle
By Ruben Gutierrez
At long last, designated hitter Chad Matoian saw red against the
Matadors, hitting a game winning RBI single in the bottom of the
eleventh inning last night to lead the Bruins past visiting Cal
State Northridge, 4-3. It was the fourth straight victory for UCLA,
keeping playoff hopes well alive for the Bruins.
After three innings of play, the game appeared to be in hand for
UCLA (23-17 overall), as the Bruins cruised out to a 3-0 advantage
behind the pitching of starter Ryan Lynch and Tom Jacquez, who came
in for Lynch in the third inning. The scoring opened with a Pete
Zamora double to score Matoian. Eric Byrnes and Troy Glaus also
scored for UCLA.
Lynch, Jacquez, and Jeff Howatt combined for five innings of
hitless baseball against CSUN. But in the sixth inning, with Howatt
on the mound for the Bruins, the plot thickened. Howatt led off the
inning by giving up a double to catcher Robert Fick. After notching
an out, a walk followed by a wild pitch scored Fick. Howatt then
gave up three singles and another walk.
"I didn’t feel like we threw the right pitches to the bottom of
their order," UCLA head coach Gary Adams said. "I don’t think we
went after them enough"
Pitcher Nick St. George managed to keep the Bruins in the
ballgame during the late running, masterfully retiring batters in
order for four straight innings.
"I was very pleased with Nick. His pitching kept us in the game
and he shut them down," Adams said.
Neither team managed to score to break the deadlock for nearly
five innings. UCLA led off the bottom of the eleventh with a double
by second baseman Gar Vallone. A single by centerfielder Jon
Heinrichs followed. Heinrichs managed to steal third while Zak
Ammirato was walked. Nick Theodorou then singled and stole second.
The pressure on, Matoian responded with a big single to score
Heinrichs and seal the Matadors’ fate.
"Chad goes up there and he doesn’t strike out. He’s a contact
hitter," Adams said. ""He tries to hit line drives and ground balls
and when he does, he’s a tough hitter."