WAC Affiliation Buys Young Matadors Time

Membership has its privileges. That’s why every game won’t be as critical for the Cal State Northridge baseball team this season.

Unlike their first two seasons in Division I, the Matadors, who will make their 1993 debut Tuesday at UC Santa Barbara, won’t have to post an eye-catching overall record to clinch a berth in the NCAA tournament.

As an affiliate of the Western Athletic Conference Western Division this season, Northridge, ranked 25th in Collegiate Baseball magazine’s preseason poll, can earn an automatic NCAA tournament berth by winning a playoff against the Eastern Division winner.

As a result, fifth-year Coach Bill Kernen has the luxury of developing players in nonconference games.

“We could lose every single game in the pre-conference season and still have the opportunity to make the playoffs,” Kernen said. “What we want with this team is for the players to get better as the season goes by and be the best they can be at the end.

“WAC membership allows us to experiment earlier. It allows us to play more guys. It allows us to save pitchers’ arms by not having guys throw 160 pitches and go nine innings every time.”

Twenty-four of the Matadors’ 54 scheduled games are against WAC Western Division opponents: 17th-ranked Fresno State, 38th-ranked Hawaii, San Diego State and Cal State Sacramento. The Eastern Division comprises Air Force, Wyoming, Brigham Young, New Mexico and Utah.

As an independent last season, Northridge went 38-16-1 and advanced to the NCAA Midwest regional. Five members of that team, which was ranked as high as No. 6, were selected in the June draft, including mound ace Kenny Kendrena, right-handed pitcher Kevin Kloek and second baseman Scott Richardson.

The returning starters are: pitchers Steven Morales (4-1, 2.43 earned-run average) and John Bushart (5-5, 4.23), a junior from Thousand Oaks High; senior catcher Mike Sims from Alemany High (.296 average, 27 runs batted in, six home runs); senior shortstop Andy Hodgins from Simi Valley High (.304, 24, 2) and right fielder Greg Shepard (.266, 34, 7).

Morales suffered a season-ending stress fracture near his right elbow last April and was limited to eight starts. Lingering soreness in his forearm and elbow is expected to sideline him for the first 10 days of the season.

Marco Contreras (9-3, 3.09), a transfer from Cerritos College who throws a fastball, slider, and changeup, will start the opener.

East Los Angeles College transfer Keven Kempton, and Bushart, the staff’s lone left-hander, complete the four-man rotation.

In the past two seasons, Northridge pitchers completed an astounding 67% of their starts. That percentage should drop considerably because of experimentation in nonconference games with several inexperienced relief pitchers: Jason Shanahan, Jason VanHeerde, Johnny Najar and Evan Howland, a freshman from El Camino Real High.

The batting order for the opener is as follows: Hodgins (shortstop), Chris Olsen (second base), Shepard (right field), Sims (catcher), Andy Small (third base), Shanahan (first base), David Prosenko (left field), Pierce College transfer Joey Arnold (center field) and Louisiana State transfer Keyaan Cook, Jonathon Campbell, or Erik Lazerus (designated hitter).

Cook and Lazerus also can play second base.

When Olsen is not at second he will be the designated hitter. A former high school catcher, he is also Sims’ backup, replacing Kyle Washington, a senior who quit the team. Olsen, the most versatile Matador player, can play any position except shortstop and pitcher.

Kernen is concerned about his team’s offense, particularly its lack of power hitting.

“I’ll put the best nine hitters in the lineup and then I’ll piece the positions together,” he said. “Defensively, we’re OK. The concern I have is: How many runs are we gonna score? We have several guys who can hit some home runs, but we don’t have any 30 home run guys.”

Shepard, Sims, Small, and Shanahan have longball potential. Shepard and Sims, in particular, are expected to boost their home run totals from last season to double figures.

“Shepard is the best hitter we have right now,” Kernen said. “And Sims is stronger and we’ve changed his swing.”

Kernen, 42, said he has less of a feel for the 1993 Matadors than any team he has coached in his 16-year career.

“I wish I knew more about us,” Kernen said. “This is the biggest mystery team. Certain individuals have been here, I have a feel for them, but how will they mix?”

Kernen can count on one thing: Thanks to WAC membership, he will have more time to learn the answers to his questions.