Nakia Hill

Bryan Noyes grew up in Brea, just a few miles down the road from Titan Field. "My dad used to bring our Little League team to watch Cal State Fullerton play," Noyes said. "I always wanted to be a Titan." That didn't happen, but Noyes certainly has gotten Fullerton's attention this season as a pitcher for UC Santa Barbara. Noyes has given up only one run in 16 innings this year against Fullerton and picked up his second victory of the season over the Titans on Friday night.

It was a big difference from two weeks ago. When Cal State Fullerton played at Cal State Northridge in the season opener, the Matadors pounded four home runs, and the Titans made three errors. Wednesday, the Titans drilled two homers and came up with some sparkling plays on defense in a 5-1 victory over the Matadors at Titan Field. It was Fullerton's fifth consecutive victory.

Senior Brendan Hause pitched Mira Mesa to a 10-2 victory over host Patrick Henry Tuesday in a City Eastern League game. Hause, who entered the game with 83 strikeouts and 0.87 ERA, improved his record to 9-1 and took over the county lead in victories. Third-ranked Mira Mesa is 17-5 and 6-1. Patrick Henry is 7-12 and 3-4. Metro Conference Montgomery 5, Chula Vista 2--The second-ranked rolled to 19-3, 10-0 behind the five-hit pitching of David Silvas. Julio Saldana was four for four with two RBIs.

Brian Tokarse gave up two runs on four hits in eight innings and struck out nine in his first start this season for 15th-ranked Cal State Fullerton, which recorded their sixth straight victory over Fresno State, 3-2, in a nonconference game at Fresno. Giuseppe Chiaramonte hit a two-run homer for his seventh of the season in the second inning to put Fresno State (5-10) up, 2-0. In the sixth inning, Jerome Alviso and Mike Lamb had consecutive singles.

Mike McNeeley hit a three-run home run in the second inning and finished with four runs batted in and Cal State Northridge defeated UC Santa Barbara, 7-6, in a nonconference baseball game Wednesday afternoon at UC Santa Barbara. McNeeley, Kevin Patrick and Nakia Hill each had two hits for Northridge (7-6). The Gauchos (1-3) left the potential tying run on third base in the bottom of the eighth inning when Brad Foss got Chad Peshke to fly out to right field. Foss earned his third save.

It took 14 innings, but the Kansas State baseball team ended Cal State Northridge's record 16-game winning streak Friday at Manhattan, Kan. Northridge blew a one-run lead in the ninth, a three-run lead in the 12th and a one-run lead in the 14th, finally falling, 14-13, in the first game of a doubleheader. Northridge won the seven-inning second game, 10-7, behind four hits and three runs scored by Nakia Hill. In the opener, the Matadors (29-18) pounded out 20 hits, but made five errors.

For a team that rose from ashes simply to take the field, it was a remarkable comeback. A three-run home run by Darren Dyt--a comeback kid in his own right--completed a turnaround from an eight-run deficit and gave the Cal State Northridge baseball team an 11-10 victory over Loyola Marymount on Tuesday in the Matadors' home opener.

His own administrators nearly kept him from accomplishing it, but Cal State Northridge baseball Coach Mike Batesole reached 100 victories in little more than two seasons and a month before his 34th birthday. The NCAA doesn't keep such records, but there is no doubt Batesole reached the milestone more quickly and at a younger age than nearly any collegiate coach. And the Matadors did it his way, hammering five home runs to put away Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 16-10, Tuesday at Northridge.

All good seasons must come to an end, and unless the NCAA goes against the grain in its regional selections, Cal State Northridge's remarkable rise from near ruin will conclude today. "This is like my family and I've been thinking about it every night, knowing there won't be any more practices and games," said Mike McNeely, the Matadors' senior center fielder. "It's been so much fun. "Usually this time of year guys are tired and talking about the end of the season.

How couldn't he be proud? Against severe odds, Mike Batesole guided Cal State Northridge to a 94-38 record the past two seasons, more victories than all but a small handful of teams in the nation. But last summer as he stood in line at a grocery store in front of two young boys wearing Matador T-shirts, his heart sank. The words "Northridge Baseball" were crossed out in black marker. Ouch.