COLLEGE BASEBALL: CSUN STOPPING OVER AT THE HANGAR.Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer NORTHRIDGE - Jason Allec and Jason Gorman played their last high school baseball games at Lancaster Municipal Stadium. The Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley natives weren't sure if they'd ever get a game at The Hangar again. The former crosstown prep rivals, Allec from Highland and Gorman from Palmdale, are Cal State Northridge teammates. But this weekend, they're coming home to The Hangar. The Matadors play host to the Clash of the Conferences, a four-team tournament at The Hangar that begins its four-day run today. ``It's going to be really fun to play in front of the people that you grew up with,'' said Allec, a junior catcher hitting .231 with two homers and 10 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in in 11 starts. ``They get a chance to see how you've matured as an athlete and as a person, too.'' Allec and Gorman, a senior second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker , participated in the Larry Lake All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games at The Hangar as high school seniors, not knowing whether they'd play at the immaculate Single-A California League The California League is a minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth facility again. They figured the only opportunity was as professionals. ``A baseball player's ultimate goal is to make it to pro ball,'' Allec said. ``But I never thought I'd play there again.'' Matadors coach Mike Batesole has always been intrigued with holding a tournament in nearby Lancaster. With help from Northridge professor Dr. Jack Foley and the City of Lancaster The City of Lancaster (2002 population: 133,914) is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. Its main town is Lancaster, from which it obtained its city status. Other towns in the district include Morecambe, Heysham, Slyne, and Carnforth. , the Clash of the Conferences was born. Playing in one of the most sparkling stadiums at the minor-league level can only boost the Matadors' recruiting efforts. ``It's been a long time in the works. It's going to be nice to get in a facility that's top-notch, nice to play against top-level Division I teams, and it's good for our kids to get in that (NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Regional) atmosphere,'' said Batesole, whose 10-5 Matadors open tournament play against Purdue tonight at 6:40. George Washington and Nevada Las Vegas are the other participants. So although Allec and Gorman can show their teammates around town, CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge players can get a taste of the next level. The Clash of the Conferences is the second consecutive weekend the Matadors will play in a minor-league ballpark. Last week's Shreveport (La.) College Classic was at stadium of the Double-A Shreveport SwampDragons. The quality of baseball makes the tournament worth watching. The Matadors were ranked 22nd in Baseball America's preseason poll and are on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of breaking the national rankings again after winning five of seven. The Matadors feature Texas Tech transfer Shaun Larkin, a second baseman batting .510 (25 for 49) with nine home runs and 22 RBI. Junior pitcher Bill Murphy, scheduled to start on Friday night against Purdue, already has wins over All-America candidate Darrell Rasner of Nevada and top-10 Oklahoma State. Purdue should compete again for the Big 10 Conference championship after finishing second last season. George Washington of the Atlantic 10 went 38-23 in 2001 and UNLV UNLV University of Nevada, Las Vegas of the Mountain West has a new coach in former Tulane assistant Jim Schlossnagle. CLASH OF THE CONFERENCES When: Today-Sunday at Lancaster Municipal Stadium Today's games: Purdue vs. Cal State Northridge, 6:40 p.m. Friday: Nevada Las Vegas vs. George Washington, 2:10 p.m.; Purdue vs. Cal State Northridge, 6:10 p.m. Saturday: Purdue vs. Nevada Las Vegas, 11:10 a.m.; Nevada Las Vegas vs. Cal State Northridge (nontournament game), 2:10 p.m.; George Washington vs. Cal State Northridge, 6:10 p.m. Sunday: Purdue vs. George Washington, 11:10 a.m.; UNLV vs. Cal State Northridge, 2:10 p.m. CAPTION(S): box Box: CLASH OF THE CONFERENCE (see text) |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion