COLLEGE BASEBALL : NORTHRIDGE STUMBLES AGAIN FRESNO ST. 6, CSUN 2.

Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer

Fresno State's starting pitcher had a bad back, and the two freshmen that followed him in relief had been just plain bad.

``Who are these guys?'' catcher Robert Fick said of the Bulldogs' pitchers. ``They pitched their No. 10, No. 11 and No. 12 pitchers and . . .

And they did a job on the Matadors.

A crowd of 3,412 at Beiden Field saw 11th-ranked Northridge struggle mightily and lose for the second straight day, this time 6-2 in the finale of a three-game series.

With the victory, Fresno State (27-22, 14-10) is back from the grave.

Northridge is far from dead, but its pulse is weak. Some resuscitation is needed. Stat.

``We were front-running,'' Fick said of the past two games. ``We didn't battle. We were sitting on the bench not saying a word.''

The Bulldogs, considered all but finished after Northridge thumped them 8-1 on Friday, are now just two games behind the Matadors in the Western Athletic Conference's West Division. Northridge (39-12, 16-7) leads San Diego State by one game after the Aztecs beat Hawaii 6-5 Sunday. Northridge plays three games at San Diego State beginning Friday. The Matadors' final series of the season is at home against last-place Sacramento State May 3-5.

``Everyone was counting us out,'' said Fresno's Derek Feramisco, who had two home runs and five RBI Sunday. ``We were four games behind, and they beat us pretty soundly (Friday).

``We had a team meeting before Saturday's game. We just put it on the line. We said, `Our season rides on these games.' ''

Sounds like a philosophy Northridge could have heeded.

Instead, after a pregame talk from Mike Batesole in which he told his team defense was the key, the Matadors committed three errors Sunday.

Worse, they ruined a sharp pitching performance by starter Benito Flores by getting just six hits and stranding five runners in scoring position.

The Matadors scored twice off starter Kevin Fitzmaurice before he had to leave with a sore back. Adam Pettyjohn, who had a 28.42 ERA in 6-1/3 innings and gave up six earned runs in two thirds of an inning to Northridge earlier this year, started the fifth and allowed just two hits before leaving the game with the bases loaded in the eighth. Randy Goodrich, who had a 5.94 ERA in 47 innings, came in to strike out David Stevenson on three pitches.

Shocked and dejected after the game, the Matadors were still optimistic.

``We'll end up on the right end of this,'' Batesole said.

``The pressure is still on them,'' Fick said. ``We still control our destiny. They're still looking at our (rears).''