CSUN NOTEBOOK : BATESOLE LAYS SOLID FOUNDATION FOR NORTHRIDGE BASEBALL TEAM.

Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer

When Cal State Northridge coach Mike Batesole talks to colleagues such as Mike Gillespie at USC or Mark Marquess at Stanford, he marvels at the seeming ease with which the elite schools recruit.

``They've stayed at the top and they don't have to get 19 new guys every year,'' Batesole said. ``They only have to bring a few guys in every year. They're done (recruiting) in November. We're still bringing guys in in August, a few days before school starts.''

No more. Batesole, whose team finished ranked 10th in the nation last season, is laying a foundation of his own.

The Matadors have eight true freshmen on their roster this season, the most the team has had since it moved up to Division I in 1992. They had one true freshman (Ryan Hurd) last season.

``I wanted to build more of a base,'' Batesole said. ``I wanted to get guys who will be here year after year. You get a JC guy, he comes in here, has one great year and he's gone.''

(Players that enter a four-year college out of high school are not eligible for the professional draft until after their junior year.)

Turnover has been the Matadors' bane. They had 14 new players last season. This year, they have 18 newcomers.

If all goes to plan, there will be fewer rookies next year and even fewer the following year.

``This might be the smarter way to do it,'' Batesole said with smile.

Speaking of building: The softball complex is a mess. Ditches are everywhere. The fringes of the infield are torn up. There are no dugouts. What were once patches of grass in the spectators area is one big swamp.

But soon it will be more beautiful than ever.

The place is undergoing a facelift, starting with the construction of sunken dugouts built with 1,800 concrete blocks donated by Angelos Block.

But as coach Janet Sherman said, ``Mother Nature is not cooperating.'' So in order for the new dugouts - sunk four feet below field level - to be ready for the Feb. 1 season opener, the university's Physical Plant Management workers have been doing what they can in the rain.

The new dugouts will replace the old field-level, wood-and-fiberglass shanties. Also, instead of the dirt that has always created dust storms for spectators when the ever-present wind blew, sod will outline the infield along the basepaths and behind homeplate.

The plan is to erect bleachers behind the dugouts before the 1998 season.

``It will be more stadium-like,'' Sherman said of the complex that has drawn the criticsim of visiting coaches.

Looks promising: Jesse McNaughton, a junior-college All-American free safety from Bakersfield College, said Wednesday he will make a decision today on where to continue his career. He is leaning toward Northridge.

``I really liked (coach Jim) Fenwick and the staff I met,'' McNaughton said of his visit to Northridge on Tuesday. ``I just think that's a program that is really going to make a move.''

McNaughton (6-foot, 185 pounds) is also being wooed by San Diego State and Fresno State. He took a recruiting trip to San Jose State, where former Northridge coach Dave Baldwin is now, but has ruled out attending that school.

First season: The track and field team opens its indoor season Saturday with a four-team meet at Northern Arizona.

The Matadors have just five indoor meets, including the Big Sky Conference championships, compared to 11 outdoor meets. As with most warm-climate schools, Northridge's focus is on the outdoor season.

``We want to do well (to) set the tone for the rest of the season,'' coach Don Strametz said of indoors. ``But obviously we're much better suited for the outdoor season.''

TV time: Friday is your chance to see the men's basketball team on live television. But you'll likely have to go to a sports bar to do it.

The Matadors' Big Sky Conference game at Idaho State at 7 p.m. Friday is televised on Fox Sports Northwest. A bar with a satellite that subscribes to Fox Sports will have the game.

Fox Sports West will not pick up the Northridge-Idaho State broadcast because it carries the Lakers-Golden State game at that time. Northridge will not be on TV again unless it makes the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament.

Around campus: The softball team is No.(5) in the nation in Fastpitch World magazine's preseason rankings. . . . Don't count on the baseball team playing its scheduled season opener against Cal Baptist on Friday. Matador Field drains slower than a just-opened ketchup bottle. And you can't hit the infield on the ``57.'' There is also a chance of showers over the weekend, when Northridge is set to host Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. . . . Wes Smith, trainer for the men's basketball team, is also the track coach at L.A. Baptist High School.