NOTHING DULL ABOUT CSUN SWEEP ONCE MORE, LATE HEROICS SAVE MATADORS CSUN 3, SAC STATE 2.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

Some of the players joked they were trying to give the fans a reason to stay.

Until a consistent offense can be found, it's not likely fans leaving early will be able to determine the outcome of Cal State Northridge baseball games.

Jason Watkins' two-out single in the eighth provided the deciding run for the Matadors in Sunday's 3-2 victory against Cal State Sacramento in front of 397 at Matador Field. It was the earliest the winning run was scored during the three-game series.

``We like to keep the crowd on its toes,'' Watkins said. ``We keep it exciting.''

The Matadors' heart and determination were evident in their opening series against Nevada, but it wasn't enough. When solid pitching and defense were added to the mix this past week, CSUN found a way to keep games close to the end no matter how few runs the offense produces.

After losing to Pepperdine by a run Tuesday, the Matadors (4-3) moved above .500 by sweeping the Hornets (1-3) in a series in which two games were decided by a single run, and the other by two runs on a homer in the bottom of the ninth.

Jason Gorman gave CSUN a 2-0 lead with a single up the middle in the first inning, but the Matadors left nine runners on base before they scored again.

``It was just back and fourth,'' Watkins said. ``Pitching did a great job keeping us in the game. The pitching's been great this weekend.

``Hopefully we can bust through with some hits soon.''

CSUN junior left-hander Ryan McDermott (1-0) earned the win by pitching four shutout innings. He struck out four, walked none and gave up three hits in relief of Kameron Loe.

Loe walked the first batter of the game, then settled down to strike out nine in five-plus innings. The freshman right-hander out of Granada Hills High faced the minimum nine batters through the first three innings and did not allow a hit until the fifth.

``I felt comfortable from the start this time,'' said Loe, who made the second start of his college career. ``The last time, there was some first-game jitters and it took me a while. This game, I went out there ready.''

A one-out single in the fifth by Carlos Morales was the first hit off Loe. Two pitches later, Jimmy McFarland homered to left to tie the game 2-2.

Back-to-back singles by Jesse Krebs and Ryan Brown to start the sixth chased Loe and a one-out infield single by Casey Martinez loaded the bases for the Hornets, but a double play got the Matadors out of the inning.

CSUN loaded the bases an inning later, but was denied when Kreb made a diving stop of Matadors pinch-hitter Brandon Thompson's grounder at short to end the inning.

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Photo: CSUN's Jason Watkins (8) popped up this bunt attempt, but his two-out RBI single in the eighth inning gave the Matadors a 3-2 win.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer