Too close for comfort was the feeling on Saturday at Blair Field. As the Matadors managed to keep the score very close, and the Dirtbags saw several opportunities missed.
In the end, the Dirtbags just barely cranked out a 4-2 win, the second in a row over Cal State Northridge. But it came right down to the nail-biting ninth inning when closer Bryan Shaw narrowly managed to get the save.
“We overcame ourselves,” said head coach Mike Weathers. “Due to the poor execution of our bunting game, and again, not being aggressive with runners in scoring position we put ourselves in a position to lose.”
The Dirtbags were on the board early in the bottom of the first, but the Matadors immediately responded in the top of the second when Omar Arif gave up his first and only earned run in his four and 1/3 innings.
The score remained tied at one through much of the first half of the game. The Dirtbags failed to capitalize on runners in scoring position until the bottom of the sixth.
With no outs, Shane Peterson led off with a single. Jason Corder then slugged his second RBI when he hit a stand-up double through the right-field gap to break the tie. Robert Perry followed with a double to score Corder, and take a 3-1 lead for the Dirtbags.
Chris Nelson’s double to center in the top of the seventh gave the Dirtbags an extra insurance run after Adam Wilk gave up an earned run in the top of the sixth.
Corder led the team for the day, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Corder drove one in with a sacrifice fly, then slugged a single and a stand-up double, as well as reached base on a fielder’s choice.
“He’s a force, he’s got a chance to be kind of a force in the middle of the lineup,” Weathers said. “He’s just a guy that we sure stuck with early. When he made some changes in his swing about a week ago in practice I thought it was time to give him a chance. And he’s stuck with it which has been good for us.”
Until recently Corder had not made any big plays for the Dirtbags since early in the season. In a similar situation was Perry. Perry, who has played most of the season as the Dirtbags’ leadoff hitter, found himself way down in the seven spot on Tuesday, and batted fifth on Friday and Saturday.
Although Weathers said Perry has consistently had quality at-bats, his average and on-base percentage has been much lower than usual lately, until this week.
On Tuesday, Perry slugged a two-run homer against Pepperdine, went 1-for-3 Friday with two RBIs and 2-for-4 Saturday with one RBI and a double.
“It kind of feels like something finally fell,” Perry said. “I’ve been hitting the ball hard and not getting results. But that’s how baseball is, I’ve just got to work my way out of it.”
This win puts the Dirtbags (20-12, 3-2) above the .500 mark in conference play. The Matadors (13-24, 1-7) have won only twice in its last 18 games.
The two teams finish up the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Blair Field.
