Sharts Lifts CSUN With Healthy Arm : Baseball: Pitcher shows little sign of tendinitis in win over Dominguez Hills.

Scott Sharts of Cal State Northridge made his long-awaited return to the pitcher’s mound Saturday after numerous layovers in the weight room and his doctor’s office.

Sharts, troubled by tendinitis in his right (pitching) arm, gave up one run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings to guide the Matadors to a 9-2 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills in a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. baseball game at Matador Field.

Sharts’ arm trouble had limited him to playing first base and he had pitched just 8 2/3 innings spread over three appearances this season.

But in his first start since the second game of the season, Sharts struck out nine and walked four in evening his record at 1-1.

For the Matadors (25-14, 12-6 in conference play), Saturday’s win marked a three-game sweep of Dominguez Hills (12-19-2, 5-14) this week and was their 13th win in their last 15 games. Northridge moved into second place and remained two games behind UC Riverside (13-3).

“He was intimidating out there,” Toros Coach George Wing said. “He was in the strike zone. He had a little pop in the ball. With more work, I think he can be a real dominating pitcher in this conference.”

Sharts struggled with his control in his last outing, giving up four runs in 1 2/3 innings at Fresno State on April 3.

Saturday, the sophomore right-hander stuck to two pitches, a tailing fastball and a curve, to strike out the first two batters in each of the first three innings. He also picked off a runner at second base in the fifth inning.

“(My arm) felt great,” Sharts said. “No problems. I was a little nervous from the start. I knew all I had to do was throw hard and hit my spots.”

CSUN Coach Bill Kernen agreed.

“That’s the hardest he (Sharts) has thrown this season,” Kernen said. “He kept the ball down in the strike zone. They’re a hard team to strike out.

“They’re not a power team. They score runs because they can get the bat on the ball.”

The Toros managed to score just one run off Sharts. In the fourth inning, Darrell Conner, who failed to extend his hitting streak past 19 games, led off with a walk and scored on Bill Keep’s double.

The Matadors, however, didn’t have any trouble scoring, collecting 14 hits.

Sharts also came close to hitting his 18th homer of the season with a towering fly to center field in the eighth. He did drive in the Matadors’ first run with a single to center in the first inning and cleanup hitter Denny Vigo had two hits and two runs batted in.

But it was the bottom of the Matadors’ batting order that did the most damage.

Sixth-place hitter Eric Johnson had a two-run double, No. 7 hitter Mike Solar had two hits, including his fifth home run, and eighth-place hitter Andy Hodgins had a run-scoring single.

“That’s the kind of hitting we need from the middle of our order,” Kernen said. “That’s the difference between scoring nine or 10 runs instead of four or five.”

Northridge has won four of five games with the Toros, who showed their frustration in the fifth inning.

Leading, 5-1, CSUN had runners at first and third. Toro starter Armando Gomez appeared to have Solar picked off first base when Greg Shockey, who was on third, headed home and crashed into catcher Mike Gabbani, who dropped the ball. Gabbani got up swinging and both benches emptied. Play resumed after a five-minute delay.

“He’s got the dish and the gear,” Shockey said. “My only chance to score was to knock over the catcher.”