COLLEGE BASEBALL : NCAA TOURNAMENT WEST II REGIONAL : Key Error Put Richardson on State of Alert : CSUN: Second baseman responds to Kernen’s challenge after costly miscue.

FRESNO — The biography of just about any ballplayer, no matter the level of competition, has highlights--a diving catch, a home run, perhaps a record of some sort.

Scott Richardson’s has a minor exception. Among his highlights is an error.

Last month, when Cal State Northridge was locked in a 4-4 tie with highly regarded Cal State Long Beach, Richardson, the Matadors’ second baseman, bobbled a ground ball that allowed the 49ers to push over the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

It ruined his day. And made his season.

Later that night, at a team study hall, Coach Bill Kernen invited Richardson to step outside.

What followed was a conversation in which Richardson heard something that deep down inside he already knew.

“He had two choices,” Kernen said. “He could go in the tank and let it ruin himself and hurt the team, or he could build off it and make sure it never happened again.”

The choice Richardson made is evident by his numbers. Since the Long Beach game he is batting .464 and has made only three errors. Richardson is batting .333 overall with a team-leading 20 stolen bases in 23 attempts.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be a middle-of-the-road deal,” Kernen said. “It was either going to destroy him or lead him to the next level as a player. It was his choice.”

As Richardson has heightened his level of play, so too has Northridge.

The Matadors have won 10 of 13 games since that loss to the 49ers.

A game against UC Santa Barbara the day after the Long Beach game was pivotal both for Northridge and its sophomore second baseman.

The Matadors defeated the Gauchos, 5-4--does the score sound familiar?--when Richardson made the last of several outstanding defensive plays to thwart a Santa Barbara rally in the bottom of the ninth inning. Richardson also had three hits and two runs batted in against the Gauchos.

With the game on the line in the ninth, Richardson said, “I wanted the ball. I was praying that he’d hit it to me so I could show my teammates and myself that it wasn’t going to happen again.”

The play is still fresh in Richardson’s mind, but he can now ignore the negative aspects. If not for the error, he said, he might still be cruising along, content to be a decent player on a good college baseball team.

“That error showed me my thinking was wrong,” Richardson said. “I was coasting along and not really improving. Since the error, I stepped up my performance as a whole.”

Richardson decided he no longer wanted to be one of the guys. He wanted to be one of the guys.

“I wanted to be up at the top with everyone else and have a bigger impact on the team,” Richardson said. “I think that’s starting to happen.”

For Northridge to become a legitimate playoff team, it needed to.

With Denny Vigo, the team’s cleanup hitter last season, in and out of the lineup because of a hamstring injury, Kernen was forced to bump Greg Shockey, normally the No. 2 hitter, back two places in the order.

Richardson was the choice to replace Shockey batting behind Craig Clayton, the leadoff hitter.

“We needed a guy up there who was going to get on base, a run-producer,” Kernen said.

Richardson has filled the void. His 59 runs are second on the team to Clayton’s 71.

“Sometimes when guys are forced into a situation and there isn’t any choice, they rise to the occasion,” Kernen said. “You hope you’re dealing with the right guy that can make it work. We had the right guy.”

Since his error, Richardson has been Northridge’s hottest hitter. He has three four-hit games in the past 13, including one against top-seeded Miami in the regional’s second round Friday.

The error, Kernen said, “was a shock that made him more serious. He’s always been kind of a loose guy and a happy guy, which is fine, but there are certain times in competitive athletics in a game situation when you don’t take it that way. It’s not just a game anymore when you get to this level. I don’t think he realized that until he didn’t get that ball.”

Richardson is not only piling up hits, he is hitting with power. He has a home run in each of Northridge’s three regional games.

His two-run home run in the regional opener accounted for Northridge’s only runs against Fresno State ace Bobby Jones in a 7-2 loss. Richardson’s fifth home run came against Miami.

Afterward he was reminded that when he hit the first home run of his collegiate career in Northridge’s opener, he sprinted all the way to second base.

He was chided mercilessly by teammates who said he obviously lacked confidence in his power.

“No more of that,” Richardson said after the Miami game. “Now I’m a little more confident.”

It took the error to turn things around. “This game throws things at you that way,” Kernen said. It will give you tests. It happens to everyone.

“You’re going to get some major test along the line that’s going to slap you in the face.”

And if you’re really good, you hit back.