Matt Curtis hired as Cal State Northridge baseball coach

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Matt Curtis, an assistant coach at Fresno State for the last 10 years, has been selected as the new baseball coach at Cal State Northridge.

Curtis, who turns 36 on Friday, will try to turn around a Northridge baseball program that has struggled after the departure eight years ago of Mike Batesole, who Curtis worked under at Fresno State.

‘We want to create and sustain a culture of winning, competing for the Big West Conference championship and the [NCAA] postseason,’ Curtis said. ‘We want to enhance the tradition of the Cal State Northridge baseball program.’

Curtis has been the recruiting coordinator at Fresno State, which won the NCAA title in 2008. He also was the team’s pitching coach the last three years. He played at Fresno State for former Coach Bob Bennett.

He replaces Steve Rousey, who was fired after eight seasons as coach.

‘There are some challenges with any job, but there’s lots of opportunities,’ Curtis said. ‘I’m excited with the recruiting base.’

Curtis accepted the job on Monday and started contacting Northridge players. His said his first priority is to hire two full-time assistants and one volunteer assistant, along with starting to recruit players for the class of 2011.

-- Eric Sondheimer