California State University at Northridge
Portland State
Matadors Continue Preseason at Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Last weekend, the Matadors opened 2015 with an impressive 4-1 showing at the Kajikawa Classic and picked up victories over Wisconsin, Stanford, New Mexico and No. 16 Arizona State. The win over the Cardinal was CSUN's first since 2001 ,while the Matadors defeated the Sun Devils for the first time since 2003. In fact, the Matadors picked up victories over two different programs from the Pac-12 Conference for the first time since the 2003 season.
Junior Maylynn Mitchell had a sensational weekend at the plate, batting .500 with seven RBIs to earn Big West Player of the Week honors. She drove in a career-high three RBIs in the victory over Arizona State and had a hit in all five contests. Katie Hooper and Savannah Horvath each homered during the weekend and Taylor Glover stole three bases to take an early lead in the Big West Conference.
In the circle, Brianna Elder fanned 12 batters in the Matadors' season-opening victory over Wisconsin and then added seven innings of relief work in the upset win over Arizona State. Daphne Pofek picked up a win and a save, Jordan Sauceda earned the win over Stanford and Crystal Maas tossed the final three innings to get a save against New Mexico. The Matadors' pitchers held opponents to a .199 batting average at the Kajikawa Classic.
Portland State enters the week with a 2-3 record after also competing in the Kajikawa Classic. The Vikings stole 10 bases in the five games in Arizona and batted .234 as a squad. CSUN owns a 9-3 record in the all-time series with Portland State. New Mexico is 3-2 on the year and defeated San Diego and UC Santa Barbara after losing to the Matadors. The Lobos batted .250 and scored 17 runs in the five games in Arizona.
Indiana also was at the Kajikawa Classic. The Hoosiers went 1-4 at the event and batted .264 with two home runs in five games. CSUN and Indiana have not met in softball since the 2005 season, a game the Matadors won 2-1. Utah did not play at the Kajikawa Classic, instead spending its opening weekend in Long Beach. The Utes went 2-3 in five games and batted .220 with seven doubles. CSUN and Utah have not met since the 2010 season.
Utah State is the final team on the calendar for CSUN's time in Sin City. The Aggies were in Ames, Iowa to open their 2015 season and went 0-4 over the weekend. Utah State batted .297 in the four games with three home runs and seven doubles. CSUN leads the all-time series with Utah State, a former Big Sky rival, 31-20.
Follow Your Matadors Online
All home games this season will include live stats coverage and selected contests will also feature a free audio broadcast on GoMatadors.com. For road games, related links to the game, including for any live stats, audio and video, will be posted before the game on the softball schedule page of GoMatadors.com. Fans are also encouraged to check the CSUN Athletics Department's official Twitter feed (@GoMatadors) for updates of games in progress and news and notes throughout the week.Â
Take Your Seat in the Front Row
Fans can now follow all of the action for CSUN's 19 varsity sports right from their phone or tablet! CSUN Front Row, the official mobile app of Matador Athletics, is available for free for iOS and Android devices. Fans can also access live stats coverage of a majority of CSUN home events, as well as audio and video links when available. For more information, search for CSUN Front Row on the App Store or Google Play or visit GoMatadors.com/frontrow.
