California State University at Northridge
37-10, 12-0
UC Riverside
32-15, 4-8
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Conley, Zoe (18-4)
L: Rebecca Faulkner (2-3)
Batting:
HR: Rebecca Faulkner 2
RBI: Jenna Curtan 1 ; Natalie Sanchez 1 ; Rebecca Faulkner 4
SH: Haley Harris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jenna Curtan 1 ; Madeline Richard 1 ; Karina Romero 1 ; Rebecca Faulkner 2 ; Nicolette Lujan 1
SB: Madeline Richard 1
CS: Madeline Richard 1
Batting:
2B: Nate, Taylor 1
RBI: Sauceda, Jordan 1 ; Hooper, Katie 2 ; Wassmer, Ariana 1 ; Pofek, Daphne 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sherman, Carissa 1 ; Horvath, Savannah 1 ; Nate, Taylor 1 ; Kliebenstein, Tara 1 ; Mitchell, Maylynn 2 ; Toerner, Kaitlin 1
SB: Sherman, Carissa 1 ; Horvath, Savannah 2 ; Nate, Taylor 1
CS: Sherman, Carissa 1 ; Nate, Taylor 1
HBP: Sherman, Carissa 1 ; Toerner, Kaitlin 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Matador Softball Downs UC Riverside 7-6 in Nine Innings
4/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The Matadors and Highlanders engaged in a gritty back-and-forth game Sunday that featured multiple ties and lead changes. With the victory, CSUN maintained a perfect Big West Conference record at 12-0 through the first four series of the 2015 season. The 37 wins are the most by a CSUN team since the 1998 team went 37-19.Â
"Everybody is doing a great job of taking advantage of their opportunities," CSUN head coach Tairia Flowers said. "Jordan had been swinging it well in practice and pre-game and she definitely came up big. UC Riverside is a talented team and brought it all weekend in the circle and at the plate. We kept at it as well and got some timely hits and runs to win the series." Â
Tied at 6-6 in the ninth, the Matadors pushed the winning run across with a thrilling rally. Crystal Maas drew a pinch-hit walk to start the inning and then moved to second when Tara Kliebenstein also worked a free pass.Â
UC Riverside looked to be headed out of the inning after a pop-out double play, but Kaitlin Toerner extended the rally with a bunt base hit to move Kliebenstein into scoring position. That brought up Sauceda, who grooved a 3-2 pitch down the right-field line to score Kliebenstein and give the Matadors the victory.Â
UCR took the early lead, getting a three-run home run in the first inning off CSUN starter Brianna Elder. That would be the only hit the senior would allow in three innings, but she would not factor in the decision.Â
The Matadors chipped away at the lead, scoring a single run in the first, second and third innings. Katie Hooper and Ariana Wassmer each had RBIs in the stretch.Â
CSUN got another single run in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. Hooper blasted a single up the middle that scored Toerner. Hooper now has 51 RBIs on the season, tying her for the second-most in school history for a single season.Â
The Highlanders would not go away and scored a pair of runs off Zoe Conley (18-4) in the top of the fifth. CSUN responded immediately with two runs of its own in the bottom of the fifth to reclaim the lead.Â
Daphne Pofek tied the game with a pinch-hit single after Taylor Nate started the inning at third after a double and an error. Toerner then scored on a passed ball to give CSUN a 6-5 lead.Â
The Highlanders' Rebecca Faulkner took Conley's first pitch of the sixth over the fence to tie the game. Conley calmed down from there, keeping UCR off the scoreboard until CSUN could muster the ninth-inning rally.Â
Conley tossed six innings of relief to earn her third win of the weekend. She had one strikeout and worked around seven hits. Faulkner took the loss for UCR, tossing five inning of relief work.Â
The Matadors hit the road for their next Big West series, three games at Long Beach State. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 25 and a single game on Sunday, April 26 with both days slated for a 1 p.m. start.Â