California State University at Northridge
Long Beach State
Matadors Travel for League Series at Long Beach State
4/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Last weekend, CSUN continued its stellar league season with a three-game series sweep of UC Riverside at Matador Diamond. Freshman pitcher Zoe Conley, who earlier in the week was named a finalist for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Freshman of the Year, won all three games in the circle and won her third Big West Pitcher of the Week award.
At the plate, Tara Kliebenstein hit her first career home run and double in the Matadors' 1-0 victory in the first game of the series. Game two saw CSUN push 10 runs across the plate, including six in the first inning, with Maylynn Mitchell, Savannah Horvath and Daphne Pofek all producing two RBIs. The series finale went into extra innings and Jordan Sauceda lifted CSUN to the series sweep with a two-out, pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.
This week offers another tough challenge for the Matadors. The Long Beach State 49ers are 21-22 overall and 8-4 in the Big West Conference after a series sweep of Cal State Fullerton. The 49ers won a doubleheader with the Titans on Wednesday, April 22, capturing 5-1 and 7-6 decisions to move into second place in the Big West Conference.
At the plate, senior Shayna Kimbrough leads LBSU with a .356 batting average and 48 hits in 39 games this season. The shortstop also has six doubles, 25 runs, 12 walks and six stolen bases. Long Beach State features a sister duo in Lauren and Julia Lombardi, who have combined to bat .334 with 41 runs, 16 doubles, 15 home runs and 83 RBIs. The 49ers boast a team slugging percentage of .405 and a team on-base percentage of .360 for the season.
In the circle, sophomore Christina Clermont is having a fantastic season at 14-6 with a 2.27 ERA and 153 Ks in 144.2 innings of work. Opponents have batted just .202 off Clermont and she has walked only 56 on the season. Amanda Hansen is 4-9 with a 5.93 ERA in 13 starts while Christian Carbajal is 3-4 with a 3.80 ERA in 42.1 innings of work. Opponents are batting .272 with 39 home runs and 46 doubles off Long Beach State pitching this season.
Defensively, the 49ers sport a .957 fielding percentage with 52 errors on the season. Long Beach State has won the past four meetings with CSUN, including a series sweep at Matador Diamond last year. The Matadors have not won a Big West series with Long Beach State since the 2002 season, when they swept three games in Northridge. CSUN's last series win in Long Beach came in the 2001 season.
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.
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.
