California State University at Northridge
Cal State Fullerton
Matadors Meet Cal State Fullerton in Final Big West Series
5/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Last week, the Matadors picked up a victory over Hawai'i to earn at least a share of the Big West title and the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Freshman Zoe Conley returned to the circle for the first time in over two weeks by tossing a three-hit shutout to go with five strikeouts in the 2-0 victory over the Rainbow Wahine. At the plate, Taylor Glover blasted an inside-the-park home run and Katie Hooper added her team-leading 54th RBI of the season.
This week, CSUN takes on the Cal State Fullerton Titans in a three-game series at Anderson Family Field. The Matadors need one win or one Long Beach State loss to UC Santa Barbara this weekend to claim their first outright Big West Conference title since the 1998 season. The Matadors have also produced their first 40-win season since the 1996 season.
Cal State Fullerton is 32-21 on the season and 10-8 in Big West Conference play. As a team, the Titans are batting .310 with 68 doubles, 11 triples and 25 home runs on the season. Freshman Samantha Vandiver leads the Big West Conference with a .463 batting average and adds 31 runs, five doubles and 13 RBIs on the season. Courtney Rodriguez is batting .406 and leads the Big West Conference with six triples. Missy Taukeiaho checks in at .384 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs. As a team, the Titans sport a .427 slugging and .394 on-base percentage.
In the circle, Cal State Fullerton owns a 3.75 team ERA with 163 strikeouts and a .290 opponent batting average in 351 innings of work. Christina Washington is 16-6 with a 3.94 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 149.1 innings of work. Desiree Ybarra is 10-6 with a team-best 2.85 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 110.1 innings of work. Opponents have totaled 63 doubles, four triples and 38 home runs off Titan pitching this season.Â
The Titans have won the last four contests with CSUN and swept the three-game series with the Matadors in Northridge in the 2014 season. The last time CSUN won a series with Cal State Fullerton was in 2011, which came at Anderson Family Field. The last time CSUN swept a series with CSUF was in 1998, when the Matadors won all four contests with the Titans.
Selection Sunday is May 10 and is set for 7 p.m. on ESPNU. The Matadors will be making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Tairia Flowers and the first as a program since the 2007 season. CSUN will be the Big West Conference's representative in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1998 season.Â
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.
