Friday, March 18
Northridge, CA
2:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
Houston Baptist
Photo by: CSUN Athletics
CSUN Takes on Visiting Houston Baptist in Four-Game Series
3/17/2016 10:53:00 AM | Baseball
FULL PDF RELEASE
NORTHRIDGE, CA---
CSUN Baseball (14-3) concludes its longest homestand of the season this weekend with a four-game series against Houston Baptist at Matador Field. The series will start Friday at 2 p.m. and on Saturday the teams will face off in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. On Sunday, the series will wrap up with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. All four contests will have a live audio broadcast on the CSUN Sports Network with Ross Porter on the call. Game one of Saturday's twin bill will also be streamed live on the CSUN Sports Network and live stats will be available on GoMatadors.com throughout the series.
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The Matadors head into the weekend red hot, winning nine-straight games after defeating William & Mary and UConn twice apiece at last weekend's round robin tournament. CSUN defeated the Tribe, 11-3, on Thursday and held off William & Mary, 11-7, on Saturday afternoon. Against UConn, the Matadors swept the Huskies with a wire-to-wire 12-4 win in game one and came from behind to post a 2-1 victory to close out the day.
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Many Matadors enjoyed strong offensive performances during the current homestand including junior Fred Smith, who picked up 12 hits last week en route to earning an All Big West Conference Field Player of the Week nod. Smith has hit safely in all 17 games this season and leads the team with a .429 batting average. Sophomore Albee Weiss continued his hot hitting, going 11-for-24 last week including hitting two home runs against UCLA on Tuesday and belting a grand slam against William & Mary on Thursday. Weiss is hitting .264 at the plate and is tied with senior Branden Berry for the team lead in home runs (5) and RBI (17).
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Also, Berry, Justin Toerner and Nolan Bumstead are each hitting over .300 on the season. Hitting .327, Berry also has scored 19 runs, walked 14 times and has reached base safely in 16 of 17 games. Toerner is batting a robust .359 and has posted a .552 on base percentage to go along with 15 walks, 11 runs and 11 RBI. Bumstead is hitting a consistent .316 at the dish and has driven in 12 runs.
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Senior Angel Rodriguez (2-0, 1.64 ERA) tossed seven quality innings against the Tribe last Thursday en route to earning his second-straight win. Rodriguez will get the start to open the four-game set against Houston Baptist. Sophomore Kenny Rosenberg (2-0, 2.49 ERA) and senior Rayne Raven (1-1, 2.57 ERA) both take to the mound in the doubleheader on Saturday. The team leader in strikeouts with 37, Rosenberg pitched seven innings and struck out eight UConn batters last Saturday. Raven has fanned 18 batters in 21.0 innings over his five appearances this season. Sophomore Joe Ryan (0-0, 2.70 ERA) comes into his Sunday start with 19 strikeouts in 20.0 innings spread across four starts.
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CSUN faces the Houston Baptist Huskies for the first time in its history this weekend and will look to post its first 10-game winning streak in 14 seasons on Friday. With the 14-3 record, the Matadors are off to their best 17-game start to a season in 20 seasons.
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A Closer Look at Houston Baptist
The Huskies took two of three games from McNeese State in their Southland Conference opening series last weekend to run their overall record to 10-6. In 2015, the Huskies advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after winning the Southland Conference Championship.
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As a team, the Huskies are hitting .292 at the plate and are led by Greg Espinoza. The senior is batting .377 with 12 runs scored and 10 RBI. Junior Brandon Britz is posting a team-leading 12 RBI to go along with a .328 batting average. The Matadors face four junior starters over the weekend beginning with right-hander Addison Russ (3-0, 2.10 ERA) on Friday. In the doubleheader, right-handed pitcher Julian Griego (3-0, 3.96 ERA) and lefty Christian Thames (0-2, 3.57 ERA) take to the hill while right-handed JT Jakubik (0-1, 3.00 ERA) gets the starting nod in the finale.Â
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NORTHRIDGE, CA---
CSUN Baseball (14-3) concludes its longest homestand of the season this weekend with a four-game series against Houston Baptist at Matador Field. The series will start Friday at 2 p.m. and on Saturday the teams will face off in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. On Sunday, the series will wrap up with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. All four contests will have a live audio broadcast on the CSUN Sports Network with Ross Porter on the call. Game one of Saturday's twin bill will also be streamed live on the CSUN Sports Network and live stats will be available on GoMatadors.com throughout the series.
Â
The Matadors head into the weekend red hot, winning nine-straight games after defeating William & Mary and UConn twice apiece at last weekend's round robin tournament. CSUN defeated the Tribe, 11-3, on Thursday and held off William & Mary, 11-7, on Saturday afternoon. Against UConn, the Matadors swept the Huskies with a wire-to-wire 12-4 win in game one and came from behind to post a 2-1 victory to close out the day.
Â
Many Matadors enjoyed strong offensive performances during the current homestand including junior Fred Smith, who picked up 12 hits last week en route to earning an All Big West Conference Field Player of the Week nod. Smith has hit safely in all 17 games this season and leads the team with a .429 batting average. Sophomore Albee Weiss continued his hot hitting, going 11-for-24 last week including hitting two home runs against UCLA on Tuesday and belting a grand slam against William & Mary on Thursday. Weiss is hitting .264 at the plate and is tied with senior Branden Berry for the team lead in home runs (5) and RBI (17).
Â
Also, Berry, Justin Toerner and Nolan Bumstead are each hitting over .300 on the season. Hitting .327, Berry also has scored 19 runs, walked 14 times and has reached base safely in 16 of 17 games. Toerner is batting a robust .359 and has posted a .552 on base percentage to go along with 15 walks, 11 runs and 11 RBI. Bumstead is hitting a consistent .316 at the dish and has driven in 12 runs.
Â
Senior Angel Rodriguez (2-0, 1.64 ERA) tossed seven quality innings against the Tribe last Thursday en route to earning his second-straight win. Rodriguez will get the start to open the four-game set against Houston Baptist. Sophomore Kenny Rosenberg (2-0, 2.49 ERA) and senior Rayne Raven (1-1, 2.57 ERA) both take to the mound in the doubleheader on Saturday. The team leader in strikeouts with 37, Rosenberg pitched seven innings and struck out eight UConn batters last Saturday. Raven has fanned 18 batters in 21.0 innings over his five appearances this season. Sophomore Joe Ryan (0-0, 2.70 ERA) comes into his Sunday start with 19 strikeouts in 20.0 innings spread across four starts.
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CSUN faces the Houston Baptist Huskies for the first time in its history this weekend and will look to post its first 10-game winning streak in 14 seasons on Friday. With the 14-3 record, the Matadors are off to their best 17-game start to a season in 20 seasons.
Â
A Closer Look at Houston Baptist
The Huskies took two of three games from McNeese State in their Southland Conference opening series last weekend to run their overall record to 10-6. In 2015, the Huskies advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after winning the Southland Conference Championship.
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As a team, the Huskies are hitting .292 at the plate and are led by Greg Espinoza. The senior is batting .377 with 12 runs scored and 10 RBI. Junior Brandon Britz is posting a team-leading 12 RBI to go along with a .328 batting average. The Matadors face four junior starters over the weekend beginning with right-hander Addison Russ (3-0, 2.10 ERA) on Friday. In the doubleheader, right-handed pitcher Julian Griego (3-0, 3.96 ERA) and lefty Christian Thames (0-2, 3.57 ERA) take to the hill while right-handed JT Jakubik (0-1, 3.00 ERA) gets the starting nod in the finale.Â
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