Matadors Win 10th in a Row, Down Houston Baptist 2-0

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Baseball (15-3) posted its 10th straight victory with a 2-0 shutout of Houston Baptist on Friday afternoon at Matador Field. Angel Rodriguez tossed 6.1 scoreless innings to earn the win while Conner O'Neil pitched the final two frames to nail down his fourth save of the season. Junior Fred Smith extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a bunt single in the eighth inning. With the win, CSUN has earned its first 10-game winning streak since 2002.

For the second consecutive game, the Matadors competed in another low scoring affair where runs were at a premium. Last Sunday, CSUN erased a 1-0 Connecticut lead by scratching across two eighth-inning runs to pull out a 2-1 win. On Friday, runs would be hard to come by again as both starting pitchers took turns shutting out the opposing side. The Matadors though would get timely hitting to squeeze by Houston Baptist.

After Rodriguez retired the side in order in the first, CSUN took the early lead on one swing of the bat. Huskies starter Addison Russ struck out the first two batters he faced until Branden Berry stepped up to the plate and deposited a solo home run to left field to give the Matadors a 1-0 edge.

Playing with the early lead, Rodriguez went to work on the mound. After giving up a leadoff double to Austin Saenz in the second inning, the senior right-hander set down 11 of the next 12 batters over the next four innings.

In the sixth inning, Houston Baptist would threaten to even the game against Rodriguez. Carey Jones singled to left to start the frame and he later advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt and ground out. With a runner at third and two outs Rodriguez escaped danger by forcing Louie Payetta to groundout to first to end the frame.

On the flip side, Russ rebounded after the first inning home run to keep CSUN off the scoreboard over the next six innings. In the bottom of the sixth, CSUN looked to add to its lead after both Elias Orona and Yusuke Akitoshi reached on singles with one out but Russ rallied to strike out the next two in order to keep it a one run game.

Rodriguez pitched into the seventh inning, retiring the first batter of the frame before making way for the CSUN bullpen. Samuel Myers entered the fray in the seventh and recorded the final two outs. An inning later, O'Neil kept the Huskies at bay with a clean eighth inning, ensuring a CSUN lead entering the ninth inning.

CSUN added a crucial insurance run in the bottom of the eighth after applying pressure on the Houston Baptist defense. Orona walked to start the frame and he moved to second base safely on a bunt hit from Smith.

Akitoshi followed next with a perfectly placed bunt to Huskies reliever Zach Carter near the left side of the infield. Carter fielded the ball and attempted to throw out the speedy Akitoshi at first but his late throw went down the right field line, allowing Orona to come around to score.

O'Neil returned back out in the ninth to attempt to complete the six-out save. The junior recorded back-to-back outs before giving up a two-out double to left field. With the tying run at the plate, O'Neil would finish the job, taking care of a comebacker to the mound to retire Brandon Brintz to end the game.

Rodriguez continued his string of stellar outings on the mound on Friday. With his 6.1 shutout innings against the Huskies, he has struck out 21 and allowed just one earned run over his last 22.1 innings of work.

CSUN continues its series with the Huskies on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader. First pitch from Matador Field is scheduled for 11 a.m. with game two tentatively slated for a 2:30 p.m. start time.

Matadors Win 10th in a Row, Down Houston Baptist 2-0

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Team Stats

Yusuke Akitoshi

Branden Berry

Fred Smith

Justin Toerner

Players Mentioned

Yusuke Akitoshi

Branden Berry

Samuel Myers

Conner O'Neil

Elias Orona

Angel Rodriguez

Fred Smith