CSUN Sweeps Doubleheader, Runs Winning Streak to 12

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Baseball (17-3) kept on rolling on Saturday afternoon as the Matadors swept a doubleheader from Houston Baptist to push its winning streak to 12 games. The Matadors led from start-to-finish in both games, recording a 7-1 win in game one and a 6-3 decision in the afternoon contest. The Matadors' 12-game streak is now the longest for CSUN in 18 seasons.

"They're playing hard," said head coach Greg Moore about the team's winning streak. "They are physically exhausting themselves on the baseball field. They're having fun playing together. That's the reason we've strung a couple games together."

CSUN staked to the early lead in game one, plating a run in the bottom of the first. After Fred Smith doubled to lead off the game to right field, Yusuke Akitoshi sacrificed him to third base. Branden Berry made the most of the opportunity with a grounder to third base, which allowed Smith to come in to score.

The Matadors got back into the run column in the third inning after putting together a string of quality at bats. With one out and a runner at first, Albee Weiss singled to center followed by Justin Toerner who walked to load the bases. Nolan Bumstead came through with an RBI single into right field. Two batters later, Bobby Schuman brought home two more runs with a single to left field.

On the mound, Kenny Rosenberg put together another pitching gem and his fourth-straight quality start. He retired 10 of the first 11 batters of the game, facing the minimum through three innings to keep CSUN in front. The Huskies were able to break up the shutout in the fourth with a two-out solo home run off the bat of Brandon Britz. Rosenberg though rebounded nicely after the home run as he went on to set down the next eight batters in a row.

The Matador bats kept the pressure on Houston Baptist pitching in the middle innings. CSUN added single tallies in three-straight innings to take control of the contest. Bumstead recorded his second RBI of the game with a single to center field to bring in Toerner in the fifth. An inning later, a run came home on a wild pitch and Berry singled in another run in the seventh.

Rosenberg cruised into the seventh inning, striking out three to push his total to 11 on the day. With his performance on Saturday, Rosenberg has allowed six runs over his last 27.2 innings and he has fanned six or more in each of his last four starts.

Andrew Weston and Matt Campbell each tossed scoreless innings to secure the Matadors' 11-straight victory.

Three Matadors picked up multiple hit performances in the win including Smith, Toerner and Bumstead.

In game two, CSUN wasted little time taking control of the game early. Just like he did in the first game, Smith started the Matador offense on the right foot with a hit. Akitoshi followed with a double into the gap in right field to bring in Smith.

Ahead 1-0, CSUN would be far from done in the first as Berry singled to advanced Akitoshi to third before a wild pitch brought home another run. From there Weiss worked a full count walk and Toerner singled to load the bases with nobody out. Jayson Newman followed with an RBI single and Jose Ruiz drove in two more with a shot up the middle. A sixth run came across on a second wild pitch from starter Julian Griego.

Trailing by six runs, the Huskies chipped away at the lead with single tallies in the second and third innings to trim the lead to 6-2.

Left-handed reliever Joey Deceglie entered the game in the fourth to attempt to neutralize the Huskies bats. He tossed a shutout frame in the fourth but allowed an unearned run to come across in the fifth. In the sixth inning, he pitched around a leadoff infield single to retire the next three batters in order. In the contest, Deceglie allowed just the one hit and one walk in three innings of work.

A day removed from tossing 2.0 shutout innings to earn a save against the Huskies on Friday, Conner O'Neil entered the proceedings with two runners in scoring position and two outs in the seventh. The steady junior escaped the predicament by getting Blake Thomas to fly out to end the inning.

O'Neil retired the side in order in the eighth including striking out the final two batters swinging. After CSUN was denied of runs in the bottom of the eighth, O'Neil once again returned to the mound in the ninth and again he was sharp. He fanned Zane Otten to start the frame, and after walking Greg Espinoza on six pitches, he set down the next two batters in order to nail down his fifth save of the season.

On the season, four of O'Neil five saves have been multiple-inning efforts with Saturday's performance being the longest he has had to work to post a save.

"He's incredible. He's physically ready to go everyday," said Moore about O'Neil. "Sometimes you have to ask him twice because you don't believe he could feel good again. He trains so hard and he works so hard that the physical activity he goes through out here is very small compared to what he does to himself in that weight room."

The Matadors look for a series sweep of Houston Baptist on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.

CSUN Sweeps Doubleheader, Runs Winning Streak to 12

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Team Stats

Fred Smith

Justin Toerner

Nolan Bumstead

Branden Berry

Players Mentioned

Yusuke Akitoshi

Branden Berry

Nolan Bumstead

Matt Campbell

Joey Deceglie

Jayson Newman

Conner O'Neil

Kenny Rosenberg

Jose Ruiz

Bobby Schuman

Fred Smith

Justin Toerner

Albee Weiss

Andrew Weston