Matadors Head East to Take on George Mason, George Washington

Thursday, March 3

Fairfax, VA

11:30 a.m.

California State University at Northridge

George Mason

Photo by: Paul Trafecanty

Matadors Head East to Take on George Mason, George Washington

3/2/2016 11:29:00 AM | Baseball

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NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Baseball ventures to the East Coast for a four-game road trip beginning Thursday night in Fairfax, VA. The Matadors square off with George Mason at 11:30 a.m. (PT) and CSUN visits George Washington for a three-game set in the nation's capital beginning Friday at 11 a.m. The series with the Colonials will continue on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 10 a.m. and the finale will take place on Sunday at 9 a.m. Live stats will be available for each contest and Thursday's meeting with the Patriots will be streamed live on the A-10 Network.

The Matadors enjoyed a strong weekend, taking three of four games from Northern Colorado at Matador Field. In the series opener, CSUN earned a 5-3 victory as
Rayne Raven tossed 6.1 innings, striking out six and allowing two runs to earn his first win of 2016. Four Matador hitters had two hits and Jose Ruiz hit a two-run blast for his first hit in a CSUN uniform.

The Matadors swept a doubleheader on Saturday on a highlight-filled afternoon. Yusuke Akitoshi had three hits including smacking the go-ahead home run in the seventh and Joey Deceglie earned his first career victory, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings in a 4-2 triumph. Conner O'Neil earned the save, giving him 15 career saves and the most in CSUN history. In game two, pitching would be the story as Kenny Rosenberg struck out 16 batters and took a no-hitter into the seventh. In the contest, CSUN pitching fanned 19 batters, tying a school record for a game. Nolan Bumstead also hit a grand slam in the contest as the Matadors prevailed 6-0.

The Bears took the finale of the series 3-2 despite solid CSUN pitching. Andrew Weston surrendered three in the first two innings but rallied to shutout the Bears over the next three innings. Four Matador relievers combined to toss 4.0 shutout innings but the Matadors would fall by a run.

After his outstanding performance on Saturday, the sophomore Rosenberg earned Big West Conference Player of the Week. In his just his second start of his career, Rosenberg struck out a career high 16 and tossed 7.2 innings allowing one hit. Only two base runners reached second base on the afternoon against the left-hander.

The Matadors have relied on a strong 1-2 punch at the top of their order to set the table thus far in 2016. Fred Smith is hitting .333 on the season with three RBI and he has hit safely in all eight games this season. Akitoshi has recorded a hit in seven games this season and he is batting .429 at the plate to go along with a home run, four RBI and a .515 on-base percentage.

Senior right-hander Angel Rodriguez gets the starting nod at George Mason. In four relief appearances this season, Rodriguez is posting a 4.50 ERA with seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched. Raven will start the opener against George Washington and Rosenberg takes to the hill on Saturday. Raven is sporting a 0.77 ERA in 11.2 innings with 13 strikeouts while Rosenberg has a 1.46 ERA in 12.1 innings to go along with a team-best 23 strikeouts.

The Matadors have never faced George Mason but have played George Washington four times in their history. CSUN won a contest at George Washington in 2002 and the Matadors took two of three games at home last season from the Colonials.

A Closer Look at George Mason
The Patriots are 1-5 this season after dropping two of three games at home last weekend to Rutgers. Last season, George Mason went 23-27-1 and 12-12 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Sophomore Brady Acker leads the team in batting (.478), runs (6), home runs (2), RBI (7), walks (5) and on-base percentage (.567). Freshman Jonathan Hansen has also enjoyed a solid start, batting .385 to go along with a .467 on-base percentage. Left-handed freshman Brian Marconi (0-0, 16.88 ERA) will start for the Patriots against CSUN.

A Closer Look At George Washington
The Colonials are 3-5 on the season and 1-1 at home. Last weekend, George Washington dropped two of three games at the RussMatt Invitational in Winter Haven, FL. On Tuesday, the Colonials fell at home, 2-1, to James Madison. George Washington is coming off a strong 32-win campaign in 2015. Junior outfielder Andrew Selby is hitting .400 at the plate and has driven in two RBI in the early going this season. The Colonials will send senior Bobby LeWarne (1-0, 3.21 ERA) in the opener followed by sophomore Robbie Metz (0-2, 6.00 ERA) and senior Jacob Williams (1-0, 3.55 ERA) in the finale.