CSUN Takes Series Opener with Hawai'i, 2-1

Friday, April 22

Northridge, CA

3:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

23-13, 2-8

Hawai'i

17-18, 6-4

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Hawai'i	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6	1
CSUN	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	X	2	8	0

Photo by: CSUN Athletics

CSUN Takes Series Opener with Hawai'i, 2-1

4/22/2016 7:08:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Baseball (24-13, 2-8 BWC) edged the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (17-18, 6-4 BWC) 2-1 in the teams' series opener on Friday afternoon at Matador Field. Senior Angel Rodriguez (4-3) put together his second-straight strong start, limiting Hawai'i to five hits over seven innings of work while surrendering only one run. Yusuke Akitoshi led the Matadors offensively with two hits and he drove in the team's only two runs on the afternoon.

"We played really good defense and that's where it began," said head coach Greg Moore. "Obviously Angel did an outstanding job and we got just enough to find a way. To the offense's credit early on we were above the baseball against a very good starter. They did a nice job there. As the game went along we got below the baseball a bit and we can't do that."

Fresh off allowing just one earned run in six innings against the nationally-ranked UC Santa Barbara Gauchos last Friday, Rodriguez was stellar in his start versus the Rainbow Warriors on Friday. Rodriguez faced the minimum through the first three innings and he held Hawai'i hitless until the fourth inning.

The CSUN lineup received plenty of hits in the early going against starter Brendan Hornung but the Matadors were unable to cash in on many runs on the day. The Matadors threatened to score in the first inning after Akitoshi and Justin Toerner led off the frame with back-to-back singles but Hornung got out of the jam by retiring the next three batters in order.

An inning later, CSUN applied the pressure again on Hornung with consecutive singles to begin the bottom of the second. With Nolan Bumstead and Dylan Alexander on the base paths, Jayson Newman singled through the left side to load the bases with nobody out. Two batters later, Akitoshi came through with a fly out to left that was deep enough to score Bumstead from third base.

Ahead by the slimmest of margins, the Matadors added to their lead in the fourth inning on a timely two-out hit. Horning surrendered a leadoff walk to Alexander
but he appeared he would escape trouble after he sat down the next two batters. Facing Akitoshi with two outs, the Matador shortstop worked a 3-2 count before hitting a flyball that hit the left center field wall, bringing in Alexander from first base to extend the lead to 2-0.

Pitching with a two-run lead, Rodriguez surrendered a leadoff single to Marcus Doi in the fifth but he rebounded nicely, forcing Kekai Rios to roll over into a 4-6-3 double play. He capped off the inning by retiring Chayce Ka'aua on a fly out to left to keep the Rainbow Warriors off the scoreboard. I

Hawai'i finally broke up the shutout in the top of the seventh but the Matador defense and a Rodriguez pick off limited the damage. After a leadoff double from Jonathan Weeks, Jacob Sheldon-Collins ripped a line drive down the first base line that was speared by Newman and kept on the infield. Sheldon-Collins reached on a single on the play, but the defensive stop from Newman prevented the tying run from reaching scoring position. With runners at the corners and nobody out, Rodriguez caught Sheldon-Collins leaning to second base and the Matadors' infield then teamed up to tag out the runner. On the play, Weeks scored from third base to cut the lead to 2-1.

Two batters later in the seventh, Marcus Doi singled with two outs but he would be caught stealing at second base after a strong throw from Dylan Alexander from behind the plate.

The CSUN bullpen would take over in the eighth, protecting a one-run lead. Samuel Myers recorded an out in the top of the eighth and he got two strikes on Alex Fitchett before being lifted from the game in favor of closer Conner O'Neil. The CSUN stopper threw one pitch to strike out Fitchett and he went on to sit down the the final four batters of the game to post his seventh save of the season.

In the contest, Berry continued his on-base streak to 28 games with a single in the fifth inning. Berry has also hit safely in the last eight games.

The Matadors look for the series victory on Saturday afternoon against Hawai'i. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.