Friday, March 10
Northridge, CA
2:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
8-6
16
vs
8
Purdue
5-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Purdue
0
0
2
0
1
0
0
4
1
8
14
3
CSUN
0
7
0
6
1
2
0
0
X
16
13
1
Photo by: Paul Trafecanty
CSUN's Offense Explodes in 16-8 Win Over Purdue
3/10/2017 7:17:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, CA---
CSUN Baseball (8-6) cruised to a 16-8 victory in its series opener with Purdue on Friday afternoon at Matador Field. In a career day at the plate, junior Alvaro Rubalcaba blasted three home runs and drove in seven runs in the contest. Also enjoying big days at the plate, Nick Sablock delivered three RBI while both Justin Toerner and Kevin Riley hit home runs. With 13 hits on the day, the Matadors collected five home runs and posted a seven-run inning along with a six-run frame in the win.
The three home runs by Rubalcaba are the most by a Matador since Chris Hannick pulled off the hat trick at Cal State Fullerton in April 2008. Also, Rubalcaba came one home run shy of tying the program record for the most home runs in a single game set by Robert Fick in 1996 and two RBI shy of Hannick's CSUN record of nine RBI in one game.
"I never feel like an offense or a team is clicking," said head coach Greg Moore. "There's always another day coming tomorrow. I think people get excited and they get emotional about what's going to happen next. It's staying simple and going point-by-point, task-by-task that we need to execute, and we need to do that tomorrow. I thought we put pretty good pressure on their defense by running hard to first base. That's where it begins. Albee [Weiss] begins a crooked number on the scoreboard by hustling out of the box. Hustling is the stuff that matters and hustling is what we need to keep doing."
HItting safely in 10 of 12 games this season, Rubalcaba came into Friday's game with just one extra base hit but he would improve that total dramatically with his effort against the Boilermakers.
In the second inning, the Matadors staked to an early 2-0 lead after Sablock doubled in a run and Elias Orona brought in another on a fielder's choice. Rubalcaba stepped to the plate next and belted a three-run home run to left center field to put CSUN on top by five. CSUN would tally two more runs in the second behind a two-out, two-run home run from Riley that pushed the lead to 7-0.
Purdue answered back with a pair of its own in the top of the third inning as Matador starter Andrew Weston loaded the bases with two outs and surrendered a two-run single to Nick Dalesandro.
The Matadors were shut out in the third but the offense would rebound an inning later. After Orona walked to start the frame, Rubalcaba dialed up another long ball with a two-run home run to left field. Toerner followed next with a home run of his own to right field.
The Matadors continued to apply the pressure offensively with two outs. Albee Weiss extended the inning with a two-out infield single and Sablock later tripled in two runs with a shot to left center. Michael Russo capped off the inning with a single up the middle to plate the sixth run of the inning, extending the Matador lead to 13-2.
The teams exchanged runs in the fifth inning on RBI groundouts but the Matadors would get back into the scoring column in the sixth inning on one swing of the bat. With a runner at first base and one out, Rubalcaba delivered yet another home run with a towering shot to left field to push the lead to 16-3.
Purdue chipped away at the lead in the late innings, scoring four runs in the eighth and a single tally in the ninth but it would not be enough as CSUN posted the eight-run victory.
Although not as sharp as he has been this season, Weston earned the victory in the game by tossing five innings and allowing three runs. He also struck out five Boilermakers on the day.
CSUN's back-to-back home runs were the first since Nolan Bumstead and Yusuke Akitoshi went yard consecutively against UC Riverside in April 2015.
The Matadors continue their weekend series Saturday afternoon against the Boilermakers. First pitch from Matador Field is slated for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Weston, Andrew (3-1)
L: ANDREWS, Tanner (3-1)
Batting:
2B: SHIPLEY, Harry 1 ; WARDEN, Evan 1
RBI: KALINA, Stephen 1 ; DALESANDRO, Nick 2 ; McGOWAN, Jacson 2
Base Running:
RUNS: SHIPLEY, Harry 2 ; KALINA, Stephen 1 ; HUNTER, Skyler 2 ; WARDEN, Evan 2 ; LeGARE, John 1
HBP: KALINA, Stephen 1
Batting:
2B: Bumstead, Nolan 1 ; Sablock, Nick 1
3B: Sablock, Nick 1
HR: Toerner, Justin 1 ; Riley, Kevin 1 ; Rubalcaba, Alvaro 3
RBI: Toerner, Justin 1 ; Riley, Kevin 2 ; Bumstead, Nolan 1 ; Sablock, Nick 3 ; Russo, Michael 1 ; Orona, Elias 1 ; Rubalcaba, Alvaro 7
Base Running:
RUNS: Toerner, Justin 1 ; Smith, Fred 1 ; Riley, Kevin 2 ; Weiss, Albee 1 ; Bumstead, Nolan 2 ; Sablock, Nick 2 ; Russo, Michael 2 ; Orona, Elias 2 ; Rubalcaba, Alvaro 3
HBP: Bumstead, Nolan 1 ; Russo, Michael 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
3
H
3
RBI
7
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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