Matadors Top Washington State, 3-1

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

Behind timely hits and outstanding pitching, CSUN Baseball handed Washington State a 3-1 defeat on Sunday afternoon at Bailey-Brayton Field. Kevin Riley finished 2-for-5 at the plate with two RBI while Nick Sablock hit a key late home run. Making his first career start on the mound, Justin Toerner struck out a career-high six batters as he allowed just one hit in five innings to pick up his first career victory. Conner O'Neil worked the final three innings to notch his fourth save of the season.

Looking to snap a five-game skid, the Matadors turned to Toerner to silence the Cougars at the plate. Toerner cruised in the early going, retiring eight of the first nine batters of the game before giving up his first hit in the third.

The Cougars would threaten in the bottom of the third as Toerner surrendered a two-out walk to Dillon Plew followed by a single to Shane Matheny. Toerner showed poise on the mound, however, by striking out James Rudkin swinging to end the inning.

Toerner escaped further trouble in the fourth after two Cougars reached scoring position with one out. The junior left hander rebounded nicely by fanning the next two batters consecutively to keep the Cougars scoreless.

Cougar starter Cody Anderson shut out the Matador lineup through two innings, but the Matador bats would come alive in the third. Alvaro Rubalcaba began the inning with an infield single, and he later moved up to second base with his third stolen base of the season. Helping his own cause, Toerner reached via a fielder's choice on a bunt attempt to put runners at the corners. Two batters later, Riley doubled in both Rubalcaba and Toerner with a drive into right center field to put the Matadors ahead 2-0.

It appeared the two runs would be more than enough for Toerner and the CSUN pitching staff. Toerner retired the side in order in the fifth and the duo of Kyle Nicol and Joey Deceglie shut out Washington State in the sixth inning.

Still trailing by a pair, the Cougars finally broke through in the seventh. A leadoff double from Andres Alvarez prompted a change on the mound as O'Neil entered the fray with nobody out. O'Neil struck out the first batter, but Dugan Shirer doubled to right center to bring home Alvarez.

Taking advantage of a CSUN miscue, Shirer moved up to third base after a failed pickoff attempt. Plew followed with a grounder to second base but Rubalcaba and Albee Weiss teamed up to tag out Shirer at the plate. Moments later, O'Neil sat down Matheny on a liner to Rubalcaba to end the frame.

The Matadors picked up a key insurance run in the eighth inning on one swing of the bat. With two outs and nobody on base, Sablock belted an 0-1 pitch over the right field wall to push the lead to 3-1.

With a bit more breathing room, O'Neil went to work on the mound over the final two frames. Surrendering a leadoff single in the eighth, O'Neil would retire the next six batters to seal the victory. In the ninth, O'Neil struck out two Cougars, bringing his total to four on the day.

Although his home run in the eighth is currently his first home run of the season, Sablock's long ball will not officially be his first homer of his CSUN career. Sablock homered back on Feb. 21 at Pepperdine, however that game is not yet official since the contest was suspended in the eighth inning due to darkness. The game will resume on April 4 and once completed, the home run he hit in the game will go down as his first official home run.

Making the transition to the mound this season, Toerner's five innings of work are the most he has pitched in a game this season. His previous career-high came against Towson on Feb. 25 as he logged two innings.

Riley's two-hit game is his team-leading ninth multiple-hit game of the season. He is also tied with Weiss with six multiple-RBI games on the year.

The Matadors seek a series split with Washington State on Monday afternoon. First pitch is slated for noon.

Matadors Top Washington State, 3-1

Next Event

Team Stats

Kevin Riley

Nolan Bumstead

Justin Toerner

Albee Weiss

Players Mentioned

Joey Deceglie

Kyle Nicol

Conner O'Neil

Kevin Riley

Alvaro Rubalcaba

Nick Sablock

Justin Toerner

Albee Weiss