Matadors Earn Split on Wild Day One of GCU Classic

PHOENIX, Ariz.---CSUN Baseball split its first two games at the GCU Classic on Friday. In the opener, the Matadors gave up a nine-run lead in the top of the ninth only to win on a Joey Cooper walk-off single against Valparaiso, 14-13. CSUN would fall to host Grand Canyon 13-8 in the nightcap. Trevor Casanova finished with six hits on the day to go with four runs scored, three RBI and a home run while Albee Weiss had five hits, three doubles and five RBI. Nolan Bumstead also tallied five hits with an RBI. The Matadors' high-powered offense pounded out 32 hits, 10 doubles and 13 extra base hits between the two contests.

Valaparaiso Recap:

Cooper would be the hero in the afternoon game, tallying three RBI, two runs scored and two hits. The quartet of Casanova, Bumstead, Kevin Riley and Brandon Bohning all racked up three hits as CSUN collected 19 hits in the wild affair.

Capitalizing off two walks in the first inning, Weiss drove in a run on an infield single to give the Matadors the early 1-0 lead. CSUN added to its lead an inning later as Bohning plated Bumstead on an RBI single.

Walker Armstrong earned the start for the Matadors and retired seven consecutive batters early on before running into trouble in the third. After a pair of one-out hits, Sam Shaikin smacked a three-run home run to put Valparaiso on top 3-2. Armstrong settled down after the home run to sit down nine-straight batters, giving the Matador offense a chance to come back.

CSUN took the lead back in the fourth inning with a three-run rally of its own. After Bohning hit a leadoff double, Alvaro Rubalcaba reached on a well-placed sacrifice bunt. Joey Cooper executed a safety squeeze to bring home the tying run. Trevor Casanova followed with a two-run homer down the right field wall to put the Matadors ahead 5-3.

The Matadors' bats came alive in the seventh as the team collected seven hits in a six-run frame. Bohning tripled in the first run, and Cooper added to the lead with an RBI single with runners at the corners. Casanova singled in another run before Weiss hit a sacrifice fly. Riley capped off the frame with a two-run home run down the left field line to push the lead to 11-3.

CSUN added two more in the eighth and took a 13-4 lead into the top of the ninth. The Crusaders though were far from done. The first seven Valpo batters reached safely in the ninth as Blake Billinger delivered the first big blow with a three-run double. After Valpo scored twice more, the Matadors finally recorded their first out on a Scott Kapers RBI groundout. Riley Dent then made it a two-run game with another RBI single. Blake Schriever came out of the bullpen and recorded the second out of the inning via a strikeout, but Chase Dawson followed with a game-tying two-run home run, capping off the nine-run rally.

Despite seeing its big lead evaporate in one frame, the Matadors would regroup in the bottom of the ninth. Bumstead walked to begin the inning, and he later advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Riley Conlan. The Matadors worked the bases loaded on walks, bringing Cooper to the plate with one out. Cooper sent the first pitch of the at bat into right field to lift CSUN to its fifth-straight victory.

Grand Canyon Recap:

In the nightcap, the Matadors' offense came out quickly again against Grand Canyon. Casanova lit up the scoreboard with an RBI single to put the Matadors ahead in the first inning. The 'Lopes answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first but CSUN responded in the second inning. Doubles from Justin Toerner and Bumstead gave the Matadors the lead right back at 2-1. CSUN extended its lead to 4-1 in the third inning behind a Weiss RBI double and Riley sacrifice fly.

Tei Vanderford pitched around a leadoff double in the first inning to retire eight-straight batters but GCU was able to connect for back-to-back hits with two outs in the third inning. Quin Cotton hit an RBI triple in the frame, and would score on a throwing error from second base.

After the Matadors got a run back on a RBI double from Rubalcaba, the 'Lopes took advantage of two CSUN errors to plate three unearned runs in the fourth. Preston Pavlica gave GCU a 7-5 lead an inning later on a solo home run. The 'Lopes were able to break the game open in the sixth, scoring four times as Pikai Winchester delivered a three-run triple in the frame.

CSUN trailed 13-5 going to the ninth but kept on battling until the final out. With one out and nobody on, five-straight Matadors reached base including Weiss who hit a two-run double. Weiss would later score on a wild pitch to make it a 13-8 game. CSUN was a batter shy of bringing the tying run to the on deck circle but GCU's Nick Ohanian struck out Bumstead and Conlan to end the game.

Weiss drove in three runs against GCU on three hits to bring his season RBI total to 19. Both Casanova and Bumstead extended their respective hitting streaks to 10-straight games while Casanova recorded his team-leading sixth multiple-hit game with a 3-for-5 effort against GCU.

The Matadors continue the GCU Classic on Saturday with another meeting against Grand Canyon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. (PT).

Matadors Earn Split on Wild Day One of GCU Classic

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Team Stats

Trevor Casanova

Kevin Riley

Nolan Bumstead

Brandon Bohning

Players Mentioned

Walker Armstrong

Brandon Bohning

Nolan Bumstead

Trevor Casanova

Riley Conlan

Joey Cooper

Kevin Riley

Alvaro Rubalcaba

Blake Schriever

Justin Toerner

Tei Vanderford

Albee Weiss