Matadors Drop Series Opener at Pepperdine

MALIBU, Calif.---Peppedine's six early runs held up as CSUN Baseball (8-6) fell to the Waves in the first of a three-game series on Friday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Stadium. Trevor Casanova collected three hits while Brandon Bohning had a pair of doubles in the contest. The Matadors' bullpen tossed four shutout innings in relief, allowing one hit.

The Waves lit up the scoreboard in the bottom of the first, jumping all over starter Tei Vanderford. Chase Lambert and Brandt Belk led off the frame with consecutive singles. Two batters later, Jordan Qsar singled in the game's first run through the right side. Matthew Kanfer brought home another run on a single, and Billy Cook worked a bases loaded walk to force in a run. Vanderford was able to get the final two outs, but a fourth run also scored on a Mike Malinchak fielder's choice.

Vanderford pitched through a leadoff hit in the second inning but ran into trouble in the third. With two outs and two runners on base, Malinchak laced a two-run double down the left field line to push the Wave lead to 6-0. Vanderford allowed six runs on 10 hits in four innings of work on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Matadors had runners on the base paths all afternoon but were unable to push across much against starter Wil Jensen. Joey Cooper tried to score from first base in the top of the first on a double from Casanova, but he would be thrown out at the plate. Jensen stranded runners at the corners in the second inning, and received a timely 6-4-3 double play in the fourth. Bohning doubled with two outs in the fifth, however Jensen retired Alvaro Rubalcaba to end the frame.

CSUN's lone run on the afternoon came in the eighth. With Jensen still on the mound, Bohning laced a one-out double down the left field line. Two batters later, Cooper connected with a single to right field, plating Bohning to cut the deficit to 6-1. Michael Mahony replaced Jensen on the mound and retired Casanova to end the frame.

The Matadors' bullpen took over in the fifth inning and would silence the Pepperdine bats. Blake Schriever retired six of the seven batters he faced on the day. Theron Kay worked a clean seventh inning, and Jayson Newman gave up just a single in his inning of work in the eighth.

Also on Friday, Casanova notched his team-leading ninth multiple-hit game while Bohning recorded his seventh.

CSUN and Pepperdine continue their three-game series on Saturday afternoon at Eddy D. Field with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. The series will conclude at Matador Field on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Matadors Drop Series Opener at Pepperdine

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Team Stats

Trevor Casanova

Brandon Bohning

Joey Cooper

Kevin Riley

Players Mentioned

Brandon Bohning

Trevor Casanova

Joey Cooper

Theron Kay

Jayson Newman

Alvaro Rubalcaba

Blake Schriever

Tei Vanderford