CSUN Slugs Its Way Past Pepperdine, 10-4

MALIBU, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (13-15) pounded out 15 hits in a 10-4 victory over Pepperdine on Tuesday afternoon at Eddy D. Field Staidum. Riley Conlan collected a CSUN career-high three hits with two RBI while Albee Weiss tied his personal best with three hits to go with two runs scored and an RBI. Nolan Bumstead belted his fourth home run of the season and drove in two runs. Eight Matador pitchers saw action on the mound led by Theron Kay who tossed 1.2 shutout innings en route to earning his first career Matador victory. CSUN has won five of the last six meetings at Pepperdine including winning a game in each of the last five years.

After loading the bases and coming up empty in the first inning, the Matadors would take advantage of that same opportunity an inning later. Coming up with the bases loaded and one out, Trevor Casanova hit a sacrifice fly to put the Matadors on the scoreboard first. Weiss followed with a single to knock in another run. Bumstead reached on a single to load the bases yet again before Conlan checked in with a two-run double to push the lead to 4-0.

Andrew Weston made his second start of the season on Tuesday as he worked his way through a clean first inning. In the second, Weston committed a costly throwing error that opened the door for a three-run inning. Billy Cook and Dante Faicchio collected RBI hits in the frame as two of the Waves' three runs were unearned.

CSUN would respond quickly, tallying another run in the third. Brandon Bohning reached to start the frame on a hit by pitch. Justin Toerner later sacrificed Bohning to second base and Joey Cooper would bring in the run on an RBI single.

The Matadors loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth, looking to break the game open. Kevin Riley added to the Matadors' lead with an RBI single to plate Weiss. A wild pitch brought in Bumstead from third base in the frame, and Michael Russo drove in CSUN's eighth run of the afternoon on a fielder's choice.

After the Waves scored a run in the fourth on a Cook RBI double, CSUN surged ahead by a 10-4 margin in the fifth. Casanova doubled with one out before Bumstead smacked a two-run home run over the left center field wall.

The Matadors' six-run cushion would be more than enough for their bullpen. Tei Vanderford entered the game in relief of Weston in the third and promptly retired the side in order on 13 pitches. Hayden Shenefield and Isaiah Nunez each tossed scoreless innings while Kay retired five of six batters he faced without allowing a hit.

Blake Schriever tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the eighth for the Matadors, and Jayson Newman slammed the door in the ninth with a seven-pitch frame.

Bumstead registered his 10th multiple hit game of the season after going 2-for-4 on the day. With his double in the fifth, Casanova has now hit safely in 22 of the team's 28 games on the year. Hull finished 2-for-2 at the plate off the bench as he tied his previous career high in hits he set at Missouri State on March 23.

As a team, the Matadors have tallied at least 10 hits in a game 14 times. The 15 hits are also the fourth-most for the Matadors in 2018. In the run column, CSUN has scored 10 or more runs on seven occasions as the team boasts a 7-0 record in those contests.

The Matadors resume Big West play this weekend at UC Riverside in a three-game series. The series opener will start Friday at 6 p.m. Big West.TV will live stream each game this weekend.

Players Mentioned

Brandon Bohning

Nolan Bumstead

Trevor Casanova

Riley Conlan

Joey Cooper

Theron Kay

Jayson Newman

Isaiah Nunez

Kevin Riley

Michael Russo

Blake Schriever

Hayden Shenefield

Justin Toerner

Tei Vanderford

Albee Weiss

Andrew Weston