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Fullerton, CA
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
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Cal State Fullerton
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Matadors Take Opener From Cal State Fullerton in 14 Innings
5/17/2018 11:25:00 PM | Baseball
FULLERTON, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (26-27, 13-9 BWC) outlasted Cal State Fullerton 6-3 in 14 innings on Thursday evening at Goodwin Field. Tei Vanderford worked six innings in relief, yielding just a run on four hits with six strikeouts for his sixth win of the season. Albee Weiss went 3-for-7 on the night with an RBI while Kevin Riley and Brandon Bohning each finished with two hits. The Matadors surrendered a lead in the ninth but managed to pull out a win in extras to keep their postseason hopes alive for another day.Â
"I was impressed that [Tei] gave up the hit [in the ninth] but then stayed in the game and kept control of the game tonight like he did," said head coach Greg Moore about Vanderford. "In your first inning to give up a hit like that, you have a chance to ride the emotional roller coaster - he didn't. He carried the team late in the game and gave us a chance to get to the 14th."
"We did two small things tonight that were big," added Moore about his offense. "We ran hard through first base to put pressure and we also got bunts down even with two strikes. That ability to stay with it and to invest effort was the difference tonight on the offensive side."
In a game that took nearly five hours to complete, the Matadors batted in the top of the 14th looking for a spark in a 3-3 game. Alex Hull would begin the inning with a leadoff single to right field. Riley Conlan followed with a hit of his own to left field that advanced the go-ahead run to second base. After Joey Cooper sacrificed both runners up a base, Alvaro Rubalcaba hit a sacrifice fly to put the Matadors ahead 4-3.Â
The Matadors would be far from done in the 14th as Bohning added to the lead with an infield hit to third base, plating Conlan. Justin Toerner capped off the frame with a double into the gap in right center to push the lead to 6-3.Â
Vanderford, who entered the game in the ninth, slammed the door shut in the bottom of the 14th with a 1-2-3 inning.Â
Earlier in the game, Walker Armstrong and Colton Eastman battled in a back-and-forth pitcher's duel. Armstrong tossed 5.2 innings, allowing two runs while Eastman, the conference's leader in wins, worked 7.0 innings allowing two runs on six hits to go with 11 strikeouts.Â
The Matadors stranded two runners in the second but broke through in the third against Eastman. Bohning reached base on a hustling infield single to start the frame then Toerner worked a walk. Two batters later, Weiss smacked an RBI single to left field to put the Matadors ahead 1-0.
CSUN doubled its lead in the fourth, capitalizing on a Titan error. Conlan doubled to start the inning and he later advanced to third on a Cooper sacrifice bunt. After Rubalcaba struck out, Bohning reached on a throwing error from third baseman Brett Borgogno, which allowed Conlan to scoot on home.
Armstrong hit two Titan batters in the second inning but received solid defense, which helped him get out of trouble. Trevor Casanova threw out Jake Pavletich trying to steal second base, and a timely 4-6-3 double play erased Tyler Lasch off the base paths to end the frame.
In the fifth, the Titans loaded the bases with two outs against Armstrong but an outstanding defensive play kept the Matadors ahead. Daniel Cope hit a line drive that seemed destined to rocket down the right field line. Riley, however, would have different ideas as he dove and stopped the ball near the first base bag. Riley touched on first base to end the scoring threat.
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Cal State Fullerton finally broke through in the sixth to even the game at 2-2. Following back-to-back singles from Sahid Valenzuela and Jake Pavletich, Lasch sacrificed both runners up a base. Armstrong made a nifty catch on a line drive from Jairus Richards but pinch hitter Jace Chamberlain stroked a two-run single through the left side.
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After the Matadors left two runners on base in the sixth and seventh innings, they collected a timely hit in the eighth to take back the lead. Conlan battled back from an 0-2 hole to work a one-out walk. Two pitches later, Cooper delivered a double into deep center field, plating Conlan all the way from first base.
Jayson Newman worked 2.1 shutout innings in relief as he passed the ball off to Vanderford in the bottom of the ninth. The Titans kicked off the inning with a leadoff hit by Hank LaForte. After a sacrifice bunt moved up LaForte, Vanderford retired Ruben Cardenas for the second out. Cope would step to the plate next and deliver a two-out RBI double to right field, tying the game. Vanderford escaped further trouble as the game went to extras.Â
Despite the hiccup in the ninth, Vanderford bounced back considerably in extra innings. He left a runner at second base in the 10th and pitched around a leadoff double from Valenzuela in the 12th. The right hander then found his groove and retired the last eight batters in a row to help CSUNÂ post the 6-3 win.Â
With the win, the Matadors move a game closer to the first-place Titans in the Big West standings, as they now stand 2.5 games behind with two left in the weekend series. The Matadors go for a series win on Saturday against Cal State Fullerton. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN3.Â
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"I was impressed that [Tei] gave up the hit [in the ninth] but then stayed in the game and kept control of the game tonight like he did," said head coach Greg Moore about Vanderford. "In your first inning to give up a hit like that, you have a chance to ride the emotional roller coaster - he didn't. He carried the team late in the game and gave us a chance to get to the 14th."
"We did two small things tonight that were big," added Moore about his offense. "We ran hard through first base to put pressure and we also got bunts down even with two strikes. That ability to stay with it and to invest effort was the difference tonight on the offensive side."
In a game that took nearly five hours to complete, the Matadors batted in the top of the 14th looking for a spark in a 3-3 game. Alex Hull would begin the inning with a leadoff single to right field. Riley Conlan followed with a hit of his own to left field that advanced the go-ahead run to second base. After Joey Cooper sacrificed both runners up a base, Alvaro Rubalcaba hit a sacrifice fly to put the Matadors ahead 4-3.Â
The Matadors would be far from done in the 14th as Bohning added to the lead with an infield hit to third base, plating Conlan. Justin Toerner capped off the frame with a double into the gap in right center to push the lead to 6-3.Â
Vanderford, who entered the game in the ninth, slammed the door shut in the bottom of the 14th with a 1-2-3 inning.Â
Earlier in the game, Walker Armstrong and Colton Eastman battled in a back-and-forth pitcher's duel. Armstrong tossed 5.2 innings, allowing two runs while Eastman, the conference's leader in wins, worked 7.0 innings allowing two runs on six hits to go with 11 strikeouts.Â
The Matadors stranded two runners in the second but broke through in the third against Eastman. Bohning reached base on a hustling infield single to start the frame then Toerner worked a walk. Two batters later, Weiss smacked an RBI single to left field to put the Matadors ahead 1-0.
CSUN doubled its lead in the fourth, capitalizing on a Titan error. Conlan doubled to start the inning and he later advanced to third on a Cooper sacrifice bunt. After Rubalcaba struck out, Bohning reached on a throwing error from third baseman Brett Borgogno, which allowed Conlan to scoot on home.
Armstrong hit two Titan batters in the second inning but received solid defense, which helped him get out of trouble. Trevor Casanova threw out Jake Pavletich trying to steal second base, and a timely 4-6-3 double play erased Tyler Lasch off the base paths to end the frame.
In the fifth, the Titans loaded the bases with two outs against Armstrong but an outstanding defensive play kept the Matadors ahead. Daniel Cope hit a line drive that seemed destined to rocket down the right field line. Riley, however, would have different ideas as he dove and stopped the ball near the first base bag. Riley touched on first base to end the scoring threat.
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Cal State Fullerton finally broke through in the sixth to even the game at 2-2. Following back-to-back singles from Sahid Valenzuela and Jake Pavletich, Lasch sacrificed both runners up a base. Armstrong made a nifty catch on a line drive from Jairus Richards but pinch hitter Jace Chamberlain stroked a two-run single through the left side.
Â
After the Matadors left two runners on base in the sixth and seventh innings, they collected a timely hit in the eighth to take back the lead. Conlan battled back from an 0-2 hole to work a one-out walk. Two pitches later, Cooper delivered a double into deep center field, plating Conlan all the way from first base.
Jayson Newman worked 2.1 shutout innings in relief as he passed the ball off to Vanderford in the bottom of the ninth. The Titans kicked off the inning with a leadoff hit by Hank LaForte. After a sacrifice bunt moved up LaForte, Vanderford retired Ruben Cardenas for the second out. Cope would step to the plate next and deliver a two-out RBI double to right field, tying the game. Vanderford escaped further trouble as the game went to extras.Â
Despite the hiccup in the ninth, Vanderford bounced back considerably in extra innings. He left a runner at second base in the 10th and pitched around a leadoff double from Valenzuela in the 12th. The right hander then found his groove and retired the last eight batters in a row to help CSUNÂ post the 6-3 win.Â
With the win, the Matadors move a game closer to the first-place Titans in the Big West standings, as they now stand 2.5 games behind with two left in the weekend series. The Matadors go for a series win on Saturday against Cal State Fullerton. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN3.Â
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