Thursday, May 23
Northridge, CA
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
23-30, 9-13
1
vs
0
Cal State Fullerton
25-26, 11-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Cal State Fullerton
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
CSUN
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
4
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nunez, Isaiah (8-4)
L: Luckham, Kyle (4-6)
Batting:
SH: Borgogno, Brett 1
Base Running:
HBP: LoForte, Hank 1
Batting:
2B: Clarke, Denzel 1
SH: Skelly, Sean 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Doremus, Blake 1
Game Leaders
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF/RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
Photo by: Shae Hammond
Nunez Tosses Five-Hitter, CSUN Walks Off With 1-0 Win Over Fullerton
5/23/2019 6:03:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Senior left hander Isaiah Nunez tossed a five-hit shutout and junior Blake Doremus scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the ninth to lift CSUN Baseball (23-30, 9-13 BWC) to a walk-off 1-0 win over Cal State Fullerton on Thursday afternoon at Matador Field. In his final start at CSUN, Nunez became the first Matador in 17 seasons to win eight games in a season while he tied a career-high with eight strikeouts on 126 pitches.
GAME BREAKDOWN
With the game tied 0-0 heading to the bottom of the ninth, Doremus came off the bench and delivered a leadoff single through the right side. Sean Skelly would lay down a sacrifice bunt to move Doremus to second base before Andrew Lucas stroked a single through the left side of the infield, putting runners at the corners with one out. With Wesley Ghan-Gibson at the plate, Fullerton reliever Kyle Luckham threw a pitch outside that catcher Kameron Guangorena could not stop. The ball bounced away from home plate far enough for Doremus to score the winning run for the Matadors.
Prior to the excitement in the bottom of the ninth, Thursday's series opener would be a pitcher's duel between Nunez and Fullerton starter Timothy Josten. The two starters traded zeroes throughout the afternoon as Josten matched Nunez's masterful start with seven shutout innings and two hits allowed.
Nunez surrendered a pair of singles in the first inning while an error at shortstop loaded the bases with two outs in the first inning. However, Nunez would escape the jam by striking out Jacob Pavletich to end the frame. After throwing 30 pitches in the first, Nunez found his rhythm by retiring seven-straight batters.
The first two Fullerton batters reached to begin the fourth inning before Nunez went to work on the mound. Pavletich popped out to Ghan-Gibson at third base then Nunez fanned Guangorena for the second out. Two pitches later, Jason Brandow grounded out to short to end the top of the fourth.
On the flip side, the Matadors' best scoring chance in the early innings would come in the bottom of the third. Denzel Clarke roped a one-out double to left-center field before Jose Ruiz and Skelly drew two-out walks to load the bases. Josten though rebounded by striking out Lucas on a 1-2 pitch.
The third inning would be the last CSUN scoring threat against Josten for the game as the left hander went on to retire 13-straight Matador batters.
Fullerton had another runner in scoring position in the seventh inning when Brandow singled with one out and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Brett Borgogno. Nunez squashed the Titan rally when he forced Hank LoForte to fly out to end the frame.
Already over 100 pitches, Nunez came back out for the eighth and allowed a leadoff single to Mitchell Berryhill. As he had done time and time again on Thursday, Nunez did not wilt as he retired the next three batters in a row to keep the game scoreless.
In the top of the ninth, Nunez pitched perhaps his best inning of the day. All three Titan batters grounded out in a 10-pitch frame for the CSUN left hander, which set up the heroics in the bottom of the ninth.
ISAIAH NUNEZ SAID
"Today, I think the adversity helped me a little bit. Definitely getting out of that 30-pitch first inning got my mind right and forced me out of my own head. After going through the first inning, I knew I needed to lock down. Coach Moore said that my stuff got better as the game progressed. Since this is probably my last start in college, definitely I wanted to stick it out as long as I could and coach Moore knew that. Right when I came out for the ninth inning, he asked me how I was feeling and I looked him in the eyes and told him I felt good."
"Ever since I was little I learned to take advantage of the opportunities I was given. When I got here, I was a lefty specialist. Last year, the first game in conference I started. This year I had the honor of starting again and progressing up the ladder in the rotation. [I'll remember] just taking advantage of those opportunities I was given, and just sticking with them and not letting anyone take it from me."
GAME NOTES
Skelly extended his on-base streak to 13-straight games with a walk in the third inning. Nunez's shutout is the first of his Matador career and the second by a CSUN pitcher this season (Wesley Moore). The Matador win is the first game decided by a 1-0 margin at Matador Field since CSUN won by that score in 2014 against Stony Brook. The shutout is CSUN's third this season with the other two coming against Gonzaga (Feb. 23) and Santa Clara (March 23).
UP NEXT
The Matadors go for the series victory over Cal State Fullerton on Friday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. The game will stream live on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ross Porter on the call.
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GAME BREAKDOWN
With the game tied 0-0 heading to the bottom of the ninth, Doremus came off the bench and delivered a leadoff single through the right side. Sean Skelly would lay down a sacrifice bunt to move Doremus to second base before Andrew Lucas stroked a single through the left side of the infield, putting runners at the corners with one out. With Wesley Ghan-Gibson at the plate, Fullerton reliever Kyle Luckham threw a pitch outside that catcher Kameron Guangorena could not stop. The ball bounced away from home plate far enough for Doremus to score the winning run for the Matadors.
Prior to the excitement in the bottom of the ninth, Thursday's series opener would be a pitcher's duel between Nunez and Fullerton starter Timothy Josten. The two starters traded zeroes throughout the afternoon as Josten matched Nunez's masterful start with seven shutout innings and two hits allowed.
Nunez surrendered a pair of singles in the first inning while an error at shortstop loaded the bases with two outs in the first inning. However, Nunez would escape the jam by striking out Jacob Pavletich to end the frame. After throwing 30 pitches in the first, Nunez found his rhythm by retiring seven-straight batters.
The first two Fullerton batters reached to begin the fourth inning before Nunez went to work on the mound. Pavletich popped out to Ghan-Gibson at third base then Nunez fanned Guangorena for the second out. Two pitches later, Jason Brandow grounded out to short to end the top of the fourth.
On the flip side, the Matadors' best scoring chance in the early innings would come in the bottom of the third. Denzel Clarke roped a one-out double to left-center field before Jose Ruiz and Skelly drew two-out walks to load the bases. Josten though rebounded by striking out Lucas on a 1-2 pitch.
The third inning would be the last CSUN scoring threat against Josten for the game as the left hander went on to retire 13-straight Matador batters.
Fullerton had another runner in scoring position in the seventh inning when Brandow singled with one out and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Brett Borgogno. Nunez squashed the Titan rally when he forced Hank LoForte to fly out to end the frame.
Already over 100 pitches, Nunez came back out for the eighth and allowed a leadoff single to Mitchell Berryhill. As he had done time and time again on Thursday, Nunez did not wilt as he retired the next three batters in a row to keep the game scoreless.
In the top of the ninth, Nunez pitched perhaps his best inning of the day. All three Titan batters grounded out in a 10-pitch frame for the CSUN left hander, which set up the heroics in the bottom of the ninth.
ISAIAH NUNEZ SAID
"Today, I think the adversity helped me a little bit. Definitely getting out of that 30-pitch first inning got my mind right and forced me out of my own head. After going through the first inning, I knew I needed to lock down. Coach Moore said that my stuff got better as the game progressed. Since this is probably my last start in college, definitely I wanted to stick it out as long as I could and coach Moore knew that. Right when I came out for the ninth inning, he asked me how I was feeling and I looked him in the eyes and told him I felt good."
"Ever since I was little I learned to take advantage of the opportunities I was given. When I got here, I was a lefty specialist. Last year, the first game in conference I started. This year I had the honor of starting again and progressing up the ladder in the rotation. [I'll remember] just taking advantage of those opportunities I was given, and just sticking with them and not letting anyone take it from me."
GAME NOTES
Skelly extended his on-base streak to 13-straight games with a walk in the third inning. Nunez's shutout is the first of his Matador career and the second by a CSUN pitcher this season (Wesley Moore). The Matador win is the first game decided by a 1-0 margin at Matador Field since CSUN won by that score in 2014 against Stony Brook. The shutout is CSUN's third this season with the other two coming against Gonzaga (Feb. 23) and Santa Clara (March 23).
UP NEXT
The Matadors go for the series victory over Cal State Fullerton on Friday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. The game will stream live on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ross Porter on the call.
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