Friday, February 28
Orlando, Fla.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
7-1
5
at
12
#17 UCF
9-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
CSUN
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
11
0
UCF
2
1
0
1
0
3
5
0
X
12
16
3
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Litchfield,David (1-0)
L: Sodersten, Blake (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Skelly, Sean 1 ; Bullard, Robert 1 ; Clarke, Denzel 1
3B: Ruiz, Jose 1
RBI: Ruiz, Jose 2 ; Newman, Jayson 1 ; Bullard, Robert 1 ; Arellano, Carlos 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Moody, Kai 1 ; Ruiz, Jose 1 ; Vanhille, Dalton 1 ; Newman, Jayson 1 ; Clarke, Denzel 1
SB: Clarke, Denzel 1
CS: Clarke, Denzel 1
HBP: Vanhille, Dalton 1 ; Ajamian, Jason 1
Batting:
2B: Gephry Pena 1 ; Nick Romano 1
RBI: Gephry Pena 3 ; Wingo,Dalton 1 ; Josten,Tom 1 ; Jordan Rathbone 4 ; Nick Romano 2
SH: Archer,Matt 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Gephry Pena 3 ; Wingo,Dalton 3 ; Jordan Rathbone 1 ; Andrew Brait 3 ; Archer,Matt 2
SB: Gephry Pena 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Paul Trafecanty
Matadors Drop Opener to #17 UCF
2/28/2020 6:35:00 PM | Baseball
ORLANDO, Fla.---CSUN Baseball (7-1) suffered its first loss of the season as the Matadors dropped the series opener at No. 17 UCF 12-5 on Friday at John Euliano Park. Senior Jose Ruiz finished 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored while Jayson Newman went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. CSUN battled the nationally-ranked Knights to a standstill through five innings but UCF scored eight runs over the next two frames to break the game open.
GAME BREAKDOWN
Seeking their eighth-straight win, the Matadors started quickly, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. After Kai Moody reached on an error to start the game, Ruiz tripled in the game's first run. Two batters later, Newman brought home Ruiz on an RBI single. Sean Skelly kept the hit parade going with a double before Carlos Arellano pushed across the Matadors' third run on a groundout.
UCF wasted little time answering the Matadors' offensive flurry as the Knights' first two batters reached on singles in the bottom of the first. CSUN starter Blake Sodersten would bring in a run on a wild pitch before Nick Romano came up with a two-out RBI single to cut the CSUN lead to 3-2.
Both teams scored single tallies in the second inning with each coming up with two-out hits. In the top of the second, Ruiz delivered again with an RBI single to plate Denzel Clarke. The Knights though trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the home half of the frame when Gephry Pena stroked an RBI double.
Sodersten would have to battle throughout his 5.1 innings of work on Friday. He pitched around a one-out hit in the third but he surrendered the tying run in the fourth on an RBI groundout from Pena. Sodersten ran into a jam in the fifth after the first two Knights reached base to start the inning. The sophomore right-hander rebounded though by retiring the next three batters including the last two via strikeouts.
The tide would turn in the sixth when the Knights' bats came alive. Two of the first three UCF batters reached before Sodersten walked Dalton Wingo to load the bases. Elijah Garcia relieved Sodersten but could not escape the jam as Tom Josten and Jordan Rathbone delivered run-scoring singles that gave UCF a 7-4 lead.
UCF maintained its momentum an inning later as the Knights erupted for five runs on six hits in the bottom of the seventh inning that put the Matadors in a 12-4 hole.
Held to just one run from inning two to eight, the Matadors were only retired in order twice over that span. Still trailing 7-4, CSUN loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs but Angelo Bortolin struck out to end the inning.
Fighting until their last out, CSUN threatened again in the top of the ninth. Robert Bullard drove in the Matadors' fifth run with a double to plate Dalton Vanhille. Jason Ajamian was hit by a pitch later in the frame to put runners at first and second before Cole Coffey was retired to end the game.
GAME NOTES
Clarke also finished with two hits in the game to go with a run scored and a walk. With his RBI single in the first, Newman has driven in runs in six of seven games. The trio of Skelly, Moody and Ruiz all extended their on-base streaks to eight games.
Sodersten finished with eight hits and seven runs allowed in 5.1 innings with four strikeouts. Garcia worked the final 2.2 innings, allowing five runs with two strikeouts.
For the Knights, Rathbone drove in four runs and picked up three hits.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH DAVE SERRANO
"We jumped out early offensively but we just weren't sharp on the mound. Blake Sodersten was uncharacteristically not as sharp as we have come accustomed to him being. We knew somewhere along the way we would hit some adversity and as a team, we will have to handle it better when it does happen. I told the team before we left California that we would be tested and even though we don't want to lose we hopefully learned how we can improve in these types of situations. What I am proud of is even in a loss the team kept fighting until the end. That's a good sign as we move forward."
UP NEXT
The teams return to action for a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 11 a.m. (PST). Game two will start 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
#UniteTheValley
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GAME BREAKDOWN
Seeking their eighth-straight win, the Matadors started quickly, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. After Kai Moody reached on an error to start the game, Ruiz tripled in the game's first run. Two batters later, Newman brought home Ruiz on an RBI single. Sean Skelly kept the hit parade going with a double before Carlos Arellano pushed across the Matadors' third run on a groundout.
UCF wasted little time answering the Matadors' offensive flurry as the Knights' first two batters reached on singles in the bottom of the first. CSUN starter Blake Sodersten would bring in a run on a wild pitch before Nick Romano came up with a two-out RBI single to cut the CSUN lead to 3-2.
Both teams scored single tallies in the second inning with each coming up with two-out hits. In the top of the second, Ruiz delivered again with an RBI single to plate Denzel Clarke. The Knights though trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the home half of the frame when Gephry Pena stroked an RBI double.
Sodersten would have to battle throughout his 5.1 innings of work on Friday. He pitched around a one-out hit in the third but he surrendered the tying run in the fourth on an RBI groundout from Pena. Sodersten ran into a jam in the fifth after the first two Knights reached base to start the inning. The sophomore right-hander rebounded though by retiring the next three batters including the last two via strikeouts.
The tide would turn in the sixth when the Knights' bats came alive. Two of the first three UCF batters reached before Sodersten walked Dalton Wingo to load the bases. Elijah Garcia relieved Sodersten but could not escape the jam as Tom Josten and Jordan Rathbone delivered run-scoring singles that gave UCF a 7-4 lead.
UCF maintained its momentum an inning later as the Knights erupted for five runs on six hits in the bottom of the seventh inning that put the Matadors in a 12-4 hole.
Held to just one run from inning two to eight, the Matadors were only retired in order twice over that span. Still trailing 7-4, CSUN loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs but Angelo Bortolin struck out to end the inning.
Fighting until their last out, CSUN threatened again in the top of the ninth. Robert Bullard drove in the Matadors' fifth run with a double to plate Dalton Vanhille. Jason Ajamian was hit by a pitch later in the frame to put runners at first and second before Cole Coffey was retired to end the game.
GAME NOTES
Clarke also finished with two hits in the game to go with a run scored and a walk. With his RBI single in the first, Newman has driven in runs in six of seven games. The trio of Skelly, Moody and Ruiz all extended their on-base streaks to eight games.
Sodersten finished with eight hits and seven runs allowed in 5.1 innings with four strikeouts. Garcia worked the final 2.2 innings, allowing five runs with two strikeouts.
For the Knights, Rathbone drove in four runs and picked up three hits.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH DAVE SERRANO
"We jumped out early offensively but we just weren't sharp on the mound. Blake Sodersten was uncharacteristically not as sharp as we have come accustomed to him being. We knew somewhere along the way we would hit some adversity and as a team, we will have to handle it better when it does happen. I told the team before we left California that we would be tested and even though we don't want to lose we hopefully learned how we can improve in these types of situations. What I am proud of is even in a loss the team kept fighting until the end. That's a good sign as we move forward."
UP NEXT
The teams return to action for a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 11 a.m. (PST). Game two will start 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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