California State University Northridge Athletics
Photo by: Shae Hammond
CSUN Receives First-Place Vote, Picked Sixth in Big West Preseason Poll
2/9/2021 3:17:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball was ranked sixth in the Big West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, the league office announced Wednesday. The Matadors received one first-place vote and finished with 64 points in the poll.
Picked to finish seventh last season, the Matadors were off to a 10-5 start to the year before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season. In his first year at the helm, head coach Dave Serrano led the Matadors to a 7-0 start, the program's first in 27 years. CSUN went a perfect 4-0 at home on the season while it notched road wins at nationally-ranked UCF, Grand Canyon and Gonzaga, and defeated a Fordham team that went to the NCAA Regionals the year before.
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This season, the Matadors have one of the most experienced teams in the Big West Conference with 26 upperclassmen and 21 returning letterwinners. A total of 11 Matadors on the roster are either five-year or six-year college players while seven seniors return from last season's roster. Along with the returning crop, 19 newcomers have also joined the roster, which include 12 true freshmen and seven junior college transfers.
Among the returners are a pair of 2019 All-Big West Conference selections in right-handed pitcher Blake Schriever and catcher Sean Skelly. Entering his fifth year with the program, Schriever was dominant as the team's closer in 2020, posting four saves, eight strikeouts and a 0.82 ERA over 11.0 innings. Skelly was limited to six starts and 12 appearances due to injury last season but produced at the plate, batting .296 with four RBI and a home run.
Other key returners include center fielder Denzel Clarke, who led the Matadors in batting average (.400), home runs (3), runs scored (12) and stolen bases (5). Sixth-year senior Jayson Newman was second in the team in batting with a .333 average in 2020 to go with a team-high 13 RBI while he worked 2.2 shutout innings on the mound. Weekend starters Blake Sodersten and Blaine Traxel highlight the returning pitchers as Sodersten went 2-1 with a 4.32 ERA and 19 strikeouts as a Friday starter and Traxel finished 2-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 27.2 innings last season.
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The 2019 Big West champion UC Santa Barbara garnered 10 first-place votes to finish as the league favorite in the poll. Long Beach State was picked second while UC Irvine was third, Cal Poly was selected fourth and Cal State Fullerton was fifth. After CSUN in sixth place, Hawai'i came in seventh followed by UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Riverside and CSU Bakersfield.
2021 Big West Preseason Coaches Poll Results (First-place votes)
#UniteTheValley
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Picked to finish seventh last season, the Matadors were off to a 10-5 start to the year before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season. In his first year at the helm, head coach Dave Serrano led the Matadors to a 7-0 start, the program's first in 27 years. CSUN went a perfect 4-0 at home on the season while it notched road wins at nationally-ranked UCF, Grand Canyon and Gonzaga, and defeated a Fordham team that went to the NCAA Regionals the year before.
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This season, the Matadors have one of the most experienced teams in the Big West Conference with 26 upperclassmen and 21 returning letterwinners. A total of 11 Matadors on the roster are either five-year or six-year college players while seven seniors return from last season's roster. Along with the returning crop, 19 newcomers have also joined the roster, which include 12 true freshmen and seven junior college transfers.
Among the returners are a pair of 2019 All-Big West Conference selections in right-handed pitcher Blake Schriever and catcher Sean Skelly. Entering his fifth year with the program, Schriever was dominant as the team's closer in 2020, posting four saves, eight strikeouts and a 0.82 ERA over 11.0 innings. Skelly was limited to six starts and 12 appearances due to injury last season but produced at the plate, batting .296 with four RBI and a home run.
Other key returners include center fielder Denzel Clarke, who led the Matadors in batting average (.400), home runs (3), runs scored (12) and stolen bases (5). Sixth-year senior Jayson Newman was second in the team in batting with a .333 average in 2020 to go with a team-high 13 RBI while he worked 2.2 shutout innings on the mound. Weekend starters Blake Sodersten and Blaine Traxel highlight the returning pitchers as Sodersten went 2-1 with a 4.32 ERA and 19 strikeouts as a Friday starter and Traxel finished 2-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 27.2 innings last season.
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The 2019 Big West champion UC Santa Barbara garnered 10 first-place votes to finish as the league favorite in the poll. Long Beach State was picked second while UC Irvine was third, Cal Poly was selected fourth and Cal State Fullerton was fifth. After CSUN in sixth place, Hawai'i came in seventh followed by UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Riverside and CSU Bakersfield.
2021 Big West Preseason Coaches Poll Results (First-place votes)
| 1. | UC Santa Barbara (10) | 119 points |
| 2. | Long Beach State | 96 points |
| 3. | UC Irvine | 95 points |
| 4. | Cal Poly | 94 points |
| 5. | Cal State Fullerton | 78 points |
| 6. | CSUN (1) | 64 points |
| 7. | Hawai'i | 61 points |
| 8. | UC Davis | 39 points |
| 9. | UC San Diego | 33 points |
| 10. | UC Riverside | 29 points |
| 11. | CSU Bakersfield | 18 points |
#UniteTheValley
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