Friday, March 26
Long Beach, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
2-3, 2-3
3
at
1
Long Beach State
1-4, 1-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
CSUN
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
3
7
1
Long Beach State
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
9
1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cunningham, Jackson (1-1)
L: Lavallee, Johnathan (0-1)
S: Schriever, Blake (1)
Batting:
HR: Clarke, Denzel 1
RBI: Clarke, Denzel 1 ; Moody, Kai 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Clarke, Denzel 1 ; Bohning, Brandon 1 ; Arellano, Carlos 1
SB: Moody, Kai 1
HBP: Newman, Jayson 1
Batting:
HR: Luttrell, Chase 1
RBI: Luttrell, Chase 1
SH: Craig, Toren 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Luttrell, Chase 1
SB: Kokx, Connor 1
HBP: Kokx, Connor 1 ; Rozell, Brennan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
1B/RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: Paul Trafecanty
Matadors Score Two in the Ninth to Take Opener from Long Beach St
3/26/2021 9:43:00 PM | Baseball
LONG BEACH, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (2-3, 2-3 Big West) scored two runs in the top of the ninth to break a 1-1 tie as the Matadors took the series opener with Long Beach State (1-4, 1-4 Big West) 3-1 on Friday evening at Blair Field. Kai Moody went 2-for-3 with an RBI while Denzel Clarke homered for the second time this season. Out of the bullpen, Jackson Cunningham worked three shutout innings, scattering two hits while striking out three to earn the victory.
GAME BREAKDOWN
Clarke got the Matadors' offense started quickly with a leadoff home run on the sixth pitch of the game. CSUN looked for more in the first after Moody singled and Jayson Newman was hit by a pitch. However, starter Alfredo Ruiz struck out the next batter and induced an inning-ending double play to keep it a one-run game.
Thoughout Ruiz's time on the mound, the Matadors put runners on base in all six innings but were turned away in nearly each frame. CSUN would get back-to-back walks to start the third but Ruiz retired the next three in a row. Moody reached second base with two outs in the fifth before Ruiz struck out Sean Skelly to end the frame.
CSUN starter Blake Sodersten would have a similar time on the mound over his five innings. Sodersten picked up a key double play in the first inning and escaped jams in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Long Beach State though evened the contest in the fourth inning on a one-out home run from Chase Luttrell. In that frame, the Dirtbags loaded the bases with one out before Sodersten struck out Toren Craig and forced Connor Kokx to popout.
Sodersten left a total of eight runners on the base paths on Friday including two more in the bottom of the fifth to keep the game tied.
Cunningham entered the game in the sixth and would strike out the first two batters he faced. After pitching around a two-out single in the sixth and a leadoff hit in the seventh, Cunningham needed only three pitches to retire the side in the bottom of the eighth.
CSUN entered the ninth looking to break the 1-1 tie but the first two batters were retired to start the frame. Jacob Bravo stepped to the plate next as a pitch hitter and promptly singled to right field to keep the inning alive. Arellano followed with a flyball near the left field corner. Left fielder Aidan Malm looked to run the ball down but could not make the catch, giving pinch runner Brandon Bohning an opportunity to score from first base with the go-ahead run. Two batters later, Moody provided insurance with an RBI single to right field to give the Matadors a 3-1 lead.
The Dirtbags would threaten in the bottom of the ninth against Blaine Traxel as two of the first three batters reached base. Blake Schriever though put a stop to the Long Beach State rally. Schriever first retired Calvin Estrada on a flyout to center before he fanned Malm for the final out of the game.Â
GAME NOTES
After notching his 14th career save with the Matadors, Schriever has moved into a three-way tie for second place in CSUN history in saves with Phil Polanco (2002-04) and Josh Goossen-Brown (2011-13).Â
Moody has now recorded four multiple-hit games this season. Clarke extended his on-base streak to 17-straight games, dating back to last season.
Sodersten allowed one run on six hits to go with six strikeouts over his five innings of work.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH DAVE SERRANO
"That was a good Friday night win for our guys. It was a tough battle that we were able to withstand until the end. I believe Jackson Cunningham's performance in relief of Blake Sodersten was able to get the momentum back on our side. With the late start for this team, we continue to see progress in our growth as a team each game."
UP NEXT
The Matadors take on the Dirtbags in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon. Both games will stream on BigWest.TV.
#UniteTheValley
Â
GAME BREAKDOWN
Clarke got the Matadors' offense started quickly with a leadoff home run on the sixth pitch of the game. CSUN looked for more in the first after Moody singled and Jayson Newman was hit by a pitch. However, starter Alfredo Ruiz struck out the next batter and induced an inning-ending double play to keep it a one-run game.
Thoughout Ruiz's time on the mound, the Matadors put runners on base in all six innings but were turned away in nearly each frame. CSUN would get back-to-back walks to start the third but Ruiz retired the next three in a row. Moody reached second base with two outs in the fifth before Ruiz struck out Sean Skelly to end the frame.
CSUN starter Blake Sodersten would have a similar time on the mound over his five innings. Sodersten picked up a key double play in the first inning and escaped jams in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Long Beach State though evened the contest in the fourth inning on a one-out home run from Chase Luttrell. In that frame, the Dirtbags loaded the bases with one out before Sodersten struck out Toren Craig and forced Connor Kokx to popout.
Sodersten left a total of eight runners on the base paths on Friday including two more in the bottom of the fifth to keep the game tied.
Cunningham entered the game in the sixth and would strike out the first two batters he faced. After pitching around a two-out single in the sixth and a leadoff hit in the seventh, Cunningham needed only three pitches to retire the side in the bottom of the eighth.
CSUN entered the ninth looking to break the 1-1 tie but the first two batters were retired to start the frame. Jacob Bravo stepped to the plate next as a pitch hitter and promptly singled to right field to keep the inning alive. Arellano followed with a flyball near the left field corner. Left fielder Aidan Malm looked to run the ball down but could not make the catch, giving pinch runner Brandon Bohning an opportunity to score from first base with the go-ahead run. Two batters later, Moody provided insurance with an RBI single to right field to give the Matadors a 3-1 lead.
The Dirtbags would threaten in the bottom of the ninth against Blaine Traxel as two of the first three batters reached base. Blake Schriever though put a stop to the Long Beach State rally. Schriever first retired Calvin Estrada on a flyout to center before he fanned Malm for the final out of the game.Â
GAME NOTES
After notching his 14th career save with the Matadors, Schriever has moved into a three-way tie for second place in CSUN history in saves with Phil Polanco (2002-04) and Josh Goossen-Brown (2011-13).Â
Moody has now recorded four multiple-hit games this season. Clarke extended his on-base streak to 17-straight games, dating back to last season.
Sodersten allowed one run on six hits to go with six strikeouts over his five innings of work.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH DAVE SERRANO
"That was a good Friday night win for our guys. It was a tough battle that we were able to withstand until the end. I believe Jackson Cunningham's performance in relief of Blake Sodersten was able to get the momentum back on our side. With the late start for this team, we continue to see progress in our growth as a team each game."
UP NEXT
The Matadors take on the Dirtbags in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon. Both games will stream on BigWest.TV.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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