Friday, April 23
Northridge, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
Cal State Fullerton
Photo by: Braden Villanueva
CSUN Hosts Cal State Fullerton in Weekend Series
4/21/2021 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
FULL GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (7-13, 7-13 Big West) returns to action this weekend for a four-game series against Cal State Fullerton (15-16, 8-4 Big West) at Matador Field. The opener is set for Friday at 3 p.m. and the series continues on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday's finale will start at 1 p.m. All four games will stream on BigWest.TV with Ghizal Hasan on the call.
Before Sunday's series finale, Matador fans can tune in to watch a virtual pre-game show starting at 12:15 p.m. on BigWest.TV. Fans have the opportunity to meet some of the student-athletes on the team, guess Matador trivia, receive a live look at Matador Field and catch up with a baseball alum.
Limited spectators will be allowed into the Matadors' remaining home games this spring. Due to reduced capacity at CSUN venues, only family members of current Matador student-athletes will be allowed to attend the remaining games in person. Capacity will be prioritized by student-athlete graduation class and family members must register to attend games. Visitors must present a California ID when checking in at Matador Field and adhere to physical distancing guidelines along with wearing face coverings.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Cal State Fullerton at CSUN - April 23-25
RHP Tanner Bibee (5-3, 2.83 ERA) vs. RHP Blake Sodersten (0-1, 4.60 ERA)
RHP Ryan Hare (0-1, 6.65 ERA) vs. RHP Gavin Lizik (0-2, 12.00 ERA)
RHP Kyle Luckham (3-5, 6.42 ERA) vs. TBA
TBA vs. RHP Blaine Traxel (3-1, 5.23 ERA)
The Matadors lost three of four games this past weekend to UC Riverside. CSUN dropped a tough 6-5 decision in game one that went 11 innings before the Highlanders swept a Saturday doubleheader, 5-1 and 8-4. The Matadors' offense broke out in the finale of the series in a 15-8 triumph.
CSUN out-hit UCR in game one of the series and held a 3-2 lead entering the seventh inning but UCR pulled in front on a three-run homer. The Matadors rallied for two runs in the ninth to send the game to extra innings before the Highlanders went ahead with the go-ahead run in the 11th. CSUN loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th but could not push across the tying run. Blake Sodersten, who left the game with the lead, tossed 6.1 innings, allowing four runs.
After Saturday's doubleheader went the Highlanders' way, the Matadors broke out for 15 hits in the finale to salvage the series. CSUN jumped out to a 7-1 lead before seeing the Highlanders storm back to tie the game at 8-8 in the sixth. The Matadors would respond with a four-run sixth and a two-run seventh to take control of the game. Blaine Traxel shook off three UCR home runs to toss his second-straight complete game to go with a career-high eight strikeouts. Denzel Clarke capped off a strong series with a personal-high four hits and four RBI in the win.
Heading into this week, Kai Moody is fifth in the Big West in batting average (.390) and sixth in on-base percentage (.468). Clarke is tied for sixth in the league in home runs with four while Robert Bullard is tied for fifth in triples with two. On the pitching side, Traxel is tied for first in the league in complete games (2) and tied for eighth in wins (3).
This weekend's series serves as a reunion between members of the Matador coaching staff and Cal State Fullerton. Head coach Dave Serrano led the Titan program from 2008-11 where he guided the program to three Big West championships and the College World Series in 2009. Serrano and head coach Rick Vanderhook also served as assistant coaches on the Titans' staff for several seasons together and won a national title in 2004. In addition, assistant coach Neil Walton played three seasons for Cal State Fullerton and was a member of the team's coaching staff before joining the Matadors.
Cal State Fullerton leads CSUN 77-52 in the all-time series. The Matadors are seeking their first series win over the Titans since 2002 and their first-ever series victory at Matador Field. CSUN's last series win in 2002 was a three-game sweep at Goodwin Field. Over the last seven games, CSUN is 3-4 over that span and came close to a series win in 2019. In that series, the Matadors won the opener and were two outs away from winning game two before a Titan rally changed the course of that game and the rest of the series. Clarke went 4-for-11 with two doubles against the Titans in 2019.
A Closer Look at Cal State Fullerton
The Titans are 8-4 against league opponents and have yet to lose a series in conference play. Cal State Fullerton has series wins over UC Riverside and most recently UC Davis while it split against UC Santa Barbara. On the road, the Titans are 8-10 this season. Head coach Rick Vanderhook is in his 10th season leading the Titans.
Caden Connor leads the Titans in batting (.333), hits (33) and runs scored (18) while he shares the team lead in RBI (18) with Jason Brandow. Also hitting above the .300 mark, Brandow is batting .325 with 26 hits, 16 runs scored and two home runs. As a team, the Titans are second in the Big West in sacrifice hits (27) and third in hits (285). On the pitching side, Tanner Bibee is ranked second in the Big West in wins with five while he has a 2.83 ERA and 45 strikeouts.
#UniteTheValley
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (7-13, 7-13 Big West) returns to action this weekend for a four-game series against Cal State Fullerton (15-16, 8-4 Big West) at Matador Field. The opener is set for Friday at 3 p.m. and the series continues on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday's finale will start at 1 p.m. All four games will stream on BigWest.TV with Ghizal Hasan on the call.
Before Sunday's series finale, Matador fans can tune in to watch a virtual pre-game show starting at 12:15 p.m. on BigWest.TV. Fans have the opportunity to meet some of the student-athletes on the team, guess Matador trivia, receive a live look at Matador Field and catch up with a baseball alum.
Limited spectators will be allowed into the Matadors' remaining home games this spring. Due to reduced capacity at CSUN venues, only family members of current Matador student-athletes will be allowed to attend the remaining games in person. Capacity will be prioritized by student-athlete graduation class and family members must register to attend games. Visitors must present a California ID when checking in at Matador Field and adhere to physical distancing guidelines along with wearing face coverings.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Cal State Fullerton at CSUN - April 23-25
RHP Tanner Bibee (5-3, 2.83 ERA) vs. RHP Blake Sodersten (0-1, 4.60 ERA)
RHP Ryan Hare (0-1, 6.65 ERA) vs. RHP Gavin Lizik (0-2, 12.00 ERA)
RHP Kyle Luckham (3-5, 6.42 ERA) vs. TBA
TBA vs. RHP Blaine Traxel (3-1, 5.23 ERA)
The Matadors lost three of four games this past weekend to UC Riverside. CSUN dropped a tough 6-5 decision in game one that went 11 innings before the Highlanders swept a Saturday doubleheader, 5-1 and 8-4. The Matadors' offense broke out in the finale of the series in a 15-8 triumph.
CSUN out-hit UCR in game one of the series and held a 3-2 lead entering the seventh inning but UCR pulled in front on a three-run homer. The Matadors rallied for two runs in the ninth to send the game to extra innings before the Highlanders went ahead with the go-ahead run in the 11th. CSUN loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th but could not push across the tying run. Blake Sodersten, who left the game with the lead, tossed 6.1 innings, allowing four runs.
After Saturday's doubleheader went the Highlanders' way, the Matadors broke out for 15 hits in the finale to salvage the series. CSUN jumped out to a 7-1 lead before seeing the Highlanders storm back to tie the game at 8-8 in the sixth. The Matadors would respond with a four-run sixth and a two-run seventh to take control of the game. Blaine Traxel shook off three UCR home runs to toss his second-straight complete game to go with a career-high eight strikeouts. Denzel Clarke capped off a strong series with a personal-high four hits and four RBI in the win.
Heading into this week, Kai Moody is fifth in the Big West in batting average (.390) and sixth in on-base percentage (.468). Clarke is tied for sixth in the league in home runs with four while Robert Bullard is tied for fifth in triples with two. On the pitching side, Traxel is tied for first in the league in complete games (2) and tied for eighth in wins (3).
This weekend's series serves as a reunion between members of the Matador coaching staff and Cal State Fullerton. Head coach Dave Serrano led the Titan program from 2008-11 where he guided the program to three Big West championships and the College World Series in 2009. Serrano and head coach Rick Vanderhook also served as assistant coaches on the Titans' staff for several seasons together and won a national title in 2004. In addition, assistant coach Neil Walton played three seasons for Cal State Fullerton and was a member of the team's coaching staff before joining the Matadors.
Cal State Fullerton leads CSUN 77-52 in the all-time series. The Matadors are seeking their first series win over the Titans since 2002 and their first-ever series victory at Matador Field. CSUN's last series win in 2002 was a three-game sweep at Goodwin Field. Over the last seven games, CSUN is 3-4 over that span and came close to a series win in 2019. In that series, the Matadors won the opener and were two outs away from winning game two before a Titan rally changed the course of that game and the rest of the series. Clarke went 4-for-11 with two doubles against the Titans in 2019.
A Closer Look at Cal State Fullerton
The Titans are 8-4 against league opponents and have yet to lose a series in conference play. Cal State Fullerton has series wins over UC Riverside and most recently UC Davis while it split against UC Santa Barbara. On the road, the Titans are 8-10 this season. Head coach Rick Vanderhook is in his 10th season leading the Titans.
Caden Connor leads the Titans in batting (.333), hits (33) and runs scored (18) while he shares the team lead in RBI (18) with Jason Brandow. Also hitting above the .300 mark, Brandow is batting .325 with 26 hits, 16 runs scored and two home runs. As a team, the Titans are second in the Big West in sacrifice hits (27) and third in hits (285). On the pitching side, Tanner Bibee is ranked second in the Big West in wins with five while he has a 2.83 ERA and 45 strikeouts.
#UniteTheValley
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Players Mentioned
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