Friday, April 2
Northridge, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
4-5, 4-5
8
vs
7
#26 UC Irvine
14-8, 8-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
R
H
E
UC Irvine
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
7
12
1
CSUN
0
5
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
8
11
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cunningham, Jackson (2-1)
L: Brooks, Tanner (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Church, Nathan 1 ; Torres, Justin 1 ; Cosgrove, Jake 1
HR: Tatum, Dillon 1
RBI: Church, Nathan 1 ; Peabody, Mike 1 ; Tatum, Dillon 2 ; Torres, Justin 1 ; Cosgrove, Jake 1
SH: McCaffrey, Thomas 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Church, Nathan 1 ; Damla, Adrian 2 ; Tatum, Dillon 2 ; Torres, Justin 1 ; Cosgrove, Jake 1
HBP: Peabody, Mike 1 ; Torres, Justin 1 ; Cosgrove, Jake 1
Batting:
2B: Ruiz, Jose 1
HR: Ball, Ryan 1
RBI: Moody, Kai 2 ; Ball, Ryan 2 ; Ruiz, Jose 1 ; Bohning, Brandon 1 ; Bullard, Robert 1 ; Arellano, Carlos 1
SH: Ruiz, Jose 1 ; Vanhille, Dalton 1 ; Bullard, Robert 1
SF: Arellano, Carlos 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Clarke, Denzel 1 ; Ball, Ryan 2 ; Skelly, Sean 1 ; Ruiz, Jose 1 ; Barraza, Nathan 1 ; Powell, Luke 1 ; Bohning, Brandon 1
HBP: Clarke, Denzel 1 ; Bohning, Brandon 1
PO: Moody, Kai 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
Players Mentioned
1B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
Photo by: Braden Villanueva
Ball's Walk-off Homer Helps CSUN Split on Saturday
4/3/2021 4:59:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (4-6, 4-6 Big West) earned a split on Saturday with UC Irvine (15-8, 9-1 Big West). The Matadors prevailed 8-7 in their re-started game from Friday in 12 innings on a walk-off home run from Ryan Ball before falling 17-3 in seven innings in the second game.
GAME ONE RECAP
The Matadors and Anteaters resumed their game from Friday, which was suspended due to darkness in the top of the 12th inning.
Jackson Cunningham, who worked the final two innings on Friday, returned to the mound for his third inning of work to begin Saturday. Cunningham gave up a single to begin the inning but would record outs against the next two batters. Woody Hadeen worked a two-out walk before Cunningham forced Jake Cosgrove to hit into a fielder's choice to end the threat.
In the bottom of the 12th, Kai Moody grounded out to start the inning, bringing Ball to the plate. The freshman battled to a 3-2 count before depositing a deep drive over the right-field wall for the walk-off home run. The homer was the first of his collegiate career.
Ball finished with two RBI in the game and two hits while Jose Ruiz, who was lifted in the ninth inning for a pinch runner, went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Kai Moody added two RBI, two walks and a hit. Brandon Bohning, Robert Bullard and Carlos Arellano also drove in runs in the victory.
Cunningham earned his second win of the season by going three shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out two batters.
GAME TWO RECAP
UC Irvine would jump on CSUN at the outset, scoring 14 runs over the first two innings to take control of game two.
Nathan Church led off the game with a four-pitch walk before Mike Peabody stroked a two-run home run to right field. UCI added two more runs in the top of the first, capped by an RBI single from Taishi Nakawake with two outs.
The Matadors would answer back quickly in the home half of the first inning by batting around. Denzel Clarke reached to start the inning on an error at third base and Moody followed with a single. After Ball worked a walk to load the bases, Sean Skelly drove in two runs with a drive up the middle. Jason Ajamian brought the Matadors a run closer later in the frame with a one-out single to plate Ball. The Matadors had the bases loaded with one out but starter Nick Pinto retired two-straight batters to end the inning.
The game would turn around quickly in the second inning where the Anteaters broke the game open. Peabody stroked another two-run home run early in the inning then Cosgrove added another run with an RBI double. After loading the bases with a pair of walks, Connor McGuire cleared the bases with a three-run double off the wall in left. UCI loaded the bases once more later in the frame for Luke Spillane who delivered a grand slam to cap the 10-run inning.
Pinto settled in on the mound after the rough first inning, retiring 11 of 12 batters. The Matadors picked up two singles in the fifth but a 5-4-3 double play helped Pinto escape without any runs coming across. Pinto finished with five innings completed, allowing three runs with four strikeouts.
UCI added two more runs on a home run from Spillane in the sixth and one more in the seventh on an RBI single from McGuire.
Skelly finished 2-for-4 with two RBI for CSUN. Dwayne Angebrandt shouldered the load on the mound, tossing 4.1 innings and allowing six runs on five hits.
GAME NOTES
Ball's walk-off home run was the Matadors' first since Kevin Riley hit a three-run blast to help CSUN beat UC Davis on May 13, 2018.
CSUN has now won three-straight series openers to start Big West play. Moody has hit safely in the first 10 games this season after going 1-for-2 in game two on Saturday. Ball has also reached base safely in nine games in a row.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH DAVE SERRANO
"It's the highs and lows, the emotions that go on in the course of a baseball game, and in today's instance, two games. What's baffling to me and our coaching staff is that we are not handling success well. That's the third weekend in a row where we've won the opening game and come out in game two and not played good baseball across the board. What I saw with my own eyes in game two after an exciting game one victory with Ryan Ball hitting a walk-off and Jackson Cunningham coming back to get through the first inning, we were trailing in everything. I don't want to take anything away from UC Irvine, they came out and could have been flat after that loss, and attacked us right away. We weren't ready for the attack."
UP NEXT
The Matadors and Anteaters play a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. Audio broadcasts will be available for both games at GoMatadors.com/Radio with Ghizal Hasan on the call.
#UniteTheValley
GAME ONE RECAP
The Matadors and Anteaters resumed their game from Friday, which was suspended due to darkness in the top of the 12th inning.
Jackson Cunningham, who worked the final two innings on Friday, returned to the mound for his third inning of work to begin Saturday. Cunningham gave up a single to begin the inning but would record outs against the next two batters. Woody Hadeen worked a two-out walk before Cunningham forced Jake Cosgrove to hit into a fielder's choice to end the threat.
In the bottom of the 12th, Kai Moody grounded out to start the inning, bringing Ball to the plate. The freshman battled to a 3-2 count before depositing a deep drive over the right-field wall for the walk-off home run. The homer was the first of his collegiate career.
Ball finished with two RBI in the game and two hits while Jose Ruiz, who was lifted in the ninth inning for a pinch runner, went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Kai Moody added two RBI, two walks and a hit. Brandon Bohning, Robert Bullard and Carlos Arellano also drove in runs in the victory.
Cunningham earned his second win of the season by going three shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out two batters.
GAME TWO RECAP
UC Irvine would jump on CSUN at the outset, scoring 14 runs over the first two innings to take control of game two.
Nathan Church led off the game with a four-pitch walk before Mike Peabody stroked a two-run home run to right field. UCI added two more runs in the top of the first, capped by an RBI single from Taishi Nakawake with two outs.
The Matadors would answer back quickly in the home half of the first inning by batting around. Denzel Clarke reached to start the inning on an error at third base and Moody followed with a single. After Ball worked a walk to load the bases, Sean Skelly drove in two runs with a drive up the middle. Jason Ajamian brought the Matadors a run closer later in the frame with a one-out single to plate Ball. The Matadors had the bases loaded with one out but starter Nick Pinto retired two-straight batters to end the inning.
The game would turn around quickly in the second inning where the Anteaters broke the game open. Peabody stroked another two-run home run early in the inning then Cosgrove added another run with an RBI double. After loading the bases with a pair of walks, Connor McGuire cleared the bases with a three-run double off the wall in left. UCI loaded the bases once more later in the frame for Luke Spillane who delivered a grand slam to cap the 10-run inning.
Pinto settled in on the mound after the rough first inning, retiring 11 of 12 batters. The Matadors picked up two singles in the fifth but a 5-4-3 double play helped Pinto escape without any runs coming across. Pinto finished with five innings completed, allowing three runs with four strikeouts.
UCI added two more runs on a home run from Spillane in the sixth and one more in the seventh on an RBI single from McGuire.
Skelly finished 2-for-4 with two RBI for CSUN. Dwayne Angebrandt shouldered the load on the mound, tossing 4.1 innings and allowing six runs on five hits.
GAME NOTES
Ball's walk-off home run was the Matadors' first since Kevin Riley hit a three-run blast to help CSUN beat UC Davis on May 13, 2018.
CSUN has now won three-straight series openers to start Big West play. Moody has hit safely in the first 10 games this season after going 1-for-2 in game two on Saturday. Ball has also reached base safely in nine games in a row.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH DAVE SERRANO
"It's the highs and lows, the emotions that go on in the course of a baseball game, and in today's instance, two games. What's baffling to me and our coaching staff is that we are not handling success well. That's the third weekend in a row where we've won the opening game and come out in game two and not played good baseball across the board. What I saw with my own eyes in game two after an exciting game one victory with Ryan Ball hitting a walk-off and Jackson Cunningham coming back to get through the first inning, we were trailing in everything. I don't want to take anything away from UC Irvine, they came out and could have been flat after that loss, and attacked us right away. We weren't ready for the attack."
UP NEXT
The Matadors and Anteaters play a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. Audio broadcasts will be available for both games at GoMatadors.com/Radio with Ghizal Hasan on the call.
#UniteTheValley
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