Matadors Open Road Trip at #2 Stanford This Weekend

Friday, March 4

Stanford, Calif.

2:05 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

#2 Stanford

Photo by: Will Navarro

3/3/2022 2:00:00 PM | Baseball

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (5-2) begins its longest road trip in seven seasons this Friday when the Matadors take on Stanford in the first of a three-game series at 2:05 p.m. The weekend set continues on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. before wrapping up on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. Fans can watch all three games on the Stanford Live Stream. All video and live stat links can be found on the CSUN Baseball schedule page.

Probable Pitching Matchups
CSUN at Stanford
RHP Blaine Traxel (1-1, 4.26 ERA) vs. RHP Alex Williams (2-0, 1.12 ERA)
RHP Blake Sodersten (2-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. LHP Quinn Mathews (1-1, 2.70 ERA)
RHP Ryan Wentz (1-0, 1.93 ERA) vs. LHP Drew Dowd (2-0, 0.93 ERA)

The Matadors are 3-6-1 in the all-time series with Stanford but the programs have not met since the 1996 season. Eight of the teams' 10 meetings took place when the Matadors were a Division II member while the two D-1 meetings were postseason games. The Matadors took on Stanford twice in the 1996 NCAA Regionals with each team earning a win. However, the Matadors' win over the Cardinal would eliminate Stanford from the postseason.

The Matadors are coming off a four-game sweep of Pacific last weekend at Matador Field. CSUN would take the opener 8-3, sweep a Saturday doubleheader with 16-2 and 8-5 wins, and won the finale 14-6. The Matadors outscored the Tigers 46-16 in the series and only trailed after two innings for the entire series. CSUN also scored multiple times in 12 different innings. On the pitching side, three of the Matadors' four starters earned wins while the Matador defense committed one error all weekend.

Kai Moody had a standout series against Pacific, batting .529 (9-for-17) at the plate with nine RBI, six runs, three doubles and three home runs. For his efforts, Moody earned his first career Big West Field Player of the Week award this past Monday. Moody would also hit a grand slam in the Pacific series and produce four multiple-hit games. The senior outfielder became the first Matador to win the Big West Field Player of the Week honor since Jayson Newman won the award in 2020.

Moody leads the Matadors in batting heading into the week with a .345 average at the plate while he also tops the team in home runs (4), RBI (10) and slugging percentage (.931). Joey Kramer is the team's top run scorer with nine to go with two home runs, six RBI and a .292 batting average. Mason Le and Gabe Gonzalez also have two home runs apiece for the Matadors.

On the mound, Blaine Traxel earned his first victory of the season after tossing seven innings and allowing one unearned run against Pacific. Traxel has worked 12.2 innings this season, striking out 11 batters. Picking up his second-straight win last Saturday, Blake Sodersten had registered a 1.50 ERA with eight strikeouts in 12 innings. Ryan Wentz, who starts on Sunday against Stanford, earned his first career win last week and has posted a 1.93 ERA this season.

During the Matadors' 12-game road trip, CSUN will face four teams that posted 30 or more wins last season and three NCAA Tournament teams. In addition to Stanford, a College World Series participant in 2021, the Matadors also face defending WAC champion Grand Canyon and reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion McNeese State next week, both of which played in the NCAA Regionals last season. The Matadors will also play a midweek game at Loyola Marymount before opening Big West play on the road at Cal Poly.

A Closer Look at Stanford
The Cardinal (6-2) won the Karbach Round Rock Classic in Texas last week, defeating Louisiana (5-1), Indiana (13-0) and then-ranked No. 2 Arkansas (5-0) before falling on Monday at UTSA (6-5). Stanford was ranked no lower than sixth in five different national polls and as high as second by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. The Cardinal was voted as the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12 as voted on by the conference's head coaches. The team went 39-17 last season and advanced to the College World Series for the first time since 2008. Head coach David Esquer is in his fifth season leading the program.

Brett Barrera leads the team with a .429 batting average (9-for-21) to go with two homers and nine RBI. Eddie Park is also off to a hot start, batting .345 at the plate (10-for-29) with four runs scored. A Preseason All-American, Brock Jones has drawn eight walks to go with three RBI and a .231 average. Quinn Mathews, who has 17 strikeouts in 10 innings, was named the National Pitcher Week on Monday after tossing six shutout innings versus Arkansas.

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