Friday, April 1
Irvine, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
7
at
5
UC Irvine
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
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INF
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INF
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OF
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RHP
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OF
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OF
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C
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RHP
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Photo by: Braden Villanueva
Matadors Take Opener at UC Irvine in 14 Innings
4/1/2022 11:24:00 PM | Baseball
IRVINE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (14-10, 3-4 Big West) scored two runs in the top of the 14th and held on for a 7-5 victory over UC Irvine (15-9, 5-2 Big West) on Friday at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark. Matador pitching combined to strikeout 18 batters in the game with Blake Schriever tossing the final four innings to earn the win. Kai Moody and Graysen Tarlow had three hits while Andrew Sojka posted two hits and scored the winning run.
In a game that lasted 20 minutes short of five hours and featured three ties, the game would be decided in the 14th inning. Sojka and Moody singled to start the inning before Drew Porter was asked to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Porter executed the play but an errant throw from pitcher Tanner Brooks allowed Sojka to come all the way around to score. Mason Le followed with a sacrifce fly to put the Matadors on top 7-5.
Schriever, who entered the game in the 11th inning, marched back out for his fourth inning of work in the home half of the 14th. The right hander would need just eight pitches to retire the side in order to secure a CSUN win.
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Earlier in the night, the teams traded runs in a back-and-forth affair. The Matadors forced UCI starer Michael Frias to toss 44 pitches in the opening inning. CSUN loaded the bases before Joey Kramer delivered a two-run single with two outs. UCI would cut the lead in half on a sacrifice fly from Ben Fitzgerald in the bottom of the first but the Matadors answered back with a single tally in the second behind a safety squeeze play from Sojka scoring Brandon Bohning.
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Fitzgerald came through again for the Anteaters in the bottom of the second inning with a two-out, two run single with the bases loaded to even the game. The Matadors though prevented further damage when Tarlow and Bohning teamed up to throw Fitzgerald on the play at second base. CSUN then broke the tie in the top of the third inning on a leadoff home run from Gabe Gonzalez to right field to lead 4-3.
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Blaine Traxel bounced back from a tough first two innings to blank the Anteaters over five-straight frames where he scattered two singles while protecting a one-run lead. Traxel would have to work out of danger in the seventh inning by striking out Nathan Church with two runners on base.
On the flip side, the Anteaters' bullpen trio of Andre Antone, Cooper Robinson and Gordon Ingebritson shut down the Matador offense over six frames, allowing three hits over that span.
Traxel, who was over 100 pitches through seven innings, returned to the mound in the eighth where he gave up a leadoff double to Justin Torres. Lucas Braun came out of the bullpen and recorded the final three outs of the eighth but the tying run scored on a Dub Gleed sacrifice fly.
Braun helped keep the game tied at 4-4 with a shutout ninth and 10th, giving the Matadors a chance to go ahead in the top of the 11th.
After the first two batters were retired in the 11th, Tarlow kept the inning alive with a single. Tarlow would steal second base and then take third on a throwing error, setting the stage for Jakob Simons to deliver an RBI single.Â
CSUN's lead though was short-lived as the Anteaters tied the game once more in the bottom of the 11th on a one-out RBI single from Taishi Nakawake.
Schriever surrendered the tying run in the 11th but rebounded nicely with two consecutive shutout innings. The Anteaters threatened in each of those frames but Schriever stranded three total runners in scoring position before finishing off the game in the 14th.
GAME NOTES
The 18 strikeouts by the CSUN pitching staff were one short of a team record for a single game. Traxel finished with seven-plus innings of work and four runs allowed to go with nine strikeouts. Braun worked three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and one hit allowed. Schriever earned his 11th career win with CSUN by tossing four innings and scattering four hits.
Gonzalez hit his team-leading eighth home run of the season while Moody posted his ninth multiple-hit game.
The last time the Matadors played a 14-inning game was on May 17, 2018, when CSUN prevailed 6-3 over Cal State Fullerton.
ACCORDING TO COACH DAVE SERRANO
"Tonight was a classic. I would be saying this even if we came out on the short end. I felt our team showed so much fight throughout the whole game. Winning games on Fridays is always tough in this conference and tonight was exactly that. The three guys from the mound for us I thought were really good. Traxel, Braun and Schriever gave us a shot and I felt our offense did some special things when we had to execute to win this game. We will enjoy this for a short while and get ready for another battle tomorrow."
UP NEXT
CSUN continues its weekend series with UC Irvine on Saturday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
#UniteTheValley
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In a game that lasted 20 minutes short of five hours and featured three ties, the game would be decided in the 14th inning. Sojka and Moody singled to start the inning before Drew Porter was asked to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Porter executed the play but an errant throw from pitcher Tanner Brooks allowed Sojka to come all the way around to score. Mason Le followed with a sacrifce fly to put the Matadors on top 7-5.
Schriever, who entered the game in the 11th inning, marched back out for his fourth inning of work in the home half of the 14th. The right hander would need just eight pitches to retire the side in order to secure a CSUN win.
Â
Earlier in the night, the teams traded runs in a back-and-forth affair. The Matadors forced UCI starer Michael Frias to toss 44 pitches in the opening inning. CSUN loaded the bases before Joey Kramer delivered a two-run single with two outs. UCI would cut the lead in half on a sacrifice fly from Ben Fitzgerald in the bottom of the first but the Matadors answered back with a single tally in the second behind a safety squeeze play from Sojka scoring Brandon Bohning.
Â
Fitzgerald came through again for the Anteaters in the bottom of the second inning with a two-out, two run single with the bases loaded to even the game. The Matadors though prevented further damage when Tarlow and Bohning teamed up to throw Fitzgerald on the play at second base. CSUN then broke the tie in the top of the third inning on a leadoff home run from Gabe Gonzalez to right field to lead 4-3.
Â
Blaine Traxel bounced back from a tough first two innings to blank the Anteaters over five-straight frames where he scattered two singles while protecting a one-run lead. Traxel would have to work out of danger in the seventh inning by striking out Nathan Church with two runners on base.
On the flip side, the Anteaters' bullpen trio of Andre Antone, Cooper Robinson and Gordon Ingebritson shut down the Matador offense over six frames, allowing three hits over that span.
Traxel, who was over 100 pitches through seven innings, returned to the mound in the eighth where he gave up a leadoff double to Justin Torres. Lucas Braun came out of the bullpen and recorded the final three outs of the eighth but the tying run scored on a Dub Gleed sacrifice fly.
Braun helped keep the game tied at 4-4 with a shutout ninth and 10th, giving the Matadors a chance to go ahead in the top of the 11th.
After the first two batters were retired in the 11th, Tarlow kept the inning alive with a single. Tarlow would steal second base and then take third on a throwing error, setting the stage for Jakob Simons to deliver an RBI single.Â
CSUN's lead though was short-lived as the Anteaters tied the game once more in the bottom of the 11th on a one-out RBI single from Taishi Nakawake.
Schriever surrendered the tying run in the 11th but rebounded nicely with two consecutive shutout innings. The Anteaters threatened in each of those frames but Schriever stranded three total runners in scoring position before finishing off the game in the 14th.
GAME NOTES
The 18 strikeouts by the CSUN pitching staff were one short of a team record for a single game. Traxel finished with seven-plus innings of work and four runs allowed to go with nine strikeouts. Braun worked three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and one hit allowed. Schriever earned his 11th career win with CSUN by tossing four innings and scattering four hits.
Gonzalez hit his team-leading eighth home run of the season while Moody posted his ninth multiple-hit game.
The last time the Matadors played a 14-inning game was on May 17, 2018, when CSUN prevailed 6-3 over Cal State Fullerton.
ACCORDING TO COACH DAVE SERRANO
"Tonight was a classic. I would be saying this even if we came out on the short end. I felt our team showed so much fight throughout the whole game. Winning games on Fridays is always tough in this conference and tonight was exactly that. The three guys from the mound for us I thought were really good. Traxel, Braun and Schriever gave us a shot and I felt our offense did some special things when we had to execute to win this game. We will enjoy this for a short while and get ready for another battle tomorrow."
UP NEXT
CSUN continues its weekend series with UC Irvine on Saturday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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