Thursday, April 14
Riverside, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
16-15, 5-8
6
at
0
UC Riverside
4-26, 2-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
CSUN
0
0
1
1
0
1
2
1
0
6
11
0
UC Riverside
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
4
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Traxel, Blaine (4-2)
L: Tyler Frazier (0-4)
Batting:
2B: Moody, Kai 1 ; Tarlow, Graysen 1
3B: Fitzer, Kevin 1
RBI: Sojka, Andrew 1 ; Fitzer, Kevin 2 ; Tarlow, Graysen 1 ; Bohning, Brandon 1
SH: Tarlow, Graysen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sojka, Andrew 1 ; Moody, Kai 1 ; West, Bart 1 ; Kramer, Joey 1 ; Le, Mason 1 ; Sakaino, Shunsuke 1
SB: Sakaino, Shunsuke 1
CS: Kramer, Joey 1
HBP: Bohning, Brandon 1
PO: Simons, Jakob 1
Base Running:
HBP: Joey Nicolai 1 ; Mason Grace 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
ph/dh
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: Braden Villanueva
Traxel's Pitching Gem Lifts CSUN Past UC Riverside
4/14/2022 9:12:00 PM | Baseball
RIVERSIDE, Calif.---Behind a six-hit shutout from Blaine Traxel, CSUN (16-15, 5-8 Big West) got back in the win column with a 6-0 triumph over UC Riverside (4-26, 2-11 Big West) on Thursday at the Riverside Sports Complex. Traxel struck out eight batters in the game and walked none for his first career shutout. Kai Moody finished 3-for-5 at the plate while Andrew Sojka and Mason Le had two hits apiece.
Traxel kept the Highlander bats off-balanced throughout his 123-pitch effort on Thursday. The senior right-hander retired seven of the first eight batters to kick off the game and would one-hit the opposition through the first five innings, allowing the Matador bats to come alive.
The Matadors were held hitless through the first two innings but would pick up two-out run-scoring hits in the third and fourth in support of Traxel.
In the third, Le stood at second base with two outs when Sojka roped an RBI single up the middle to put the Matadors on the scoreboard. An inning later, Joey Kramer singled and later advanced to second on a Graysen Tarlow sacrifice bunt. Brandon Bohning would come through with a two-out single back up the middle, scoring Kramer for a 2-0 CSUN lead.
Tarlow added to the Matadors' lead in the sixth inning on a one-out double to plate Bart West. In the seventh, Kevin Fitzer came away with a two-run triple, scoring Sojka and Moody. In the eighth, Shunsuke Sakaino's base running helped the Matadors score their sixth run. Sakaino, who came on as pinch runner, stole second base and reached third on a throwing error before later scoring on a wild pitch.
After retiring eight-straight batters over the middle innings, Traxel pitched around a leadoff single in the top of the sixth and stranded two more base runners in the bottom of the seventh.
The Highlanders had perhaps their best scoring chance in the eighth inning when Traxel hit leadoff batter Mason Grace and surrendered two one-out singles to load the bases. After a mound visit from head coach Dave Serrano, Traxel would need just two pitches to escape the inning as a 4-6-3 double play ended the scoring threat.
With 105 pitches already thrown in the game, Traxel marched back out to the mound in the bottom of the ninth where he struck out two batters and retired Anthony Mcfarland on a lineout for a 1-2-3 frame.
GAME NOTES
Traxel's shutout was the first Matador nine-inning shutout since Isaiah Nunez tossed a five-hitter against Cal State Fullerton on May 23, 2019. Traxel has now posted five complete games over his career. Overall, the Matadors collected their first team shutout this season.
Both Moody and Sojka recorded their team-best 12th multiple-hit game this season. Sokja pushed his team-high on-base streak to 14 games while Jakob Simons, who walked in the fifth, extended his on-base streak to 13.
ACCORDING TO COACH DAVE SERRANO
"Well, that was good to get back on the winning side of things for this team. Blaine Traxel was pretty good tonight. He had command of three pitches all game and our defense was very good behind him to support a complete game shutout. I was proud of Andrew Sojka and Brandon Bohning for getting two-out, two-strike RBI for our first two runs. Plus Kevin Fitzer had a big triple to drive in two runs."
UP NEXT
CSUN continues its weekend series with UC Riverside on Friday at 6 p.m. Live audio and live stats will be provided for the game.
#UniteTheValley
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Traxel kept the Highlander bats off-balanced throughout his 123-pitch effort on Thursday. The senior right-hander retired seven of the first eight batters to kick off the game and would one-hit the opposition through the first five innings, allowing the Matador bats to come alive.
The Matadors were held hitless through the first two innings but would pick up two-out run-scoring hits in the third and fourth in support of Traxel.
In the third, Le stood at second base with two outs when Sojka roped an RBI single up the middle to put the Matadors on the scoreboard. An inning later, Joey Kramer singled and later advanced to second on a Graysen Tarlow sacrifice bunt. Brandon Bohning would come through with a two-out single back up the middle, scoring Kramer for a 2-0 CSUN lead.
Tarlow added to the Matadors' lead in the sixth inning on a one-out double to plate Bart West. In the seventh, Kevin Fitzer came away with a two-run triple, scoring Sojka and Moody. In the eighth, Shunsuke Sakaino's base running helped the Matadors score their sixth run. Sakaino, who came on as pinch runner, stole second base and reached third on a throwing error before later scoring on a wild pitch.
After retiring eight-straight batters over the middle innings, Traxel pitched around a leadoff single in the top of the sixth and stranded two more base runners in the bottom of the seventh.
The Highlanders had perhaps their best scoring chance in the eighth inning when Traxel hit leadoff batter Mason Grace and surrendered two one-out singles to load the bases. After a mound visit from head coach Dave Serrano, Traxel would need just two pitches to escape the inning as a 4-6-3 double play ended the scoring threat.
With 105 pitches already thrown in the game, Traxel marched back out to the mound in the bottom of the ninth where he struck out two batters and retired Anthony Mcfarland on a lineout for a 1-2-3 frame.
GAME NOTES
Traxel's shutout was the first Matador nine-inning shutout since Isaiah Nunez tossed a five-hitter against Cal State Fullerton on May 23, 2019. Traxel has now posted five complete games over his career. Overall, the Matadors collected their first team shutout this season.
Both Moody and Sojka recorded their team-best 12th multiple-hit game this season. Sokja pushed his team-high on-base streak to 14 games while Jakob Simons, who walked in the fifth, extended his on-base streak to 13.
ACCORDING TO COACH DAVE SERRANO
"Well, that was good to get back on the winning side of things for this team. Blaine Traxel was pretty good tonight. He had command of three pitches all game and our defense was very good behind him to support a complete game shutout. I was proud of Andrew Sojka and Brandon Bohning for getting two-out, two-strike RBI for our first two runs. Plus Kevin Fitzer had a big triple to drive in two runs."
UP NEXT
CSUN continues its weekend series with UC Riverside on Friday at 6 p.m. Live audio and live stats will be provided for the game.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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