Saturday, April 2
Irvine, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
15-10, 4-4
8
at
6
UC Irvine
15-10, 5-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
R
H
E
CSUN
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
5
0
0
0
2
8
17
0
UC Irvine
0
3
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
10
3
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wilson, Chad (1-0)
L: Stanford, Michael (1-1)
Batting:
3B: Simons, Jakob 1
HR: West, Bart 1
RBI: Simons, Jakob 2 ; Sojka, Andrew 1 ; Moody, Kai 1 ; Gonzalez, Gabe 1 ; West, Bart 1 ; Barraza, Nathan 2
SH: Le, Mason 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Simons, Jakob 1 ; Sojka, Andrew 3 ; Moody, Kai 1 ; West, Bart 1 ; Le, Mason 1 ; Bohning, Brandon 1
SB: Simons, Jakob 1 ; Moody, Kai 1
HBP: Gonzalez, Gabe 1 ; Kramer, Joey 1
PO: Moody, Kai 2 ; Porter, Drew 1
Batting:
2B: Fitzgerald, Ben 1 ; Gleed, Dub 1
3B: McGuire, Connor 1
RBI: Gleed, Dub 2 ; Garcia-Pacheco, A. 1 ; McGuire, Connor 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Fitzgerald, Ben 2 ; Church, Nathan 1 ; Gleed, Dub 1 ; Garcia-Pacheco, A. 1 ; Spillane, Luke 1
HBP: Gleed, Dub 1
Game Leaders
AB
7
R
3
H
4
RBI
1
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
Photo by: Mikaella Salazar
Matadors Rally to Clinch Series from UC Irvine in 12 Innings
4/2/2022 11:35:00 PM | Baseball
IRVINE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (15-10, 4-4 Big West) rallied from five runs down before prevailing 8-6 in 12 innings, clinching a series win over UC Irvine (15-10, 5-3 Big West) on Saturday at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark. Nathan Barraza collected the game-winning hit in the 12th inning for the Matadors while Andrew Sojka led the team with four hits and three runs scored. The Matadors' bullpen combined to toss seven shutout innings with only two hits allowed.
The Matadors entered the top of the eighth, trailing 6-1 after UCI starter Nick Pinto tossed seven innings, scattering eight hits. In need of a spark, the Matadors turned to Bart West who belted a leadoff home run to trim the deficit to four. CSUN would be far from done though as the Matadors rallied for four more runs all with two outs. Jakob Simons trimmed the Anteater lead in half with a two-run triple before Sojka delivered an RBI single. After Kai Moody reached on an error, Gabe Gonzalez came through with a game-tying RBI single.
With the game tied up at 6-6, the Matadors' bullpen would be tested by the Anteaters over the next four innings. UCI loaded the bases in the ninth inning with only one out against Diego Gutierrez but the freshman wiggled out of the danger by retiring the next two batters in order. Chad Wilson faced a bases loaded jam in the 11th before squashing the rally when he forced Abraham Garcia-Pacheco to hit into a fielder's choice.
CSUN also left the bases loaded in the 10th inning but would break through two innings later with yet another two-out hit. The Matadors loaded the bases in the 12th on a Sojka single and two walks. After West was retired for the second out of the inning, Barraza delivered a clutch two-run single to center field, giving CSUN its first lead of the night at 8-6.
Wilson returned to the mound in the home half of the 12th and would work around a leadoff walk. The right-hander struck out Taishi Nakawake before inducing a game-ending double play off the bat of Thomas McCaffrey.
Earlier in the game, the Anteaters jumped on CSUN starter Blake Sodersten for five runs through the first three innings. In the second, Connor McGuire struck for a three-run triple with two outs to put the Anteaters ahead. An inning later, Dub Gleed came through with a two-out hit of his own, a two-run double into left-center field that put the Matadors in a 5-0 hole.
Pinto held CSUN off the scoreboard through the first four innings, stranding six Matadors on the base paths over that span. CSUN would finally crack the scoring column in the top of the fifth when Moody singled home Sojka from second base.
The Anteaters though answered the Matadors' run with a single tally of their own in the home half of the fifth via an RBI single from Garcia-Pacheco that made it a 6-1 game.
Gutierrez gave CSUN a lift out of the bullpen, helping keep the Anteaters off the scoreboard from the sixth inning on. Over his first three innings of work, Gutierrez retired nine of 11 batters only allowing two walks. After escaping a bases loaded jam in the ninth, Gutierrez retired the side in order in the 10th inning.
GAME NOTES
The Matadors notched their first series win over the Anteaters since the 2017 season. Four of the last six games played between CSUN and UC Irvine have gone into extra innings with the Matadors winning all four of those games.
Six Matadors had multiple-hit games on Saturday as the group of Simons, Moody, Brandon Bohning, Mason Le and Joey Kramer had two hits apiece. Sojka's posted a new season high in hits with four.
ACCORDING TO COACH DAVE SERRANO
"What I've been telling these guys for a long time, there's something special about this group. I feel that even when we are not successful. Do we make mistakes? Yeah. Do we do some silly things at times on field? Yeah. But they stick together, their energy level and how they root for each other, they're behind each other. They don't quit at all. I'll take that kind of team everyday of the week. I know we have some deficiencies but character covers that a lot of that stuff.
Last night was a pretty exciting college baseball game that we won in 14 innings. I shared with them that you can learn through osmosis and just being in the dugout. Even if you don't get an at-bat or didn't get to pitch, you can be learning what it takes to win these kinds of games. Obviously, guys like Diego Gutierrez, Chad Wilson and Nathan Barraza were listening and watching because those three guys, who we haven't leaned on all year long, played a huge part in this game. I'm so proud of this group, we got the series which I'm excited about but on the schedule, it says three games. We have another game tomorrow and it's a big game for us. All I expect our guys to do is come out with the same energy that we've had for the first two nights."
UP NEXT
CSUN wraps up its weekend series with UC Irvine on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
#UniteTheValley
Â
The Matadors entered the top of the eighth, trailing 6-1 after UCI starter Nick Pinto tossed seven innings, scattering eight hits. In need of a spark, the Matadors turned to Bart West who belted a leadoff home run to trim the deficit to four. CSUN would be far from done though as the Matadors rallied for four more runs all with two outs. Jakob Simons trimmed the Anteater lead in half with a two-run triple before Sojka delivered an RBI single. After Kai Moody reached on an error, Gabe Gonzalez came through with a game-tying RBI single.
With the game tied up at 6-6, the Matadors' bullpen would be tested by the Anteaters over the next four innings. UCI loaded the bases in the ninth inning with only one out against Diego Gutierrez but the freshman wiggled out of the danger by retiring the next two batters in order. Chad Wilson faced a bases loaded jam in the 11th before squashing the rally when he forced Abraham Garcia-Pacheco to hit into a fielder's choice.
CSUN also left the bases loaded in the 10th inning but would break through two innings later with yet another two-out hit. The Matadors loaded the bases in the 12th on a Sojka single and two walks. After West was retired for the second out of the inning, Barraza delivered a clutch two-run single to center field, giving CSUN its first lead of the night at 8-6.
Wilson returned to the mound in the home half of the 12th and would work around a leadoff walk. The right-hander struck out Taishi Nakawake before inducing a game-ending double play off the bat of Thomas McCaffrey.
Earlier in the game, the Anteaters jumped on CSUN starter Blake Sodersten for five runs through the first three innings. In the second, Connor McGuire struck for a three-run triple with two outs to put the Anteaters ahead. An inning later, Dub Gleed came through with a two-out hit of his own, a two-run double into left-center field that put the Matadors in a 5-0 hole.
Pinto held CSUN off the scoreboard through the first four innings, stranding six Matadors on the base paths over that span. CSUN would finally crack the scoring column in the top of the fifth when Moody singled home Sojka from second base.
The Anteaters though answered the Matadors' run with a single tally of their own in the home half of the fifth via an RBI single from Garcia-Pacheco that made it a 6-1 game.
Gutierrez gave CSUN a lift out of the bullpen, helping keep the Anteaters off the scoreboard from the sixth inning on. Over his first three innings of work, Gutierrez retired nine of 11 batters only allowing two walks. After escaping a bases loaded jam in the ninth, Gutierrez retired the side in order in the 10th inning.
GAME NOTES
The Matadors notched their first series win over the Anteaters since the 2017 season. Four of the last six games played between CSUN and UC Irvine have gone into extra innings with the Matadors winning all four of those games.
Six Matadors had multiple-hit games on Saturday as the group of Simons, Moody, Brandon Bohning, Mason Le and Joey Kramer had two hits apiece. Sojka's posted a new season high in hits with four.
ACCORDING TO COACH DAVE SERRANO
"What I've been telling these guys for a long time, there's something special about this group. I feel that even when we are not successful. Do we make mistakes? Yeah. Do we do some silly things at times on field? Yeah. But they stick together, their energy level and how they root for each other, they're behind each other. They don't quit at all. I'll take that kind of team everyday of the week. I know we have some deficiencies but character covers that a lot of that stuff.
Last night was a pretty exciting college baseball game that we won in 14 innings. I shared with them that you can learn through osmosis and just being in the dugout. Even if you don't get an at-bat or didn't get to pitch, you can be learning what it takes to win these kinds of games. Obviously, guys like Diego Gutierrez, Chad Wilson and Nathan Barraza were listening and watching because those three guys, who we haven't leaned on all year long, played a huge part in this game. I'm so proud of this group, we got the series which I'm excited about but on the schedule, it says three games. We have another game tomorrow and it's a big game for us. All I expect our guys to do is come out with the same energy that we've had for the first two nights."
UP NEXT
CSUN wraps up its weekend series with UC Irvine on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
#UniteTheValley
Â
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