Saturday, April 23
Fullerton, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
19-17, 0
2
at
1
Cal State Fullerton
15-21, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
CSUN
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
6
0
Cal State Fullerton
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
8
0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sodersten, Blake (4-4)
L: Chester, Fynn (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Moody, Kai 1
RBI: Moody, Kai 1 ; Powell, Luke 1
SH: Sojka, Andrew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sojka, Andrew 1 ; Moody, Kai 1
HBP: West, Bart 1
Batting:
RBI: White, Carter 1
SF: White, Carter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Urman, Cole 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Mikaella Salazar
Matadors Even Series with Fullerton with 2-1 Win
4/23/2022 9:42:00 PM | Baseball
FULLERTON, Calif.---Blake Sodersten tossed six-plus strong innings out of the bullpen to help CSUN (19-17, 8-9 Big West) even its series with Cal State Fullerton (15-21, 9-5 Big West) with a 2-1 win on Saturday at Goodwin Field. Sodersten struck out eight batters over 6.1 innings of relief to pick up the victory. Luke Powell came away with the winning hit in the fifth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie.
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Coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss on Friday, the Matadors jumped in front in the top of the first inning. Andrew Sojka drew a leadoff walk to start the game and would later advance to third base on a wild pitch and flyball. Kai Moody then brought home Sojka on a groundout to give CSUN a 1-0 lead.
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The Titans would threaten seemingly all night against CSUN pitching including in the first inning when two of the first three batters reached. Diego Gutierrez though shut down the threat by striking out Jackson Lyon and Jason Brandow.
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Gutierrez stranded another Titan baserunner in the second inning but ran into trouble in the third when he walked the bases loaded with two outs. Head coach Dave Serrano summoned Sodersten to face Jack Haley in a pivotal moment early in the game. After falling behind 3-0, Sodersten retired Haley on flyout to right field for the third out.
CSUN would leave two runners on base in the top half of the fourth before Fullerton again threatened against Sodersten. Two infield hits and a walk loaded the bases yet again for the Titans before Carter White hit a game-tying sacrifice fly. Sodersten then escaped further damage by forcing Zach Lew to groundout.
The Matadors quickly responded in the top of the fifth with a key two-out hit. Moody stroked a one-out double in the frame before making it to third base on a Bart West groundout to the right side. Two batters later, Powell stepped to the plate and delivered a 2-2 pitch into center field for an RBI single.
Back in front, the Matadors turned to Sodersten the rest of the way. The right-hander struck out two batters in a scoreless fifth inning before getting out of trouble in the sixth inning when he retired back-to-back batters with two runners on base. Sodersten tossed his first 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, fanning two Titans.
In another turning point in the game, Fullerton would load the bases once again in the bottom of the eighth. Sodersten retired the first batter of the inning but yielded two singles and a walk, loading the bases with just one out. However, Sodersten did not have to face the situtation long as the first pitch to White turned into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Sodersten returned to the mound in the ninth and perhaps had his best inning. He struck out Lew to start the frame then retired Lyon on a flyout. The game would end with Sodersten's eighth strikeout, this time of pinch-hitter Brendan Bobo.
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GAME NOTES
Sodersten made just his fifth relief appearance of his career on Saturday. His 6.1 innings of relief are the most innings he has pitched since March 18 in a start against Cal Poly (7.0 innings).
CJ Yogi finished 2-for-4 for his first career multiple-hit game. Sojka extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a leadoff walk in the first inning.
Head coach Dave Serrano earned his 50th career win with the Matadors on Saturday. It was also his 496th career victory as a collegiate coach.
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ACCORDING TO COACH DAVE SERRANO
"That aged me about 10-15 years, that game. It was kind of a strange game, an emotional game. I don't think either team can walk away, whether you won or lost, proud of some of the results that went on. A lot of strikeouts for both sides on offense. Too many walks, deep counts. But i just got done telling these guys, that's why I've become very fond of this team, there's times where we don't play great baseball but we find ways to win. I said to Sod in the bottom of the third inning that this team really needed him, and boy did he step up. CJ Yogi hasn't been playing very much and CJ had a great day for us. It's those kind of things that make winning special. You can see guys fail, it's a failure sport, and they come through in certain situations.
"Tomorrow is a big game, it's a game of who takes the series. I just hoping the Dors show up with the right attitude."
UP NEXT
CSUN and Cal State Fullerton play the rubber match of their weekend series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
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#UniteTheValley
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Coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss on Friday, the Matadors jumped in front in the top of the first inning. Andrew Sojka drew a leadoff walk to start the game and would later advance to third base on a wild pitch and flyball. Kai Moody then brought home Sojka on a groundout to give CSUN a 1-0 lead.
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The Titans would threaten seemingly all night against CSUN pitching including in the first inning when two of the first three batters reached. Diego Gutierrez though shut down the threat by striking out Jackson Lyon and Jason Brandow.
Â
Gutierrez stranded another Titan baserunner in the second inning but ran into trouble in the third when he walked the bases loaded with two outs. Head coach Dave Serrano summoned Sodersten to face Jack Haley in a pivotal moment early in the game. After falling behind 3-0, Sodersten retired Haley on flyout to right field for the third out.
CSUN would leave two runners on base in the top half of the fourth before Fullerton again threatened against Sodersten. Two infield hits and a walk loaded the bases yet again for the Titans before Carter White hit a game-tying sacrifice fly. Sodersten then escaped further damage by forcing Zach Lew to groundout.
The Matadors quickly responded in the top of the fifth with a key two-out hit. Moody stroked a one-out double in the frame before making it to third base on a Bart West groundout to the right side. Two batters later, Powell stepped to the plate and delivered a 2-2 pitch into center field for an RBI single.
Back in front, the Matadors turned to Sodersten the rest of the way. The right-hander struck out two batters in a scoreless fifth inning before getting out of trouble in the sixth inning when he retired back-to-back batters with two runners on base. Sodersten tossed his first 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, fanning two Titans.
In another turning point in the game, Fullerton would load the bases once again in the bottom of the eighth. Sodersten retired the first batter of the inning but yielded two singles and a walk, loading the bases with just one out. However, Sodersten did not have to face the situtation long as the first pitch to White turned into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Sodersten returned to the mound in the ninth and perhaps had his best inning. He struck out Lew to start the frame then retired Lyon on a flyout. The game would end with Sodersten's eighth strikeout, this time of pinch-hitter Brendan Bobo.
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GAME NOTES
Sodersten made just his fifth relief appearance of his career on Saturday. His 6.1 innings of relief are the most innings he has pitched since March 18 in a start against Cal Poly (7.0 innings).
CJ Yogi finished 2-for-4 for his first career multiple-hit game. Sojka extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a leadoff walk in the first inning.
Head coach Dave Serrano earned his 50th career win with the Matadors on Saturday. It was also his 496th career victory as a collegiate coach.
Â
ACCORDING TO COACH DAVE SERRANO
"That aged me about 10-15 years, that game. It was kind of a strange game, an emotional game. I don't think either team can walk away, whether you won or lost, proud of some of the results that went on. A lot of strikeouts for both sides on offense. Too many walks, deep counts. But i just got done telling these guys, that's why I've become very fond of this team, there's times where we don't play great baseball but we find ways to win. I said to Sod in the bottom of the third inning that this team really needed him, and boy did he step up. CJ Yogi hasn't been playing very much and CJ had a great day for us. It's those kind of things that make winning special. You can see guys fail, it's a failure sport, and they come through in certain situations.
"Tomorrow is a big game, it's a game of who takes the series. I just hoping the Dors show up with the right attitude."
UP NEXT
CSUN and Cal State Fullerton play the rubber match of their weekend series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
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#UniteTheValley
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