Tuesday, May 3
Los Angeles, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
at
USC
Photo by: Will Navarro
Matadors Hit the Road for Midweeks with USC and San Diego State
5/2/2022 6:15:00 PM | Baseball
FULL GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (22-18, 11-10 Big West) opens a busy week of action with a pair of midweek games on the road. The Matadors visit USC for a return meeting with the Trojans on Tuesday before heading to San Diego State for a Wednesday matchup. Both games will start at 6 p.m. Tuesday's game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
Probable Pitching Matchups
CSUN at USC
RHP Diego Gutierrez (1-0, 3.24 ERA) vs. LHP Isaac Esqueda (1-3, 8.06 ERA)
CSUN at San Diego State
Starters to be announced
The Matadors are looking to even the season series with USC on Tuesday when the teams face off at Dedeaux Field. The Trojans won an offensive affair at Matador Field on April 12 by a 16-10 margin. Both teams capitalized on the windy conditions at the field to smack a combined nine home runs with USC connecting on six of them. Bart West belted a solo home run against his former team in the loss while Sebastian Garcia hit a grand slam in the ninth inning. The teams last played at Dedeaux Field in 2018 when the Matadors won two of three games in a weekend series. The Trojans lead the all-time series 55-25-1.
San Diego State leads CSUN 47-40 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1960. The Aztecs have won three-straight games in the series but the teams have not played since the 2019 season. The Matadors dropped an 11-5 decision to the Aztecs in the last meeting at Matador Field. The teams have not played at Tony Gwynn Stadium since 2018 when San Diego State picked up a 3-2 victory. CSUN's last win in the series was in 2015 by a 6-2 margin in Northridge.
CSUN is coming off a series win over CSU Bakersfield this past weekend at Matador Field. All three games in the series were decided by one run while CSUN posted two walk-off victories. The Matadors notched their fifth conference series win over the last six weeks and moved above the .500 mark in league play with a 11-10 record.
In the opener against CSUB, the Matadors rallied for a 5-4 win by scoring one in the eighth and a two runs in the ninth. Bart West delivered a two-run infield single in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Graysen Tarlow and a hustling Kai Moody from second base in the victory. In game two, CSUN trailed by four runs late before trimming the Bakersfield lead to one only to fall 8-7. The Matadors won the rubber match on Sunday, 3-2, on a walk-off home run from Mason Le, his fourth homer this season.
Heading into the week, Gabe Gonzalez still leads the Big West in home runs (10) while he is eighth in RBI (30). Andrew Sojka ranks second in runs (34), third in hits (53) and eighth in batting (.340). On the pitching side, Blaine Traxel is second in the conference in innings pitched (68.0) and seventh in strikeouts (58) while Lucas Braun is ranked ninth in ERA (3.49).
The next Matador victory will be head coach Dave Serrano's 500th win of his career. Serrano, who will be retiring at the end of this season, is in his 16th season as a head coach and 26th overall as a Division I coach. He holds a career 499-344-1 all-time record including a 53-42 mark with CSUN over his three seasons.
A Closer Look at USC
The Trojans have gone 21-20 this season and 6-15 in Pac-12 play. Last week, USC dropped two of three games to Washington State in Pullman. USC has played six games against Big West opponents thus far in 2022, going 3-3 in those games. The team holds a 15-11 record at Dedeaux Field on the season. Head coach Jason Gill is in his third year with the Trojans.
Rhylan Thomas tops the team with a .361 batting average and 61 hits to go with two homers and 18 RBI. Adrian Colon-Rosado has a team-high eight home runs with 32 RBI and a .311 average at the plate. Trevor Halsema also has 32 RBI on the campaign with six homers. Left-handed pitcher Isaac Esqueda, Tuesday's scheduled starter against the Matadors, has 19 strikeouts in 25.2 innings with an 8.06 ERA.
A Closer Look at San Diego State
The Aztecs improved to 14-31 and 6-15 in Mountain West play after a series win over Fresno State this past weekend. SDSU holds a 4-5 record against Big West teams on the year and will face UC San Diego on Tuesday before taking on the Matadors. The team has a 5-20 record at Tony Gwynn Stadium this season. Head coach Mark Martinez is in his eighth season with the program.
Cole Carrigg leads the Aztecs in batting (.368), hits (64), doubles (10), RBI (28), slugging (.471) and stolen bases (17). Poncho Ruiz is second on the team in batting average at a .308 clip to go with 31 runs, 26 RBI and five home runs. Brian Leonhardt also has five homers on the season with 27 RBI.
#UniteTheValley
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (22-18, 11-10 Big West) opens a busy week of action with a pair of midweek games on the road. The Matadors visit USC for a return meeting with the Trojans on Tuesday before heading to San Diego State for a Wednesday matchup. Both games will start at 6 p.m. Tuesday's game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
Probable Pitching Matchups
CSUN at USC
RHP Diego Gutierrez (1-0, 3.24 ERA) vs. LHP Isaac Esqueda (1-3, 8.06 ERA)
CSUN at San Diego State
Starters to be announced
The Matadors are looking to even the season series with USC on Tuesday when the teams face off at Dedeaux Field. The Trojans won an offensive affair at Matador Field on April 12 by a 16-10 margin. Both teams capitalized on the windy conditions at the field to smack a combined nine home runs with USC connecting on six of them. Bart West belted a solo home run against his former team in the loss while Sebastian Garcia hit a grand slam in the ninth inning. The teams last played at Dedeaux Field in 2018 when the Matadors won two of three games in a weekend series. The Trojans lead the all-time series 55-25-1.
San Diego State leads CSUN 47-40 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1960. The Aztecs have won three-straight games in the series but the teams have not played since the 2019 season. The Matadors dropped an 11-5 decision to the Aztecs in the last meeting at Matador Field. The teams have not played at Tony Gwynn Stadium since 2018 when San Diego State picked up a 3-2 victory. CSUN's last win in the series was in 2015 by a 6-2 margin in Northridge.
CSUN is coming off a series win over CSU Bakersfield this past weekend at Matador Field. All three games in the series were decided by one run while CSUN posted two walk-off victories. The Matadors notched their fifth conference series win over the last six weeks and moved above the .500 mark in league play with a 11-10 record.
In the opener against CSUB, the Matadors rallied for a 5-4 win by scoring one in the eighth and a two runs in the ninth. Bart West delivered a two-run infield single in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Graysen Tarlow and a hustling Kai Moody from second base in the victory. In game two, CSUN trailed by four runs late before trimming the Bakersfield lead to one only to fall 8-7. The Matadors won the rubber match on Sunday, 3-2, on a walk-off home run from Mason Le, his fourth homer this season.
Heading into the week, Gabe Gonzalez still leads the Big West in home runs (10) while he is eighth in RBI (30). Andrew Sojka ranks second in runs (34), third in hits (53) and eighth in batting (.340). On the pitching side, Blaine Traxel is second in the conference in innings pitched (68.0) and seventh in strikeouts (58) while Lucas Braun is ranked ninth in ERA (3.49).
The next Matador victory will be head coach Dave Serrano's 500th win of his career. Serrano, who will be retiring at the end of this season, is in his 16th season as a head coach and 26th overall as a Division I coach. He holds a career 499-344-1 all-time record including a 53-42 mark with CSUN over his three seasons.
A Closer Look at USC
The Trojans have gone 21-20 this season and 6-15 in Pac-12 play. Last week, USC dropped two of three games to Washington State in Pullman. USC has played six games against Big West opponents thus far in 2022, going 3-3 in those games. The team holds a 15-11 record at Dedeaux Field on the season. Head coach Jason Gill is in his third year with the Trojans.
Rhylan Thomas tops the team with a .361 batting average and 61 hits to go with two homers and 18 RBI. Adrian Colon-Rosado has a team-high eight home runs with 32 RBI and a .311 average at the plate. Trevor Halsema also has 32 RBI on the campaign with six homers. Left-handed pitcher Isaac Esqueda, Tuesday's scheduled starter against the Matadors, has 19 strikeouts in 25.2 innings with an 8.06 ERA.
A Closer Look at San Diego State
The Aztecs improved to 14-31 and 6-15 in Mountain West play after a series win over Fresno State this past weekend. SDSU holds a 4-5 record against Big West teams on the year and will face UC San Diego on Tuesday before taking on the Matadors. The team has a 5-20 record at Tony Gwynn Stadium this season. Head coach Mark Martinez is in his eighth season with the program.
Cole Carrigg leads the Aztecs in batting (.368), hits (64), doubles (10), RBI (28), slugging (.471) and stolen bases (17). Poncho Ruiz is second on the team in batting average at a .308 clip to go with 31 runs, 26 RBI and five home runs. Brian Leonhardt also has five homers on the season with 27 RBI.
#UniteTheValley
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