California State University Northridge Athletics
6/2/2022 12:10:00 PM | Baseball
Complete All-Big West Team
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Four Matadors from the CSUN Baseball team were placed on the All-Big West Team on Thursday, as voted on by the conference's head coaches. The trio of Kai Moody, Andrew Sojka and Blaine Traxel earned first-team honors while Lucas Braun collected second-team accolades.
Originally from San Francisco, Moody was honored with his second consecutive first-team nod. Earning the award as a second baseman, Moody started 32 times at second base while he also started 12 games in center field, seven games in right field and two games at first base. Moody finished the regular season tied for third in the Big West in runs (46) and triples (3), 10th in stolen bases (8) and 12th in hits (62). He also batted .292 with 33 RBI, 28 walks, 13 doubles and five homers. Moody kept up his offensive production in Big West play, batting .294 with 35 hits, 26 runs and 13 RBI while he reached base in 26 of 30 league games.
Moody completed his three-year CSUN career as the first two-time All-Big West First Team selection in Matador history. In the team's 32-year Division I history, Moody is only the fourth two-time first-team all-conference honoree, joining the trio of Jason Shanahan (1992-95), Eric Gillespie (1994-96) and Robby Crabtree (1995-96), who all earned two first-team accolades from the Western Athletic Conference.
A Huntington Beach native, Sojka was the only Matador to start all 54 games during the season and served as the team's leadoff hitter for most of Big West play. Sojka ranked third in the conference in runs (46) and doubles (18), fifth in hits (70), seventh in batting average (.335), eighth in stolen bases (9), and 12th in walks (30). He also posted four home runs and 25 RBI to go with a .488 slugging percentage and .420 on-base percentage. On the defensive side, Sojka started primarily in right field and would rack up five assists on the year.
Sojka saw his offensive production in Big West play surge as he batted a team-high .365 with 28 runs, 13 RBI and 11 doubles. In all, Sojka reached base safely in 50 of 54 games including 28 times in league action.
Traxel received his second-straight all-conference award and his first career first-team selection. The right-hander from Bubank had a career season as the team's Friday starter. Traxel led the Big West in innings pitched (105.0) while he ranked fifth in strikeouts (86) and sixth in ERA (3.00) and wins (7). He posted two complete games, both of which in Big West play, and tallied nine quality outings in 14 starts. Traxel, who also made five relief appearances and had a save, became the first Matador in 19 seasons to reach 105 innings pitched in a season.
Overcoming an injury to start Big West play, Traxel went on to register a 2.45 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 66 innings against league opponents.
A Los Angeles native, Braun began his first season at CSUN as a relief pitcher before assuming a weekend starting rotation spot in league play. Braun ranked fourth in the Big West in ERA (2.91), sixth in wins (7), ninth in strikeouts (77) and 10th in innings pitched (74.1). Upon entering the weekend rotation in late March, Braun soared as a starter, posting a 7-1 record with a 1.40 ERA along with seven quality starts on the mound.
In league play, Braun registered 2.56 ERA and 5-2 record to go with 56 strikeouts in 52.2 innings of work.
The three first-team selections are the most for the Matadors since the 2002 season.
#UniteTheValley
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Four Matadors from the CSUN Baseball team were placed on the All-Big West Team on Thursday, as voted on by the conference's head coaches. The trio of Kai Moody, Andrew Sojka and Blaine Traxel earned first-team honors while Lucas Braun collected second-team accolades.
Originally from San Francisco, Moody was honored with his second consecutive first-team nod. Earning the award as a second baseman, Moody started 32 times at second base while he also started 12 games in center field, seven games in right field and two games at first base. Moody finished the regular season tied for third in the Big West in runs (46) and triples (3), 10th in stolen bases (8) and 12th in hits (62). He also batted .292 with 33 RBI, 28 walks, 13 doubles and five homers. Moody kept up his offensive production in Big West play, batting .294 with 35 hits, 26 runs and 13 RBI while he reached base in 26 of 30 league games.Moody completed his three-year CSUN career as the first two-time All-Big West First Team selection in Matador history. In the team's 32-year Division I history, Moody is only the fourth two-time first-team all-conference honoree, joining the trio of Jason Shanahan (1992-95), Eric Gillespie (1994-96) and Robby Crabtree (1995-96), who all earned two first-team accolades from the Western Athletic Conference.
A Huntington Beach native, Sojka was the only Matador to start all 54 games during the season and served as the team's leadoff hitter for most of Big West play. Sojka ranked third in the conference in runs (46) and doubles (18), fifth in hits (70), seventh in batting average (.335), eighth in stolen bases (9), and 12th in walks (30). He also posted four home runs and 25 RBI to go with a .488 slugging percentage and .420 on-base percentage. On the defensive side, Sojka started primarily in right field and would rack up five assists on the year.Sojka saw his offensive production in Big West play surge as he batted a team-high .365 with 28 runs, 13 RBI and 11 doubles. In all, Sojka reached base safely in 50 of 54 games including 28 times in league action.
Traxel received his second-straight all-conference award and his first career first-team selection. The right-hander from Bubank had a career season as the team's Friday starter. Traxel led the Big West in innings pitched (105.0) while he ranked fifth in strikeouts (86) and sixth in ERA (3.00) and wins (7). He posted two complete games, both of which in Big West play, and tallied nine quality outings in 14 starts. Traxel, who also made five relief appearances and had a save, became the first Matador in 19 seasons to reach 105 innings pitched in a season.Overcoming an injury to start Big West play, Traxel went on to register a 2.45 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 66 innings against league opponents.
A Los Angeles native, Braun began his first season at CSUN as a relief pitcher before assuming a weekend starting rotation spot in league play. Braun ranked fourth in the Big West in ERA (2.91), sixth in wins (7), ninth in strikeouts (77) and 10th in innings pitched (74.1). Upon entering the weekend rotation in late March, Braun soared as a starter, posting a 7-1 record with a 1.40 ERA along with seven quality starts on the mound.In league play, Braun registered 2.56 ERA and 5-2 record to go with 56 strikeouts in 52.2 innings of work.
The three first-team selections are the most for the Matadors since the 2002 season.
#UniteTheValley
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Players Mentioned
Wednesday, September 16
Thursday, September 03
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, February 13