Monday, March 20
Northridge, Calif.
2:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
12-4
5
vs
4
Pepperdine
5-13
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4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Pepperdine
1
0
3
0
0
0
0
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4
8
0
CSUN
0
1
1
0
0
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3
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X
5
9
2
Photo by: Dianne Wentz
CSUN Rallies to Defeat Pepperdine, 5-4
3/20/2023 5:49:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (12-4) scored three runs in the seventh inning to rally past Pepperdine for a 5-4 win on Monday afternoon at Matador Field. Jakob Simons finished 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI while Kevin Fitzer also went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Hayden Cody worked 2.1 shutout innings out of the bullpen to notch his first career victory.
The Waves would strike first early against CSUN starter Isaac Ontiveros. After Ontiveros retired the first batter of the inning, Pepperdine put together three-straight singles with Quintt Landis coming up with an RBI hit.
Pepperdine's one-run lead held up until the second inning when Nathan Barraza hit a two-out solo home run to square the game up at 1-1.
Ontiveros was lifted in the third inning as Jackson Bush took over on the mound. The Waves would load the bases with nobody out against Bush before the freshman delivered a wild pitch to put Pepperdine back on top. Landis added to the lead with a sacrifice fly before Bush retired Charles Masino for the second out. Jack Baseer though capped off a three-run inning with an RBI double to extend the Pepperdine lead to 4-1.
The Matadors would turn to Xavier Martinez with two outs in the third to cool off the Pepperdine bats. Martinez would do just that, limiting the Waves to a hit over his 2.2 shutout innings on the mound. The right hander also retired seven of his final eight batters to help keep the Matadors within striking distance.
CSUN got a run back in the home half of the third when Simons scored from third on a wild pitch. The Matadors appeared to tie the game later in the frame on a Fitzer two-run home run with two outs, but the Waves' Trevor Kniskern was called for a pitch clock violation, which negated the homer.
The Matadors were held to a hit over the fifth and sixth innings, but broke through in the seventh against the Pepperdine bullpen. Mason Le began the rally with a one-out hit against Dylan MacCallum. Moments later, Simons hammered a two-run homer to left to even the game at 4-4. Two batters later, Tarlow singled and eventually moved to second on a stolen base. Denied of a home run earlier, Fitzer delivered this time with an RBI single to give CSUN its first lead of the game at 5-4.
Hayden Cody relieved Martinez with one out in the sixth and worked the next two-plus innings, scattering two hits. CSUN turned to Joshua Romero to get the final four outs as the right hander stranded the tying run at second base in the eighth and pitched a clean ninth inning for the save.
GAME NOTES
Jakob Simons extended his on-base streak to 16 games while he tallied his team-high seventh multiple-hit game. Graysen Tarlow notched his sixth mutliple-hit game and stretched his on-base streak to 15 games. Nathan Barraza homered for the second time in three games.
The trio of Xavier Martinez, Hayden Cody and Joshua Romero combined to toss the final 6.1 innings, allowing no runs and just three hits to go with six strikeouts. Cody earned his first career win while Romero notched his fourth save of the season.
CSUN earned its 1,000 all-time win at Matador Field on Monday.
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"I told the team that early on with our position players that our pregame routine wasn't very good. We weren't sharp and there wasn't a sense of urgency, and it showed up a little bit in the game. We didn't play clean on defense. We threw some at bats away early on. Anytime you get hit in the face like that it wakes you up and brings you to reality. I can't say enough about the pitching. It was a staff day today and we had to pass the baton from one guy to the next. I knew the pressure was on me to make the right choices and luckily those guys went out and executed.
Kevin [Fitzer] has shown a lot of discipline at the plate. He's shown a high level of competitiveness and I trust him. He had a short two-strike approach, and he was just trying to put the ball in play hard and he got rewarded for it. He's been doing that pretty consistently. Jake Simons has been a huge catalyst all year. He gets on base and he's a real difficult out. I'm proud of the way he's developed over the years."
UP NEXT
CSUN resumes Big West play with a road test at UC Santa Barbara this weekend. The first of a three-game series is set for Friday at 5:05 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Â
The Waves would strike first early against CSUN starter Isaac Ontiveros. After Ontiveros retired the first batter of the inning, Pepperdine put together three-straight singles with Quintt Landis coming up with an RBI hit.
Pepperdine's one-run lead held up until the second inning when Nathan Barraza hit a two-out solo home run to square the game up at 1-1.
Ontiveros was lifted in the third inning as Jackson Bush took over on the mound. The Waves would load the bases with nobody out against Bush before the freshman delivered a wild pitch to put Pepperdine back on top. Landis added to the lead with a sacrifice fly before Bush retired Charles Masino for the second out. Jack Baseer though capped off a three-run inning with an RBI double to extend the Pepperdine lead to 4-1.
The Matadors would turn to Xavier Martinez with two outs in the third to cool off the Pepperdine bats. Martinez would do just that, limiting the Waves to a hit over his 2.2 shutout innings on the mound. The right hander also retired seven of his final eight batters to help keep the Matadors within striking distance.
CSUN got a run back in the home half of the third when Simons scored from third on a wild pitch. The Matadors appeared to tie the game later in the frame on a Fitzer two-run home run with two outs, but the Waves' Trevor Kniskern was called for a pitch clock violation, which negated the homer.
The Matadors were held to a hit over the fifth and sixth innings, but broke through in the seventh against the Pepperdine bullpen. Mason Le began the rally with a one-out hit against Dylan MacCallum. Moments later, Simons hammered a two-run homer to left to even the game at 4-4. Two batters later, Tarlow singled and eventually moved to second on a stolen base. Denied of a home run earlier, Fitzer delivered this time with an RBI single to give CSUN its first lead of the game at 5-4.
Hayden Cody relieved Martinez with one out in the sixth and worked the next two-plus innings, scattering two hits. CSUN turned to Joshua Romero to get the final four outs as the right hander stranded the tying run at second base in the eighth and pitched a clean ninth inning for the save.
GAME NOTES
Jakob Simons extended his on-base streak to 16 games while he tallied his team-high seventh multiple-hit game. Graysen Tarlow notched his sixth mutliple-hit game and stretched his on-base streak to 15 games. Nathan Barraza homered for the second time in three games.
The trio of Xavier Martinez, Hayden Cody and Joshua Romero combined to toss the final 6.1 innings, allowing no runs and just three hits to go with six strikeouts. Cody earned his first career win while Romero notched his fourth save of the season.
CSUN earned its 1,000 all-time win at Matador Field on Monday.
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"I told the team that early on with our position players that our pregame routine wasn't very good. We weren't sharp and there wasn't a sense of urgency, and it showed up a little bit in the game. We didn't play clean on defense. We threw some at bats away early on. Anytime you get hit in the face like that it wakes you up and brings you to reality. I can't say enough about the pitching. It was a staff day today and we had to pass the baton from one guy to the next. I knew the pressure was on me to make the right choices and luckily those guys went out and executed.
Kevin [Fitzer] has shown a lot of discipline at the plate. He's shown a high level of competitiveness and I trust him. He had a short two-strike approach, and he was just trying to put the ball in play hard and he got rewarded for it. He's been doing that pretty consistently. Jake Simons has been a huge catalyst all year. He gets on base and he's a real difficult out. I'm proud of the way he's developed over the years."
UP NEXT
CSUN resumes Big West play with a road test at UC Santa Barbara this weekend. The first of a three-game series is set for Friday at 5:05 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cody, Hayden (1-0)
L: CHESTER, JACK (0-2)
S: Romero, Joshua (4)
Batting:
2B: ORELLANA, LINCOLN 1 ; BASSEER, JACK 1
RBI: LANDIS, QUINTT 2 ; BASSEER, JACK 1
SH: BRADSHAW, CONNOR 2
SF: LANDIS, QUINTT 1
Base Running:
RUNS: PECK, JOHN 1 ; JOHNSON, RYAN 2 ; ORELLANA, LINCOLN 1
HBP: ORELLANA, LINCOLN 1
Batting:
2B: Tarlow, Graysen 1
HR: Simons, Jakob 1 ; Barraza, Nathan 1
RBI: Simons, Jakob 2 ; Fitzer, Kevin 1 ; Barraza, Nathan 1
SH: Camarillo, Ali 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Simons, Jakob 2 ; Tarlow, Graysen 1 ; Barraza, Nathan 1 ; Le, Mason 1
SB: Tarlow, Graysen 1
CS: Sakaino, Shunsuke 1
HBP: Simons, Jakob 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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