Friday, April 21
Northridge, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
Cal Poly
Photo by: Dianne Wentz
CSUN Opens Home Heavy Stretch with Weekend Series vs. Cal Poly
4/20/2023 11:04:00 AM | Baseball
FULL GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (21-10, 8-4 Big West) returns home for a weekend Big West series with Cal Poly starting Friday at 3 p.m. The teams continue their series on Saturday at 2 p.m. before wrapping up the three-game set on Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call. Coverage at GoMatadors.com/Radio starts 10 minutes before each game.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Cal Poly at CSUN
RHP Bruce Warrecker (3-2, 4.40 ERA) vs. RHP Lucas Braun (3-4, 4.07 ERA)
RHP Steven Brooks (3-1, 6.69 ERA) vs. RHP Thomas Bainton (5-1, 3.93 ERA)
LHP Jakob Wright (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. TBA
LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors lost a second-straight game for the first time this season as CSUN dropped an 8-5 decision at USC on Tuesday night. The Matadors held a 2-0 and 3-1 lead in the early innings but could not slow down the Trojans who homered three times in the contest.
Andrew Sojka homered for the first time this season and finished with two hits while Ali Camarillo had two hits to go with a triple and three RBI. Hayden Cody was one of the bright spots on the mound as he retired all six batters he faced and racked up two strikeouts in scoreless relief.
MATADOR HEADLINES
Despite Tuesday's result, the Matadors have won their last two Big West series heading into the weekend. CSUN's 8-4 start to league play is the program's best since the 2013 season. The Matadors are currently in third place in The Big West and 2.5 games out of first place Cal State Fullerton (12-3).
CSUN opens a home heavy 18-game stretch this weekend where the Matadors will play 14 times at Matador Field. After this weekend's series, CSUN plays at San Diego on Tuesday before returning home for a series with Cal State Fullerton next weekend and a midweek game with San Diego State on May 2. From May 9-21, CSUN also plays home series with UC Irvine and Hawai'i while also playing Pepperdine at Matador Field.
CSUN remains near the top among several offensive categories in The Big West. The Matadors top the league in batting average (.313), sacrifice hits (24) and stolen bases (49) while they are ranked second in runs scored (244), hits (334), RBI (226), on-base percentage (.403) and slugging percentage (.478). CSUN pitching is also third in the conference in opponent batting average (.248) and fourth in ERA (4.62).
Four Matadors are ranked in The Big West's top-10 in batting average with Jakob Simons ranking the highest in third place (.368). Ali Camarillo is fifth in the league in batting (.362) followed by Graysen Tarlow in seventh place (.350) and Kevin Fitzer in 10th place (.337). Simons is also second in The Big West in home runs (10), slugging percentage (.719) and RBI (36) while he is third in on-base percentage (.471) and runs scored (33). Shunsuke Sakaino is ranked second in the conference in on-base percentage (.472). On the pitching side, Thomas Bainton tops the league in wins (5) and Joshua Romero leads in saves (6). Lucas Braun is second in innings pitched (55.1) and third in strikeouts (64).
SERIES HISTORY
In a series that dates back to 1959, the Matadors lead the all-time series with Cal Poly 123-116. The Mustangs have won the last three series from the Matadors including winning the last six meetings and 10 of the last 11 games overall. CSUN's last win in the series came in 2018 when the Matadors won two of three games. Over the last 11 games played, eight have been decided by two runs or fewer.
SCOUTING CAL POLY
The Mustangs are 13-21 overall and 7-8 in Big West play on the season. The team is coming off winning twice over San Jose State earlier this week. Cal Poly though dropped a road series last weekend at CSU Bakersfield. The Mustangs have gone 2-8 away from Baggett Stadium thus far in 2023. Prior to the season, Cal Poly was picked to finish fourth in The Big West by the league's head coaches. Larry Lee is in his 21st season as head coach of the Mustangs.
Ryan Stafford leads the team in batting with a .331 batting average and 31 runs scored to go with three homers and 24 RBI. Aaron Casillas is a close second in batting average with a .324 average. Joe Yorke tops the squad in RBI (36) with three homers while Collin Villegas has a team-high seven homers to go with 25 RBI and a .280 batting average. Bryce Warrecker, who starts Friday's opener, has a team-best 49 strikeouts to go with a 3-2 record and 4.40 ERA. As a team, Cal Poly is third in The Big West in hits (329) and fifth in batting average (.276).
#GoMatadors
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (21-10, 8-4 Big West) returns home for a weekend Big West series with Cal Poly starting Friday at 3 p.m. The teams continue their series on Saturday at 2 p.m. before wrapping up the three-game set on Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call. Coverage at GoMatadors.com/Radio starts 10 minutes before each game.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Cal Poly at CSUN
RHP Bruce Warrecker (3-2, 4.40 ERA) vs. RHP Lucas Braun (3-4, 4.07 ERA)
RHP Steven Brooks (3-1, 6.69 ERA) vs. RHP Thomas Bainton (5-1, 3.93 ERA)
LHP Jakob Wright (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. TBA
LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors lost a second-straight game for the first time this season as CSUN dropped an 8-5 decision at USC on Tuesday night. The Matadors held a 2-0 and 3-1 lead in the early innings but could not slow down the Trojans who homered three times in the contest.
Andrew Sojka homered for the first time this season and finished with two hits while Ali Camarillo had two hits to go with a triple and three RBI. Hayden Cody was one of the bright spots on the mound as he retired all six batters he faced and racked up two strikeouts in scoreless relief.
MATADOR HEADLINES
Despite Tuesday's result, the Matadors have won their last two Big West series heading into the weekend. CSUN's 8-4 start to league play is the program's best since the 2013 season. The Matadors are currently in third place in The Big West and 2.5 games out of first place Cal State Fullerton (12-3).
CSUN opens a home heavy 18-game stretch this weekend where the Matadors will play 14 times at Matador Field. After this weekend's series, CSUN plays at San Diego on Tuesday before returning home for a series with Cal State Fullerton next weekend and a midweek game with San Diego State on May 2. From May 9-21, CSUN also plays home series with UC Irvine and Hawai'i while also playing Pepperdine at Matador Field.
CSUN remains near the top among several offensive categories in The Big West. The Matadors top the league in batting average (.313), sacrifice hits (24) and stolen bases (49) while they are ranked second in runs scored (244), hits (334), RBI (226), on-base percentage (.403) and slugging percentage (.478). CSUN pitching is also third in the conference in opponent batting average (.248) and fourth in ERA (4.62).
Four Matadors are ranked in The Big West's top-10 in batting average with Jakob Simons ranking the highest in third place (.368). Ali Camarillo is fifth in the league in batting (.362) followed by Graysen Tarlow in seventh place (.350) and Kevin Fitzer in 10th place (.337). Simons is also second in The Big West in home runs (10), slugging percentage (.719) and RBI (36) while he is third in on-base percentage (.471) and runs scored (33). Shunsuke Sakaino is ranked second in the conference in on-base percentage (.472). On the pitching side, Thomas Bainton tops the league in wins (5) and Joshua Romero leads in saves (6). Lucas Braun is second in innings pitched (55.1) and third in strikeouts (64).
SERIES HISTORY
In a series that dates back to 1959, the Matadors lead the all-time series with Cal Poly 123-116. The Mustangs have won the last three series from the Matadors including winning the last six meetings and 10 of the last 11 games overall. CSUN's last win in the series came in 2018 when the Matadors won two of three games. Over the last 11 games played, eight have been decided by two runs or fewer.
SCOUTING CAL POLY
The Mustangs are 13-21 overall and 7-8 in Big West play on the season. The team is coming off winning twice over San Jose State earlier this week. Cal Poly though dropped a road series last weekend at CSU Bakersfield. The Mustangs have gone 2-8 away from Baggett Stadium thus far in 2023. Prior to the season, Cal Poly was picked to finish fourth in The Big West by the league's head coaches. Larry Lee is in his 21st season as head coach of the Mustangs.
Ryan Stafford leads the team in batting with a .331 batting average and 31 runs scored to go with three homers and 24 RBI. Aaron Casillas is a close second in batting average with a .324 average. Joe Yorke tops the squad in RBI (36) with three homers while Collin Villegas has a team-high seven homers to go with 25 RBI and a .280 batting average. Bryce Warrecker, who starts Friday's opener, has a team-best 49 strikeouts to go with a 3-2 record and 4.40 ERA. As a team, Cal Poly is third in The Big West in hits (329) and fifth in batting average (.276).
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