Friday, April 21
Northridge, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
22-10, 9-4
12
vs
10
Cal Poly
13-22, 7-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Cal Poly
0
2
1
2
5
0
0
0
0
10
13
1
CSUN
0
2
1
0
2
0
0
7
X
12
13
1
Photo by: Diego Gutierrez
Sakaino's Grand Slam Caps CSUN's Seven-Run Comeback Win Over Cal Poly
4/21/2023 6:34:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---Shunsuke Sakaino's two-out grand slam capped a seven-run bottom of the eighth as CSUN (22-10, 9-4 Big West) took Friday's series opener from Cal Poly 12-10 at Matador Field. Sakaino finished with two hits along with his first career home run while Nathan Barraza went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Jakob Simons belted his 11th home run of the season and had two RBI. The Matadors trailed by as many runs as seven in the fifth inning before scoring the final nine runs of the game.
CSUN entered the bottom of the eighth trailing 10-5 before the bats would come alive. The Matadors would load the bases with nobody out to start the inning as Graysen Tarlow doubled, Kevin Fitzer walked and Ali Camarillo singled down the right-field line. Andrew Sojka just narrowly missed a grand slam but settled for a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to four. CSUN pulled a little closer on an infield single from Ben Griffin then cut the lead to 10-8 on an RBI double from Joey Kramer.
After Simons was hit by a pitch with two outs to load the bases, Sakaino stepped to the plate. Sakaino fell behind in the count 0-2 but ballted back to hit an opposite field grand slam that sailed over the left-field fence to put the Matadors on top 12-10.
CSUN's closer Joshua Romero would shut the door in the top of the ninth. Romero struck out Kemet Brown then retired the next two batters in a row to nail down the save.
Earlier in the game, Cal Poly jumped on the Matadors with a two-run homer from Taison Corio in the top of the second inning. CSUN did answer with two runs of its own in the home half of the second when Sojka hit an RBI triple and Griffin collected a sacrifice fly.
Each side put up a single tally in the third inning as Ryan Stafford picked up an RBI single for Cal Poly and CSUN scored again on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Tarlow.
The Mustangs though reclaimed the lead in the fourth inning. After a leadoff single from Aaron Casillas, Wyatt King stroked a two-run home for a 4-2 Mustang lead.
The Matadors would fall behind further in the fifth inning when Cal Poly erupted for five runs. The Mustangs took advantage of a CSUN error on a potential double play to push across its first run of the inning. Casillas added to the lead with an RBI single before Corio hit his second home run of the day, a three-run shot, to push the lead to 10-3.
CSUN would get two runs back in the home half of the fifth on a two-run homer from Simons, cutting the deficit to 10-5.
Xavier Martinez, who gave up the home run to Corio in the fifth, would keep the Mustangs at bay from the sixth inning on. The right hander retired nine of 10 batters after giving up the home run including capping the top of the eighth with back-to-back strikeouts.
Â
GAME NOTES
Shunsuke Sakaino extended his on-base streak to 19 games while Jakob Simons stretched his on-base streak to 12. Simons also posted his team-high 14th multiple-hit game and 11th multiple-RBI performance of the season.
Xavier Martinez earned the win and improved to 4-1 on the season. Martinez worked 3.2 innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits to go with five strikeouts. Joshua Romero notched his seventh save of the season after tossing a scoreless ninth.
The Matadors won their ninth-straight game at Matador Field and improved their overall home record to 13-2 on the season.
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"That's a good example of having to play all nine innings because the first five innings weren't very good. We didn't play quality defense. We weren't pounding the zone. We were making base running mistakes and didn't have good at bats. It just goes to show nine innings really matter. As long as we can string quality at bats together we always have a chance to come back. We have a lineup that's difficult to get through. You've got your nine hole hitter getting three hits in one day, that's tough for an opposition. I'm glad we did this. There hasn't been a lot of games where we've been able to come back when the lead has been switched. I was happy for the club because now we feel we can be in any game.
It keeps the offense tugging on the leash when pitchers are able to stabilize the scoreboard like [Martinez] did. It's really an underrated performance. I told the group that needs to be recognized. Not only that, he was able to pick up his teammates. That's been our message coming down the stretch. We kind of control our destiny based on how we are able to pick each other up. That's a good example. Guys stringing at bats together and picking each other up. That's what baseball is all about. If we can do that consistently, we have a good chance to finish strong."
Â
UP NEXT
CSUN continues its weekend series with Cal Poly on Saturday at 2 p.m. Ghizal Hasan and Tony Moskal have the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
Â
#GoMatadors
Â
CSUN entered the bottom of the eighth trailing 10-5 before the bats would come alive. The Matadors would load the bases with nobody out to start the inning as Graysen Tarlow doubled, Kevin Fitzer walked and Ali Camarillo singled down the right-field line. Andrew Sojka just narrowly missed a grand slam but settled for a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to four. CSUN pulled a little closer on an infield single from Ben Griffin then cut the lead to 10-8 on an RBI double from Joey Kramer.
After Simons was hit by a pitch with two outs to load the bases, Sakaino stepped to the plate. Sakaino fell behind in the count 0-2 but ballted back to hit an opposite field grand slam that sailed over the left-field fence to put the Matadors on top 12-10.
CSUN's closer Joshua Romero would shut the door in the top of the ninth. Romero struck out Kemet Brown then retired the next two batters in a row to nail down the save.
Earlier in the game, Cal Poly jumped on the Matadors with a two-run homer from Taison Corio in the top of the second inning. CSUN did answer with two runs of its own in the home half of the second when Sojka hit an RBI triple and Griffin collected a sacrifice fly.
Each side put up a single tally in the third inning as Ryan Stafford picked up an RBI single for Cal Poly and CSUN scored again on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Tarlow.
The Mustangs though reclaimed the lead in the fourth inning. After a leadoff single from Aaron Casillas, Wyatt King stroked a two-run home for a 4-2 Mustang lead.
The Matadors would fall behind further in the fifth inning when Cal Poly erupted for five runs. The Mustangs took advantage of a CSUN error on a potential double play to push across its first run of the inning. Casillas added to the lead with an RBI single before Corio hit his second home run of the day, a three-run shot, to push the lead to 10-3.
CSUN would get two runs back in the home half of the fifth on a two-run homer from Simons, cutting the deficit to 10-5.
Xavier Martinez, who gave up the home run to Corio in the fifth, would keep the Mustangs at bay from the sixth inning on. The right hander retired nine of 10 batters after giving up the home run including capping the top of the eighth with back-to-back strikeouts.
Â
GAME NOTES
Shunsuke Sakaino extended his on-base streak to 19 games while Jakob Simons stretched his on-base streak to 12. Simons also posted his team-high 14th multiple-hit game and 11th multiple-RBI performance of the season.
Xavier Martinez earned the win and improved to 4-1 on the season. Martinez worked 3.2 innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits to go with five strikeouts. Joshua Romero notched his seventh save of the season after tossing a scoreless ninth.
The Matadors won their ninth-straight game at Matador Field and improved their overall home record to 13-2 on the season.
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"That's a good example of having to play all nine innings because the first five innings weren't very good. We didn't play quality defense. We weren't pounding the zone. We were making base running mistakes and didn't have good at bats. It just goes to show nine innings really matter. As long as we can string quality at bats together we always have a chance to come back. We have a lineup that's difficult to get through. You've got your nine hole hitter getting three hits in one day, that's tough for an opposition. I'm glad we did this. There hasn't been a lot of games where we've been able to come back when the lead has been switched. I was happy for the club because now we feel we can be in any game.
It keeps the offense tugging on the leash when pitchers are able to stabilize the scoreboard like [Martinez] did. It's really an underrated performance. I told the group that needs to be recognized. Not only that, he was able to pick up his teammates. That's been our message coming down the stretch. We kind of control our destiny based on how we are able to pick each other up. That's a good example. Guys stringing at bats together and picking each other up. That's what baseball is all about. If we can do that consistently, we have a good chance to finish strong."
Â
UP NEXT
CSUN continues its weekend series with Cal Poly on Saturday at 2 p.m. Ghizal Hasan and Tony Moskal have the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
Â
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Martinez, Xavier (4-1)
L: Lopiccolo, Carlo (0-2)
S: Romero, Joshua (7)
Batting:
2B: Brown, Kemet 1
HR: King, Wyatt 1 ; Corio, Taison 2
RBI: Stafford, Ryan 1 ; Yorke, Joe 1 ; Casillas, Aaron 1 ; King, Wyatt 2 ; Corio, Taison 5
Base Running:
RUNS: Fenn, Ryan 1 ; Stafford, Ryan 1 ; Yorke, Joe 1 ; Villegas, Collin 1 ; Casillas, Aaron 2 ; King, Wyatt 1 ; Corio, Taison 2 ; Brown, Kemet 1
SB: Villegas, Collin 1
CS: Fenn, Ryan 1
PO: Fenn, Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: Sakaino, Shunsuke 1 ; Tarlow, Graysen 1 ; Kramer, Joey 1
3B: Sojka, Andrew 1
HR: Simons, Jakob 1 ; Sakaino, Shunsuke 1
RBI: Simons, Jakob 2 ; Sakaino, Shunsuke 4 ; Tarlow, Graysen 1 ; Sojka, Andrew 2 ; Griffin, Ben 2 ; Kramer, Joey 1
SF: Tarlow, Graysen 1 ; Sojka, Andrew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Simons, Jakob 2 ; Sakaino, Shunsuke 1 ; Tarlow, Graysen 1 ; Fitzer, Kevin 1 ; Camarillo, Ali 2 ; Sojka, Andrew 1 ; Griffin, Ben 1 ; Kramer, Joey 1 ; Barraza, Nathan 2
SB: Camarillo, Ali 1
HBP: Simons, Jakob 1 ; Camarillo, Ali 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
UTIL
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ BaseballOF/C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP/C
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballA Conversation With Dave Serrano
Friday, May 15
Baseball HC reveal 2019
Sunday, June 23
National Student-Athlete Day 2019 - Jayson Newman
Friday, April 05
CSUN Baseball - 27 Miles
Friday, November 09