Saturday, May 13
Northridge, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
28-22, 19-8
9
vs
5
UC Santa Barbara
26-22, 13-14
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
UC Santa Barbara
2
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
9
3
CSUN
1
0
4
0
0
0
0
4
9
12
2
Photo by: Connor Clark
Escutia's Extra Inning Grand Slam Completes Weekend Sweep of UCSB
5/13/2023 5:08:00 PM | Softball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.— Kaylee Escutia's grand slam with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning capped off a CSUN comeback as the Matadors defeated UC Santa Barbara 9-5 in the final regular season Big West softball game Saturday afternoon at Matador Diamond.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
Madelyn McNally led off the game with her Big West-leading 66th hit, a single to center. CSUN third baseman Vinessa Nunez fielded Sam Denehy's sacrifice bunt attempt. Her throw was high at first, allowing McNally to score as Denehy took third on the play. Ashley Donaldson's sacrifice fly to left plated Denehy to make it 2-0.
Shaylan Whatman walked on four pitches against UCSB starter Camryn Snyder to begin the bottom of the first. With one out, Mikayla Carman doubled to the left center gap to drive in Whatman, but Carman was thrown out, attempting to advance to third on the play.
CSUN starter Lauryn Carranco hit Jazzy Santos to lead off the top of the second. Hannah Damore's sacrifice bunt advanced Santos to second. Makayla Newsom doubled to the left center field gap, and after a review of the play at the plate, Santos was called safe at home for the third UC Santa Barbara run. McNally singled to left center to score Santos and took second on the play. Carranco struck out Denehy looking to get the second out. Donaldson singled up the middle to plate McNally to make it 5-1. Allie Gardiner relieved Carranco and got the final out of the inning.
Whatman walked to lead off the third. Carys Murakami reached on an error by McNally, the shortstop. The ball went under legs and made it all the way to the left field warning track, allowing Whatman to score from first. Carman doubled to left center again, driving in Murakami to cut the lead to two. Escutia tied the game with her second home run of the weekend, a blast over the centerfield fence 220 feet away. Ava Bradford relieved Snyder and retired the next three Matadors to conclude the inning.
Kayla Dominguez relieved Gardiner with two outs in the top of the seventh. She issued a five-pitch walk to Alexa Sams. Lauren Lewis ran for Sams as Isabella Alonso relieved Dominguez, the third of the three CSUN seniors (Gardiner and Kaeka being the others) to appear in Saturday's game. Alonso's first batter was Thomas, who hit an opposite field single to left that was misplayed by Carman, allowing Lewis to reach third. Daryn Siegel lined out to Alonso to keep the score tied at five.
Carman's third hit of the day, an opposite field single to right center, opened the bottom of the seventh. Escutia fouled out before Alexa Landeros' bouncer over the head of Thomas at third advanced Carman to second. Galindo grounded out to Bradford, but both runners were able to move up a base. Vargas Sandoval walked to load the bases. Sydney Freijanes hit a grounder to McNally at short. She threw onto second, where Gizella Vargas Sandoval was called out. Upon a replay challenge, the ruling was upheld, sending the game to extra innings.
UC Santa Barbara stranded a runner in scoring position in the top of the eighth. Whatman battled back from 1-2 in the count to walk for the third time with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Murakami singled through the left side. Newsom, the left fielder, committed a fielding error that allowed both runners to move up a base. Carman walked to load the bases, setting the stage for Escutia's game-winning hit.
Carman went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Escutia is the first CSUN batter to hit two home runs in a game since Megan Stevens hit two against Dartmouth on Mar. 19, 2019. Her six RBI tie her with Stevens and seven others for the fourth most in a game at the Division I level by a CSUN player.
Nunez was 2-for-4, while Whatman walked three times for the second time this season. Whatman scored three runs. Alonso won her second game of the weekend with 1.1 innings of relief. McNally went 3-for-4 to lead the Gauchos. Siegel was 2-for-4.
CSUN completes 2023 with a 28-22 overall record, 19-8 in Big West play. The 19 Big West wins are the most for the Matadors since 1998, when CSUN 22-9 in league action. CSUN finished third in the Big West (best since 2017, 2nd T) as Long Beach State swept Cal State Fullerton on Saturday to take home top honors.
NOTES
CSUN ends the regular season on a nine-game winning streak, the longest for the Matadors since 2015, when the Matadors won 13 in a row…CSUN has won 11 Big West games in a row, the longest such streak for the Matadors since 2015, when CSUN opened league play 12-0…Gardiner finishes her sixth regular season with 22 saves (15 at UT Arlington, 7 at CSUN), the fifth-most in NCAA Division I history…CSUN's 18 conference wins are the most for the Matadors in a Big West season since 1998, when CSUN went 22-11 in league play…Whatman's 16 hit-by-pitches are the fourth most in a season by a CSUN player at the D1 level.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
Coach Morgan's comments after today's come from behind victory against UCSB. pic.twitter.com/jvJkeI5MKs
— CSUN Softball (@CSUNSoftball) May 13, 2023
Madelyn McNally led off the game with her Big West-leading 66th hit, a single to center. CSUN third baseman Vinessa Nunez fielded Sam Denehy's sacrifice bunt attempt. Her throw was high at first, allowing McNally to score as Denehy took third on the play. Ashley Donaldson's sacrifice fly to left plated Denehy to make it 2-0.
Shaylan Whatman walked on four pitches against UCSB starter Camryn Snyder to begin the bottom of the first. With one out, Mikayla Carman doubled to the left center gap to drive in Whatman, but Carman was thrown out, attempting to advance to third on the play.
CSUN starter Lauryn Carranco hit Jazzy Santos to lead off the top of the second. Hannah Damore's sacrifice bunt advanced Santos to second. Makayla Newsom doubled to the left center field gap, and after a review of the play at the plate, Santos was called safe at home for the third UC Santa Barbara run. McNally singled to left center to score Santos and took second on the play. Carranco struck out Denehy looking to get the second out. Donaldson singled up the middle to plate McNally to make it 5-1. Allie Gardiner relieved Carranco and got the final out of the inning.
Whatman walked to lead off the third. Carys Murakami reached on an error by McNally, the shortstop. The ball went under legs and made it all the way to the left field warning track, allowing Whatman to score from first. Carman doubled to left center again, driving in Murakami to cut the lead to two. Escutia tied the game with her second home run of the weekend, a blast over the centerfield fence 220 feet away. Ava Bradford relieved Snyder and retired the next three Matadors to conclude the inning.
Kayla Dominguez relieved Gardiner with two outs in the top of the seventh. She issued a five-pitch walk to Alexa Sams. Lauren Lewis ran for Sams as Isabella Alonso relieved Dominguez, the third of the three CSUN seniors (Gardiner and Kaeka being the others) to appear in Saturday's game. Alonso's first batter was Thomas, who hit an opposite field single to left that was misplayed by Carman, allowing Lewis to reach third. Daryn Siegel lined out to Alonso to keep the score tied at five.
Carman's third hit of the day, an opposite field single to right center, opened the bottom of the seventh. Escutia fouled out before Alexa Landeros' bouncer over the head of Thomas at third advanced Carman to second. Galindo grounded out to Bradford, but both runners were able to move up a base. Vargas Sandoval walked to load the bases. Sydney Freijanes hit a grounder to McNally at short. She threw onto second, where Gizella Vargas Sandoval was called out. Upon a replay challenge, the ruling was upheld, sending the game to extra innings.
UC Santa Barbara stranded a runner in scoring position in the top of the eighth. Whatman battled back from 1-2 in the count to walk for the third time with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Murakami singled through the left side. Newsom, the left fielder, committed a fielding error that allowed both runners to move up a base. Carman walked to load the bases, setting the stage for Escutia's game-winning hit.
Carman went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Escutia is the first CSUN batter to hit two home runs in a game since Megan Stevens hit two against Dartmouth on Mar. 19, 2019. Her six RBI tie her with Stevens and seven others for the fourth most in a game at the Division I level by a CSUN player.
Nunez was 2-for-4, while Whatman walked three times for the second time this season. Whatman scored three runs. Alonso won her second game of the weekend with 1.1 innings of relief. McNally went 3-for-4 to lead the Gauchos. Siegel was 2-for-4.
CSUN completes 2023 with a 28-22 overall record, 19-8 in Big West play. The 19 Big West wins are the most for the Matadors since 1998, when CSUN 22-9 in league action. CSUN finished third in the Big West (best since 2017, 2nd T) as Long Beach State swept Cal State Fullerton on Saturday to take home top honors.
NOTES
CSUN ends the regular season on a nine-game winning streak, the longest for the Matadors since 2015, when the Matadors won 13 in a row…CSUN has won 11 Big West games in a row, the longest such streak for the Matadors since 2015, when CSUN opened league play 12-0…Gardiner finishes her sixth regular season with 22 saves (15 at UT Arlington, 7 at CSUN), the fifth-most in NCAA Division I history…CSUN's 18 conference wins are the most for the Matadors in a Big West season since 1998, when CSUN went 22-11 in league play…Whatman's 16 hit-by-pitches are the fourth most in a season by a CSUN player at the D1 level.
~#UniteTheValley~
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Alonso, Isabella (8-4)
L: Ava Bradford (4-4)
Batting:
2B: Makayla Newsom 1
RBI: Madelyn McNally 1 ; Ashley Donaldson 2 ; Makayla Newsom 1
SH: Sam Denehy 1 ; Hannah Damore 1
SF: Ashley Donaldson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Madelyn McNally 2 ; Sam Denehy 1 ; Jazzy Santos 1 ; Makayla Newsom 1
CS: Madelyn McNally 1
HBP: Alexa Sams 1 ; Jazzy Santos 1
Batting:
2B: Carman, Mikayla 2
HR: Escutia, Kaylee 2
RBI: Carman, Mikayla 2 ; Escutia, Kaylee 6
Base Running:
RUNS: Whatman, Shaylan 3 ; Murakami, Carys 2 ; Carman, Mikayla 2 ; Escutia, Kaylee 2
CS: Gustin , Kennedy 1
HBP: Whatman, Shaylan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
6
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballSoftball--CSUN vs. Hawai'i
Saturday, May 04
Softball-CSUN vs. UC Riverside
Saturday, April 13
Softball-CSUN vs. UCLA
Sunday, March 24
Softball-CSUN vs. Saint Mary's
Saturday, March 23