Tuesday, May 9
Northridge, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
27-15
7
vs
10
Pepperdine
18-25
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Pepperdine
0
0
4
0
0
6
0
0
0
10
13
1
CSUN
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
7
7
3
Photo by: Dianne Wentz
CSUN's Comeback Falls Short in 10-7 Loss to Pepperdine
5/9/2023 6:34:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (27-15) fell to Pepperdine (18-25) 10-7 on Tuesday afternoon at Matador Field. Kevin Fitzer went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a home run while Jakob Simons had a 2-for-5 day at the plate. The Matadors scored five times in the eighth to trim an eight-run deficit to three but could not complete the comeback in the ninth.
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CSUN would reach the scoring column first in the bottom of the second when Fitzer lined a leadoff home run over the left-field fence. Later in the frame, Joey Kramer was hit by a pitch and eventually moved up to third base before Kamau Neighbors stroked an RBI single up the middle for a Matador 2-0 lead.
Matador starter Ryan Wentz faced the minimum through the first two innings but Pepperdine broke through in the third with a four-run outburst. Three of the first four batters reached on singles with Grant Shoen delivering an RBI single. John Peck would tie the game on a sacrifice fly before the Waves took the lead on an infield single from Quintt Landis. A throwing error at first base on the Landis single resulted in another Wave run to score as CSUN trailed 4-2.
The Matadors would enter the sixth inning still behind by two runs before the Waves took advantage of two CSUN errors to break the game open. The frame began with a pair of singles then the Matadors committed back-to-back errors on ground balls resulting in runs scoring. Ryan Johnson added to the lead with an RBI single and John Peck delivered the big blow, a three-run home run to extend the lead to 10-2.
Pepperdine pitching cooled off the Matador bats after the second inning with reliever Nick Bonn tossing three shutout innings beginning in the third. Trevor Kinskern followed suit with a shutout sixth, only allowing a walk while Nathan Diamond threw a clean bottom of the seventh.
Held hitless since the second inning, CSUN's bats came alive in the home half of the eighth. Simons and Brandon Leon opened the inning with singles then two batters later, Ali Camarillo drew a walk to load the bases. Fitzer came through with an RBI single before Ben Griffin hit a sacrifice fly to pull CSUN closer. Moments later, Kramer would muscle a three-run home run over the left-center field wall that cut the Pepperdine lead to 10-7.Â
The Waves threatened to extend their lead once more in the top of the ninth but Kenji Pallares had different ideas. Entering the game with the bases loaded and nobody out, Pallares retired the next three Waves in order to keep the deficit at three.
A comeback though was not in the cards as Shunsuke Sakaino, Simons and Leon were retired in order by Jack Baird in the bottom of the ninth.
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GAME NOTES
Seven Matador pitchers saw action on Tuesday. Ryan Wentz worked 4.2 innings, allowing four runs with three earned to go with one strikeout. Hayden Cody yielded five runs with one earned and retired two batters while Xavier Martinez recorded one out and allowed an unearned run as well. Isaac Ontiveros worked 1.1 shutout innings while Neil Feist and Kenji Pallares tossed a shutout frame apiece. Brayden Hiraki faced two batters but did not record an out.
Jakob Simons notched his team-best 17th multiple-hit game of the season. Ali Camarillo would have his 11-game hit streak snapped but he reached base on a walk to stretch his on-base streak to 12.
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"This just solidifies what we've been talking about all along with how important pitching and defense is to be competitive in every game. When you lose those two aspects like we did today you make it really hard on the offense. And the offense didn't produce enough to make up for that."
UP NEXT
The Matadors host UC Irvine in a weekend Big West series with the opener set for Friday at 3 p.m. Ghizal Hasan has the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
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#GoMatadors
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CSUN would reach the scoring column first in the bottom of the second when Fitzer lined a leadoff home run over the left-field fence. Later in the frame, Joey Kramer was hit by a pitch and eventually moved up to third base before Kamau Neighbors stroked an RBI single up the middle for a Matador 2-0 lead.
Matador starter Ryan Wentz faced the minimum through the first two innings but Pepperdine broke through in the third with a four-run outburst. Three of the first four batters reached on singles with Grant Shoen delivering an RBI single. John Peck would tie the game on a sacrifice fly before the Waves took the lead on an infield single from Quintt Landis. A throwing error at first base on the Landis single resulted in another Wave run to score as CSUN trailed 4-2.
The Matadors would enter the sixth inning still behind by two runs before the Waves took advantage of two CSUN errors to break the game open. The frame began with a pair of singles then the Matadors committed back-to-back errors on ground balls resulting in runs scoring. Ryan Johnson added to the lead with an RBI single and John Peck delivered the big blow, a three-run home run to extend the lead to 10-2.
Pepperdine pitching cooled off the Matador bats after the second inning with reliever Nick Bonn tossing three shutout innings beginning in the third. Trevor Kinskern followed suit with a shutout sixth, only allowing a walk while Nathan Diamond threw a clean bottom of the seventh.
Held hitless since the second inning, CSUN's bats came alive in the home half of the eighth. Simons and Brandon Leon opened the inning with singles then two batters later, Ali Camarillo drew a walk to load the bases. Fitzer came through with an RBI single before Ben Griffin hit a sacrifice fly to pull CSUN closer. Moments later, Kramer would muscle a three-run home run over the left-center field wall that cut the Pepperdine lead to 10-7.Â
The Waves threatened to extend their lead once more in the top of the ninth but Kenji Pallares had different ideas. Entering the game with the bases loaded and nobody out, Pallares retired the next three Waves in order to keep the deficit at three.
A comeback though was not in the cards as Shunsuke Sakaino, Simons and Leon were retired in order by Jack Baird in the bottom of the ninth.
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GAME NOTES
Seven Matador pitchers saw action on Tuesday. Ryan Wentz worked 4.2 innings, allowing four runs with three earned to go with one strikeout. Hayden Cody yielded five runs with one earned and retired two batters while Xavier Martinez recorded one out and allowed an unearned run as well. Isaac Ontiveros worked 1.1 shutout innings while Neil Feist and Kenji Pallares tossed a shutout frame apiece. Brayden Hiraki faced two batters but did not record an out.
Jakob Simons notched his team-best 17th multiple-hit game of the season. Ali Camarillo would have his 11-game hit streak snapped but he reached base on a walk to stretch his on-base streak to 12.
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"This just solidifies what we've been talking about all along with how important pitching and defense is to be competitive in every game. When you lose those two aspects like we did today you make it really hard on the offense. And the offense didn't produce enough to make up for that."
UP NEXT
The Matadors host UC Irvine in a weekend Big West series with the opener set for Friday at 3 p.m. Ghizal Hasan has the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.
Â
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: BONN, NICK (4-1)
L: Wentz, Ryan (2-2)
S: BAIRD, JACK (6)
Batting:
HR: PECK, JOHN 1
RBI: SCHOEN, GRANT 1 ; JOHNSON, RYAN 1 ; PECK, JOHN 4 ; LANDIS, QUINTT 1 ; PEMBERTON, LUKE 1
SH: BRADSHAW, CONNOR 1
SF: PECK, JOHN 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SCHOEN, GRANT 2 ; JOHNSON, RYAN 2 ; PECK, JOHN 1 ; MASINO, CHARLES 1 ; BASSEER, JACK 2 ; PEMBERTON, LUKE 2
HBP: JOHNSON, RYAN 1
Batting:
HR: Fitzer, Kevin 1 ; Kramer, Joey 1
RBI: Fitzer, Kevin 2 ; Griffin, Ben 1 ; Kramer, Joey 3 ; Neighbors, Kamau 1
SH: Neighbors, Kamau 1
SF: Griffin, Ben 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Simons, Jakob 1 ; Leon, Brandon 1 ; Camarillo, Ali 1 ; Fitzer, Kevin 2 ; Kramer, Joey 2
SB: Kramer, Joey 1
HBP: Kramer, Joey 1
PO: Neighbors, Kamau 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
3
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