CSUN Hosts Matador Diamond Classic

Game Notes

STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE
CSUN (3-1) gears up to defend its home field as it hosts the CSUN Matador Diamond Classic. The Matadors will take on Pacific (1-4) and Utah Tech (1-2) over three days at Matador Diamond. CSUN opens the tournament with a doubleheader against Utah Tech on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 11 a.m. The team will follow up with two games against Pacific and Utah Tech on Friday, Feb. 16, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. respectively. CSUN will wrap up the tournament with a final game against Pacific on Saturday, Feb. 17, at noon.

Tune in on ESPN+ or @CSUNSoftball on Twitter for in-game updates. All games will have live stats. The links for the live stream and stats will be available on GoMatadors.com.
LAST IN THE BATTER'S BOX
The Matadors began the 2024 season with a home opener against #9 Oklahoma State on Thursday afternoon. CSUN fought hard against the Cowgirls, producing two hits, but were unable to score any runs. Oklahoma State took advantage of two CSUN errors in the fifth to break the game open with a five-run inning.
CSUN shook off the loss by Friday morning as the team geared up to play Portland State in a doubleheader. The Matadors opened strong as they scored twice in the bottom of the first inning. CSUN kept the momentum going with two runs in the fourth and four in the fifth. The Vikings managed to score in the fourth as well, but Isabella Alonso was strong on the mound, tossing 6.1 innings and allowing two runs.
The Vikings returned Friday afternoon in game two with a fight as they scored the first run. The Matadors returned the favor in the second and third innings as they took the lead 2-1. Portland State scored another run that CSUN quickly answered in the bottom of the fourth. Lauryn Carranco kept control of the diamond as she went the distance and struck out eight batters.
CSUN then hit the road for its first away game against Maryland in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon. The Matadors started with an early lead of 3-0 in the top of the second. The Terrapins didn't break through until the bottom of the fourth. Maryland managed to tie the game 3-3, but the Matadors fired back with a two-run homer from Shaylan Whatman to take the lead. Alonso stepped back into the circle for the last 3.2 innings to shut down Maryland and collect a 5-3 victory.
ABOUT UTAH TECH
The Bisons are coming off a 7-0 loss against North Texas. Utah Tech adds six freshmen to its roster. Junior Marisa Rubio leads in batting average for the Bisons at .500. Junior Carly Eldredge leads the team in runs (2) and home runs (2). Sophomore Sauren Garton is 1-0 in the circle. Head coach Randy Simkins enters his 16th season. This is the first time the Matadors face the Bisons.

ABOUT PACIFIC
The Tigers come off a 6-2 loss against Southern Utah. The University of the Pacific adds three freshmen to its roster. Sophomore Olivia Silvestre leads the team in runs with four. Seniors Raegan Hamilton and Rian Dirmeyer both lead the team in home runs with one each. Senior Amiyah Aponte leads the team in win-loss ratio with a 1-1 record in the circle. Brian Kolze enters his 31st season as head coach. CSUN leads the all-time series against Pacific with 41 wins and 27 losses. The last time they met, Pacific took the game 4-0.

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CSUN Hosts Matador Diamond Classic

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Players Mentioned

Isabella Alonso

Lauryn Carranco

Shaylan Whatman