Sunday, March 17
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
10-9, 1-2
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Cal Poly
10-9, 2-1
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Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Scores Six in the Ninth to Rally Past Cal Poly, 10-8
3/17/2024 4:27:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.---CSUN Baseball posted a six-run ninth inning with five scoring with two outs to rally past Cal Poly in the finale of the series on Sunday at Baggett Stadium. Ben Griffin finished with three hits including two in the ninth inning to go with three RBI while Shunsuke Sakaino and Jarren Sanderson had two hits apiece. Joshua Romero worked the final 3.1 innings out of the bullpen to notch his team-best fifth win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing as many as five runs on the day, CSUN entered the ninth behind 7-4. Griffin began the rally with a leadoff single and Will Linberg followed with a single of his own to left center. Two batters later, Sanderson brought CSUN closer with an RBI single through the left side. The next batter would be retired for the second out of the inning, but Sakaino collected an RBI single to cut the lead to 7-6.
Sakaino's hit would start a string of five consecutive Matadors reaching base. Kamau Neighbors worked to load the bases then Jakob Simons drew a four-pitch walk to force in the tying run. Kevin Fitzer would be hit a by pitch to bring in the go-ahead run and give CSUN its first lead of the series at 8-7. Griffin came up to bat next and capped the inning with a two-run single for a 10-7 advantage heading to the bottom of the ninth.
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Romero, who had already pitched two-plus innings in the game, returned for the last of the ninth looking for the final three outs. The Mustangs though came out swinging as consecutive doubles from Ryan Fenn and Joe Yorke immediately cut the lead to 10-8. Alejandro Garza would reach next on an infield single to bring the winning run to the plate. Romero bounced back by inducing a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Dylan Kordick. CSUN's right hander then retired pinch hitter Liam MacDonald on a flyout of the final out.
Earlier in the game, Cal Poly jumped ahead on a two-out RBI double from Yorke in the bottom of the first. The Matadors would answer back in the top of the third on a solo homer from Andrew Gauna to even the game at 1-1.
As they had done throughout the series, the Mustangs had an answer as Evan Clyod belted a solo homer in the in the bottom of the third for a 2-1 lead. Cal Poly added four more an inning later, capitalizing on four walks and two hit batters. Aaron Casillas had the only hit of the fourth, an RBI single, while CSUN pitching forced in three runs with the bases loaded, two of which on walks, as the Matadors trailed 6-1 through four innings.
The Matadors would chip away at the lead in the sixth. Sakaino began the inning with a single and Neighbors worked a walk soon after. Two batters later, Fitzer hit an RBI single, and Griffin followed suit with another RBI single of his own. Linberg made it a 6-4 game on a sacrifice fly.
Romero entered the fray in the bottom of the sixth where he stranded a runner in scoring position. Cal Poly though added to its lead in the seventh on an RBI single from Garza. Romero would bounce back to retire five of the next six batters to set the stage for the heroics in the ninth.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"I'm proud of how this team persevered through a rough weekend to salvage a series. Every conference win is meaningful. Our hitters kept competing and Josh Romero picked up his teammates in relief.
"You can do a lot of things right in baseball and it doesn't guarantee success. We've been on the short end of several ballgames recently and hopefully this win can lead to good things."
UP NEXT
CSUN returns home on Tuesday to take on Pepperdine at 3 p.m.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing as many as five runs on the day, CSUN entered the ninth behind 7-4. Griffin began the rally with a leadoff single and Will Linberg followed with a single of his own to left center. Two batters later, Sanderson brought CSUN closer with an RBI single through the left side. The next batter would be retired for the second out of the inning, but Sakaino collected an RBI single to cut the lead to 7-6.
Sakaino's hit would start a string of five consecutive Matadors reaching base. Kamau Neighbors worked to load the bases then Jakob Simons drew a four-pitch walk to force in the tying run. Kevin Fitzer would be hit a by pitch to bring in the go-ahead run and give CSUN its first lead of the series at 8-7. Griffin came up to bat next and capped the inning with a two-run single for a 10-7 advantage heading to the bottom of the ninth.
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Ben Griffin comes through!
— CSUN Baseball (@CSUNBaseball) March 17, 2024
2-run single adds to the lead#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/iTUFvwINKV
Romero, who had already pitched two-plus innings in the game, returned for the last of the ninth looking for the final three outs. The Mustangs though came out swinging as consecutive doubles from Ryan Fenn and Joe Yorke immediately cut the lead to 10-8. Alejandro Garza would reach next on an infield single to bring the winning run to the plate. Romero bounced back by inducing a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Dylan Kordick. CSUN's right hander then retired pinch hitter Liam MacDonald on a flyout of the final out.
Earlier in the game, Cal Poly jumped ahead on a two-out RBI double from Yorke in the bottom of the first. The Matadors would answer back in the top of the third on a solo homer from Andrew Gauna to even the game at 1-1.
As they had done throughout the series, the Mustangs had an answer as Evan Clyod belted a solo homer in the in the bottom of the third for a 2-1 lead. Cal Poly added four more an inning later, capitalizing on four walks and two hit batters. Aaron Casillas had the only hit of the fourth, an RBI single, while CSUN pitching forced in three runs with the bases loaded, two of which on walks, as the Matadors trailed 6-1 through four innings.
The Matadors would chip away at the lead in the sixth. Sakaino began the inning with a single and Neighbors worked a walk soon after. Two batters later, Fitzer hit an RBI single, and Griffin followed suit with another RBI single of his own. Linberg made it a 6-4 game on a sacrifice fly.
Romero entered the fray in the bottom of the sixth where he stranded a runner in scoring position. Cal Poly though added to its lead in the seventh on an RBI single from Garza. Romero would bounce back to retire five of the next six batters to set the stage for the heroics in the ninth.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 10-9 overall and 1-2 in conference while Cal Poly slips to 10-9 overall and 2-1 in Big West play.
- Gauna's home run was the first of his CSUN career.
- Fitzer, who drove in two runs, has now reached base safely in 16-straight games.
- Justin Vose tossed two shutout innings out of the bullpen, allowing no hits and striking out one.
- CSUN snapped an eight-game skid at Cal Poly.
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"I'm proud of how this team persevered through a rough weekend to salvage a series. Every conference win is meaningful. Our hitters kept competing and Josh Romero picked up his teammates in relief.
"You can do a lot of things right in baseball and it doesn't guarantee success. We've been on the short end of several ballgames recently and hopefully this win can lead to good things."
UP NEXT
CSUN returns home on Tuesday to take on Pepperdine at 3 p.m.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Romero, Joshua (5-1)
L: Sagouspe, Tanner (3-1)
Batting:
HR: Gauna, Andrew 1
RBI: Sakaino, Shunsuke 1 ; Simons, Jakob 1 ; Fitzer, Kevin 2 ; Griffin, Ben 3 ; Linberg, Will 1 ; Gauna, Andrew 1 ; Sanderson, Jarren 1
SF: Linberg, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sakaino, Shunsuke 1 ; Neighbors, Kamau 2 ; Simons, Jakob 2 ; Fitzer, Kevin 1 ; Griffin, Ben 1 ; Linberg, Will 1 ; Gauna, Andrew 1 ; Sanderson, Jarren 1
HBP: Fitzer, Kevin 1
Batting:
2B: Fenn, Ryan 2 ; Yorke, Joe 2
HR: Cloyd, Evan 1
RBI: Steels, Jake 1 ; Stafford, Ryan 1 ; Fenn, Ryan 1 ; Yorke, Joe 2 ; Garza, Alejandro 1 ; Casillas, Aaron 1 ; Cloyd, Evan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stafford, Ryan 1 ; Fenn, Ryan 2 ; Garza, Alejandro 1 ; Murray, Casey 1 ; Casillas, Aaron 1 ; Cloyd, Evan 2
HBP: Steels, Jake 1 ; Fenn, Ryan 1 ; Cloyd, Evan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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INF
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RHP
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LHP
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