Tuesday, March 19
Northridge, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
11-9
8
vs
4
Pepperdine
5-16
1
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3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Pepperdine
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
4
7
0
CSUN
0
4
0
3
0
0
1
0
X
8
11
1
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Gets Multiple Contributions in 8-4 Win Over Pepperdine
3/19/2024 6:06:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball won its fifth-straight home game by knocking off Pepperdine 8-4 on Tuesday afternoon at Matador Field. Each Matador starter in the lineup reached base with eight recording hits and seven scoring runs. Kevin Fitzer homered for the fifth time this season while freshman Gabriel Hernandez won his first career game by working four shutout innings and striking out three batters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN starter Joshua Martinez pitched around a bases loaded, nobody out jam in the first inning, but the Waves threatened again in the second inning. The first two batters reached to start the frame against Martinez, prompting a change on the mound. Braden Wauschek came out of the bullpen to attempt to stop the rally, but the next three batters reached with Brady Renck hitting an RBI single and Connor Bradshaw drawing a walk to force in a run. Hernandez entered the fray next and managed to limit the damage as he induced a 6-4-3 double play before retiring Charles Masino on a flyout.
Pepperdine led 3-0 heading to the bottom of the second, but the Matador bats came alive in the home half of the frame. Ben Griffin, Will Linberg and Andrew Gauna each collected singles to quickly load the bases with nobody out. Nathan Barraza drew a walk to bring in CSUN's first run while Mason Le followed with a two-run single to even the game. Shunsuke Sakaino capped the inning with an RBI single to put the Matadors ahead 4-3.
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Hernandez would silence the Waves over the remainder of his time on the mound. After his effort in the second inning, Hernandez sat down the Waves in order in the third and pitched around a leadoff walk in the fourth. Pepperdine picked up a one-out double from Masino in the fifth, but Hernandez struck out Connor Walsh and Luke Pemberton to end the frame.
Meanwhile, CSUN opened up its lead further in the bottom of the fourth when Fitzer belted a two-out three-run homer for a 7-3 lead.
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After Hernandez exited the game, the Matadors picked up a quality effort from Gerald Hanson on the mound. The left hander pitched two shutout innings beginning in the sixth, allowing one hit over that span.
Barraza added to the CSUN lead in the bottom of the seventh on a squeeze bunt, scoring Griffin from third to stretch to 8-3 lead.
Andrew Parker and Ryan Wentz worked the final two innings on the mound for CSUN. Parker allowed a run on two hits while Wentz retired three of four batters in a scoreless ninth.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"I really enjoyed being able to use several pitchers and seeing progression -- seeing Ryan Wentz bounce back and seeing the effort by Gerald Hanson and Gabriel Hernandez. At some point, all three of those guys didn't travel on the road, so they've had to stay back and fix some things. Andrew Parker also hasn't traveled with us all year so just being able to use guys and make it feel like a full pitching staff effort was really good. I liked saving Josh Romero for possible leverage innings this weekend, and the offense was able to string some good at bats together. We're still throwing some away, but I liked the overall confidence and the looseness we're playing with right now."
UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for a weekend three-game series at UC Riverside. The opener is set for Friday at 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN starter Joshua Martinez pitched around a bases loaded, nobody out jam in the first inning, but the Waves threatened again in the second inning. The first two batters reached to start the frame against Martinez, prompting a change on the mound. Braden Wauschek came out of the bullpen to attempt to stop the rally, but the next three batters reached with Brady Renck hitting an RBI single and Connor Bradshaw drawing a walk to force in a run. Hernandez entered the fray next and managed to limit the damage as he induced a 6-4-3 double play before retiring Charles Masino on a flyout.
Pepperdine led 3-0 heading to the bottom of the second, but the Matador bats came alive in the home half of the frame. Ben Griffin, Will Linberg and Andrew Gauna each collected singles to quickly load the bases with nobody out. Nathan Barraza drew a walk to bring in CSUN's first run while Mason Le followed with a two-run single to even the game. Shunsuke Sakaino capped the inning with an RBI single to put the Matadors ahead 4-3.
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Down 3-0 entering the bottom of the second. Now up 4-3.
— CSUN Baseball (@CSUNBaseball) March 19, 2024
Shun Sakaino with an RBI single to left center.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/3RrcmtnLAj
Hernandez would silence the Waves over the remainder of his time on the mound. After his effort in the second inning, Hernandez sat down the Waves in order in the third and pitched around a leadoff walk in the fourth. Pepperdine picked up a one-out double from Masino in the fifth, but Hernandez struck out Connor Walsh and Luke Pemberton to end the frame.
Meanwhile, CSUN opened up its lead further in the bottom of the fourth when Fitzer belted a two-out three-run homer for a 7-3 lead.
Â
FITZER BREAKS IT OPEN. ??
— CSUN Baseball (@CSUNBaseball) March 19, 2024
A 3-run blast puts CSUN on top of Pepperdine, 7-3.#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/tqRRH0ojLj
After Hernandez exited the game, the Matadors picked up a quality effort from Gerald Hanson on the mound. The left hander pitched two shutout innings beginning in the sixth, allowing one hit over that span.
Barraza added to the CSUN lead in the bottom of the seventh on a squeeze bunt, scoring Griffin from third to stretch to 8-3 lead.
Andrew Parker and Ryan Wentz worked the final two innings on the mound for CSUN. Parker allowed a run on two hits while Wentz retired three of four batters in a scoreless ninth.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 11-9 overall on the season while Pepperdine slips to 5-16.
- Barraza and Le drove in two runs apiece while the trio of Kamau Neighbors, Jakob Simons and Gauna had two hits each.
- Fitzer has now reached base in 17 consecutive games
- Parker, a freshman, made his CSUN debut on the mound on Tuesday.
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"I really enjoyed being able to use several pitchers and seeing progression -- seeing Ryan Wentz bounce back and seeing the effort by Gerald Hanson and Gabriel Hernandez. At some point, all three of those guys didn't travel on the road, so they've had to stay back and fix some things. Andrew Parker also hasn't traveled with us all year so just being able to use guys and make it feel like a full pitching staff effort was really good. I liked saving Josh Romero for possible leverage innings this weekend, and the offense was able to string some good at bats together. We're still throwing some away, but I liked the overall confidence and the looseness we're playing with right now."
UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for a weekend three-game series at UC Riverside. The opener is set for Friday at 6 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hernandez, Gabriel (1-0)
L: Stewart,Dylan (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Renck,Brady 1 ; Masino,Charles 1 ; Savage,Andrew 1
RBI: Renck,Brady 1 ; Bradshaw,Connor 1 ; Savage,Andrew 1
SF: Savage,Andrew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Upstill,Nick 2 ; Hemmingsen,Corwin 1 ; Savage,Andrew 1
HBP: Upstill,Nick 1
Batting:
2B: Simons, Jakob 1
HR: Fitzer, Kevin 1
RBI: Sakaino, Shunsuke 1 ; Fitzer, Kevin 3 ; Barraza, Nathan 2 ; Le, Mason 2
SH: Linberg, Will 1 ; Barraza, Nathan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Neighbors, Kamau 1 ; Simons, Jakob 1 ; Fitzer, Kevin 1 ; Griffin, Ben 2 ; Linberg, Will 1 ; Gauna, Andrew 1 ; Barraza, Nathan 1
SB: Simons, Jakob 1
HBP: Simons, Jakob 2 ; Fitzer, Kevin 1 ; Griffin, Ben 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
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