Friday, March 22
Riverside, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
at
UC Riverside
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Opens Four-Game Road Trip at UC Riverside
3/21/2024 10:44:00 AM | Baseball
GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball returns to the road for a Big West series with UC Riverside beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. The series will continue on Saturday at 6 p.m. and conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m. The road trip will conclude on Monday when CSUN visits California Baptist at 3 p.m. All four games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
CSUN at UC Riverside
RHP Thomas Bainton (1-0) vs. RHP Julian Orozco (2-2)
RHP Ryan Halamicek (2-2) vs. RHP Tyler Gebb (2-2)
Game 3 starters to be announced
CSUN at California Baptist
Starters to be announced
LEADING OFF
The Matadors improved to 11-9 overall on the season with a victory over Pepperdine this past Tuesday. CSUN heads into the weekend with a two-game winning streak after previously falling in seven in a row. This weekend's four-game road trip completes a stretch where CSUN plays 12 of 13 games away from Matador Field. CSUN will return home next weekend for its Big West-opening series against UC Davis from March 28-30.
LAST TIME OUT
CSUN erased an early 3-0 deficit in Tuesday's 8-4 victory over Pepperdine at Matador Field. The Matadors scored four in the home half of the second inning with RBI hits from Mason Le and Shunsuke Sakaino. Kevin Fitzer added a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Freshman Gabriel Hernandez worked four shutout innings in relief and struck out three batters to pick up his first career victory.
AT THE PLATE
Kevin Fitzer leads the Matadors in hitting average heading into the weekend at a .313 clip while he has now homered five times this season. Fitzer, who has reached base in 17-straight games, shares the team lead in doubles with six and he ranks second in RBI (17), runs scored (16) and slugging percentage (.657). Ben Griffin is behind Fitzer at a .303 batting average to go with 14 RBI and 13 runs scored and Jakob Simons is third in batting at .301. Simons still remains the team leader with eight home runs, 21 RBI, 23 runs scored and a .712 slugging percentage. Kamau Neighbors is hitting .299 with 16 runs scored and 12 RBI while Nathan Barraza has 17 RBI to go with a .275 batting average.
ON THE MOUND
Thomas Bainton (1-0) will make his sixth start of the season when he opens the series against UC Riverside. Bainton leads the Matadors with 27 strikeouts to go with a 2.57 ERA over 28 innings of work. Opposing hitters are managing a .223 average against Bainton this season. Making the start on Saturday, freshman Ryan Halamicek sports a 2-2 record with a 4.56 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.
In the bullpen, Joshua Romero won his team-best fifth game last Sunday at Cal Poly. Romero, who did not record a win last season, boasts a 1.23 ERA with 14 strikeouts and two saves over eight appearances. Justin Vose has also settled into a late inning role in the bullpen as he holds a 1.86 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 9.2 innings of work.
BIG WEST LEADERBOARDS
Heading into the weekend, Jakob Simons leads The Big West in home runs (8), total bases (52) and slugging percentage (.712) while he ranks second in OPS (1.176) and runs scored (23). Kevin Fitzer checks in at second place in homers (5), at third place in total bases (44), at fourth place in slugging (.657) and at sixth place in OPS (1.089). Kamau Neighbors ranks sixth in doubles with Simons at six apiece while he is sixth in walks (16) and eighth in stolen bases (5). On the pitching side, Joshua Romero tops The Big West in wins (5) and Thomas Bainton is ranked 10th in ERA (2.57). As a team, CSUN ranks second in the conference and fourth in the nation in sacrifice hits (24) while the team is second in homers (22) and fielding percentage (.979), and third in runs (143) and walks (97).
ABOUT UC RIVERSIDE
The Highlanders sport a 9-9 overall record and are just two wins shy of matching their entire win total from 2023. The team has lost the last three games including a pair of midweek games last week to San Diego State (5-4) and Washington State (11-3). UCR holds an 8-6 record at home this season. The Highlanders, who open Big West play with CSUN, were picked to finish 11th in The Big West.
Tyler Weaver tops the Highlanders in batting at a .354 average while Dominic Martinez is hitting .353 and Cole Koniarsky is batting .338. In the RBI department, Koniarsky has a team-high 18 followed by Jayden Lopez at 14. Julian Orozco will start the opener against CSUN as he sports a 4.76 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 22.2 innings. As a team, UCR ranks third in batting average in The Big West with a team .292 average.
Series History: CSUN leads UCR 129-96-1 in the all-time series with wins in seven-straight games. Last season, CSUN swept a three-game series at home, outscoring UCR 51-17. In contrast, the Matadors would also sweep the Highlanders in Riverside in 2022 but did so by outscoring the opposition 12-0.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
The Lancers are 13-8 overall and 3-0 in the WAC on the year. After winning five in a row, CBU has lost three straight including a Tuesday loss to Dartmouth (18-12). The team has gone 6-3 against Big West teams this season, which include series wins over UC Riverside and UC Davis. Prior to taking on CSUN, CBU faces Tarleton State in a weekend WAC series. After finishing 28-30 overall and 15-15 in the WAC in 2023, the Lancers were picked to finish third in the conference this season.
Michael Carpentier tops the Lancers with a .364 batting average to go with 19 RBI, 15 runs scored and 11 doubles. Michael Simon has a team-high five homers with 16 RBI while Nicholas Dumesnil has four homers, 10 RBI and a .318 hitting average. As a pitching staff, the Lancers boast a team 3.76 ERA.
Series History: CSUN holds a 9-1 edge over CBU all-time in baseball. The teams met once last season at Matador Field with CSUN prevailing 12-3. The Matadors' last trip to CBU came in 2019 in a 7-4 victory.
#GoMatadors
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball returns to the road for a Big West series with UC Riverside beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. The series will continue on Saturday at 6 p.m. and conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m. The road trip will conclude on Monday when CSUN visits California Baptist at 3 p.m. All four games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
CSUN at UC Riverside
RHP Thomas Bainton (1-0) vs. RHP Julian Orozco (2-2)
RHP Ryan Halamicek (2-2) vs. RHP Tyler Gebb (2-2)
Game 3 starters to be announced
CSUN at California Baptist
Starters to be announced
LEADING OFF
The Matadors improved to 11-9 overall on the season with a victory over Pepperdine this past Tuesday. CSUN heads into the weekend with a two-game winning streak after previously falling in seven in a row. This weekend's four-game road trip completes a stretch where CSUN plays 12 of 13 games away from Matador Field. CSUN will return home next weekend for its Big West-opening series against UC Davis from March 28-30.
LAST TIME OUT
CSUN erased an early 3-0 deficit in Tuesday's 8-4 victory over Pepperdine at Matador Field. The Matadors scored four in the home half of the second inning with RBI hits from Mason Le and Shunsuke Sakaino. Kevin Fitzer added a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Freshman Gabriel Hernandez worked four shutout innings in relief and struck out three batters to pick up his first career victory.
AT THE PLATE
Kevin Fitzer leads the Matadors in hitting average heading into the weekend at a .313 clip while he has now homered five times this season. Fitzer, who has reached base in 17-straight games, shares the team lead in doubles with six and he ranks second in RBI (17), runs scored (16) and slugging percentage (.657). Ben Griffin is behind Fitzer at a .303 batting average to go with 14 RBI and 13 runs scored and Jakob Simons is third in batting at .301. Simons still remains the team leader with eight home runs, 21 RBI, 23 runs scored and a .712 slugging percentage. Kamau Neighbors is hitting .299 with 16 runs scored and 12 RBI while Nathan Barraza has 17 RBI to go with a .275 batting average.
ON THE MOUND
Thomas Bainton (1-0) will make his sixth start of the season when he opens the series against UC Riverside. Bainton leads the Matadors with 27 strikeouts to go with a 2.57 ERA over 28 innings of work. Opposing hitters are managing a .223 average against Bainton this season. Making the start on Saturday, freshman Ryan Halamicek sports a 2-2 record with a 4.56 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.
In the bullpen, Joshua Romero won his team-best fifth game last Sunday at Cal Poly. Romero, who did not record a win last season, boasts a 1.23 ERA with 14 strikeouts and two saves over eight appearances. Justin Vose has also settled into a late inning role in the bullpen as he holds a 1.86 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 9.2 innings of work.
BIG WEST LEADERBOARDS
Heading into the weekend, Jakob Simons leads The Big West in home runs (8), total bases (52) and slugging percentage (.712) while he ranks second in OPS (1.176) and runs scored (23). Kevin Fitzer checks in at second place in homers (5), at third place in total bases (44), at fourth place in slugging (.657) and at sixth place in OPS (1.089). Kamau Neighbors ranks sixth in doubles with Simons at six apiece while he is sixth in walks (16) and eighth in stolen bases (5). On the pitching side, Joshua Romero tops The Big West in wins (5) and Thomas Bainton is ranked 10th in ERA (2.57). As a team, CSUN ranks second in the conference and fourth in the nation in sacrifice hits (24) while the team is second in homers (22) and fielding percentage (.979), and third in runs (143) and walks (97).
ABOUT UC RIVERSIDE
The Highlanders sport a 9-9 overall record and are just two wins shy of matching their entire win total from 2023. The team has lost the last three games including a pair of midweek games last week to San Diego State (5-4) and Washington State (11-3). UCR holds an 8-6 record at home this season. The Highlanders, who open Big West play with CSUN, were picked to finish 11th in The Big West.
Tyler Weaver tops the Highlanders in batting at a .354 average while Dominic Martinez is hitting .353 and Cole Koniarsky is batting .338. In the RBI department, Koniarsky has a team-high 18 followed by Jayden Lopez at 14. Julian Orozco will start the opener against CSUN as he sports a 4.76 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 22.2 innings. As a team, UCR ranks third in batting average in The Big West with a team .292 average.
Series History: CSUN leads UCR 129-96-1 in the all-time series with wins in seven-straight games. Last season, CSUN swept a three-game series at home, outscoring UCR 51-17. In contrast, the Matadors would also sweep the Highlanders in Riverside in 2022 but did so by outscoring the opposition 12-0.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
The Lancers are 13-8 overall and 3-0 in the WAC on the year. After winning five in a row, CBU has lost three straight including a Tuesday loss to Dartmouth (18-12). The team has gone 6-3 against Big West teams this season, which include series wins over UC Riverside and UC Davis. Prior to taking on CSUN, CBU faces Tarleton State in a weekend WAC series. After finishing 28-30 overall and 15-15 in the WAC in 2023, the Lancers were picked to finish third in the conference this season.
Michael Carpentier tops the Lancers with a .364 batting average to go with 19 RBI, 15 runs scored and 11 doubles. Michael Simon has a team-high five homers with 16 RBI while Nicholas Dumesnil has four homers, 10 RBI and a .318 hitting average. As a pitching staff, the Lancers boast a team 3.76 ERA.
Series History: CSUN holds a 9-1 edge over CBU all-time in baseball. The teams met once last season at Matador Field with CSUN prevailing 12-3. The Matadors' last trip to CBU came in 2019 in a 7-4 victory.
#GoMatadors
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