Thursday, March 28
Northridge, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
UC Davis
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Hosts UC Davis in Home Big West Opener
3/27/2024 12:04:00 PM | Baseball
GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball opens its home Big West schedule this week as the Matadors take on UC Davis in a three-game series starting on Thursday at 3 p.m. Due to anticipated rain in the area, the series will conclude on Friday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Game two of the twin bill will start 40 minutes after conclusion of the first game. The opener on Thursday will be broadcast on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan has the call all weekend at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
UC Davis at CSUN
LHP Bryan Wooldridge (1-0, 1.00 ERA) vs. RHP Thomas Bainton (1-0, 3.00 ERA)
LHP Bryan Green (1-1, 4.45 ERA) vs. LHP Justin Vose (0-0, 2.45 ERA)
RHP Noel Valdez (1-2, 4.31 ERA) vs. TBA
BIG PICTURE
CSUN holds a 14-10 overall record and a 4-2 Big West mark. Through two weeks of the conference season, the Matadors are a game back of first place in The Big West. CSUN is coming off a four-game road trip in the Inland Empire where the Matadors swept UC Riverside and fell to California Baptist in a non-conference game.
Following this week's home series, CSUN will play a non-conference road series against Utah starting on Friday, April 5. The Matadors will not return to Matador Field until a midweek rematch with California Baptist on Tuesday, April 9.
ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN completed a hard-fought sweep of UC Riverside last weekend. The Matadors rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the opener by scoring seven runs over the final frames for an 8-4 win. In a wild game two, CSUN faced three different deficits and would be down to its final strike in the ninth inning and down a run before picking up a go-ahead two-run single from Kevin Fitzer in an eventual 15-13 victory. The Matadors scored three runs in the eighth inning of game three to break a 1-1 tie while CSUN's bullpen blanked UCR over the final five innings for a 4-1 win. With the sweep, CSUN has now won 10-straight games over the Highlanders.
The Matadors took a five-game winning streak to California Baptist on Monday. CSUN built a 2-0 lead on a solo home run from Andrew Gauna and an RBI single from Jarren Sanderson, but CBU fought back with two runs in the sixth and the winning run in the ninth for a 3-2 victory. Freshman Lucas Casey made his first career start in the game and tossed three shutout innings.
FITZER NAMED BIG WEST FIELD PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After a big offensive series against UC Riverside, Kevin Fitzer was named Big West Field Player of the Week on March 25. Fitzer slashed .529/.619/1.000 at the plate while he had a team-high seven RBI. In game one of the series, Fitzer belted a three-run homer and finished 4-for-4 with two triples. He produced four more hits in game two with none bigger than his two-run single with two outs in the top of the ninth and CSUN trailing by a run. The Big West Field Player of the Week award is the first for Fitzer in his career.
AT THE PLATE
Fitzer's hot week at the plate has propelled him into the team lead in batting (.363), slugging (.713) and on-base percentage (.474). Fitzer, who has a 20-game on base streak, also tops the team in doubles (7) and triples (3) to go with his five homers, 21 RBI, 20 runs scored and six stolen bases. Jakob Simons remains the team leader in home runs (9), RBI (24), runs scored (28) and stolen bases (7) while slugging .681 at the plate. Also surging at the plate, Kamau Neighbors is batting .298 with 19 walks, 18 runs scored and 12 RBI while Ben Griffin has batted .295 with 17 RBI and Shunsuke Sakaino has hit .284 with 15 runs scored.
Freshman outfielder Jarren Sanderson, who has made six consecutive starts, has increased his batting average to .407 with 11 RBI and six runs scored. Junior outfielder Andrew Gauna has also worked his way into the starting lineup and produced an eight-game hit streak. Gauna has two homers, nine RBI, 11 runs scored and a .267 season batting average.
ON THE MOUND
Thomas Bainton will start the opener against the Aggies as he sports a 3.00 ERA and a team-high 34 strikeouts in 33.0 innings. Justin Vose will make his second start in as many series on Friday. Vose has made eight appearances and posted a 2.45 ERA with 15 strikeouts while he gave up just one run in four innings versus UC Riverside last Sunday.
In the bullpen, Joshua Romero notched his team-best sixth win of the season last Saturday at UC Riverside. On the year, Romero has boasted a 0.93 ERA with 18 strikeouts and three saves.
BIG WEST LEADERBOARDS
Jakob Simons tops The Big West in homers (9), slugging percentage (.713) and total bases (62) while he ranks second in runs (29), third in RBI (24) and fourth in OPS (1.143) and stolen bases (7). Kevin Fitzer has moved up to second in the league in OPS (1.187), home runs (5) and total bases (57) along with third in slugging (.681), eighth in RBI (21) and 10th in batting average (.363). Kamau Neighors is up to fifth in The Big West in walks (19) and eighth in stolen bases (6). On the pitching list, Joshua Romero is first in wins (6) and fourth in saves (3) while Thomas Bainton ranks eighth in ERA (3.00). As a team, CSUN is ranked second in the conference and fourth in the nation in sacrifice hits (26) while the team is second in homers (24) and stolen bases (33) and third in runs (172), RBI (155) and walks (114).
ABOUT UC DAVIS
The Aggies are 13-10 overall and 3-3 in Big West play. UC Davis is coming off a series win over defending Big West champion UC San Diego last weekend and a Tuesday win over Sacramento State (3-2). On the season, the Aggies are 4-7 on the road with a notable win over ranked UC Irvine. A season ago, UC Davis went 17-37 overall and 7-23 in Big West play. The team was picked to finish ninth in the conference this season by the league's head coaches.
Riley Acosta sports a team-high .306 batting average with six doubles and seven RBI while Mark Holbert is hitting .302 at the plate with 11 RBI. Nick Leehey and Jack Gallagher share the team lead in RBI with 13 apiece. On the pitching side, left hander Bryan Green leads the team with 29 strikeouts to go with a 4.45 ERA. As a team, UC Davis is ranked third in the nation in sacrifice hits at 27.
Series History: CSUN and UC Davis are tied at 28-28 in the all-time series. The Matadors have won the last five series over the Aggies including taking two of three games at UC Davis last season. Over the last five series, CSUN has won 13 of the last 16 games.
#GoMatadors
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball opens its home Big West schedule this week as the Matadors take on UC Davis in a three-game series starting on Thursday at 3 p.m. Due to anticipated rain in the area, the series will conclude on Friday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Game two of the twin bill will start 40 minutes after conclusion of the first game. The opener on Thursday will be broadcast on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan has the call all weekend at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
UC Davis at CSUN
LHP Bryan Wooldridge (1-0, 1.00 ERA) vs. RHP Thomas Bainton (1-0, 3.00 ERA)
LHP Bryan Green (1-1, 4.45 ERA) vs. LHP Justin Vose (0-0, 2.45 ERA)
RHP Noel Valdez (1-2, 4.31 ERA) vs. TBA
BIG PICTURE
CSUN holds a 14-10 overall record and a 4-2 Big West mark. Through two weeks of the conference season, the Matadors are a game back of first place in The Big West. CSUN is coming off a four-game road trip in the Inland Empire where the Matadors swept UC Riverside and fell to California Baptist in a non-conference game.
Following this week's home series, CSUN will play a non-conference road series against Utah starting on Friday, April 5. The Matadors will not return to Matador Field until a midweek rematch with California Baptist on Tuesday, April 9.
ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN completed a hard-fought sweep of UC Riverside last weekend. The Matadors rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the opener by scoring seven runs over the final frames for an 8-4 win. In a wild game two, CSUN faced three different deficits and would be down to its final strike in the ninth inning and down a run before picking up a go-ahead two-run single from Kevin Fitzer in an eventual 15-13 victory. The Matadors scored three runs in the eighth inning of game three to break a 1-1 tie while CSUN's bullpen blanked UCR over the final five innings for a 4-1 win. With the sweep, CSUN has now won 10-straight games over the Highlanders.
The Matadors took a five-game winning streak to California Baptist on Monday. CSUN built a 2-0 lead on a solo home run from Andrew Gauna and an RBI single from Jarren Sanderson, but CBU fought back with two runs in the sixth and the winning run in the ninth for a 3-2 victory. Freshman Lucas Casey made his first career start in the game and tossed three shutout innings.
FITZER NAMED BIG WEST FIELD PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After a big offensive series against UC Riverside, Kevin Fitzer was named Big West Field Player of the Week on March 25. Fitzer slashed .529/.619/1.000 at the plate while he had a team-high seven RBI. In game one of the series, Fitzer belted a three-run homer and finished 4-for-4 with two triples. He produced four more hits in game two with none bigger than his two-run single with two outs in the top of the ninth and CSUN trailing by a run. The Big West Field Player of the Week award is the first for Fitzer in his career.
AT THE PLATE
Fitzer's hot week at the plate has propelled him into the team lead in batting (.363), slugging (.713) and on-base percentage (.474). Fitzer, who has a 20-game on base streak, also tops the team in doubles (7) and triples (3) to go with his five homers, 21 RBI, 20 runs scored and six stolen bases. Jakob Simons remains the team leader in home runs (9), RBI (24), runs scored (28) and stolen bases (7) while slugging .681 at the plate. Also surging at the plate, Kamau Neighbors is batting .298 with 19 walks, 18 runs scored and 12 RBI while Ben Griffin has batted .295 with 17 RBI and Shunsuke Sakaino has hit .284 with 15 runs scored.
Freshman outfielder Jarren Sanderson, who has made six consecutive starts, has increased his batting average to .407 with 11 RBI and six runs scored. Junior outfielder Andrew Gauna has also worked his way into the starting lineup and produced an eight-game hit streak. Gauna has two homers, nine RBI, 11 runs scored and a .267 season batting average.
ON THE MOUND
Thomas Bainton will start the opener against the Aggies as he sports a 3.00 ERA and a team-high 34 strikeouts in 33.0 innings. Justin Vose will make his second start in as many series on Friday. Vose has made eight appearances and posted a 2.45 ERA with 15 strikeouts while he gave up just one run in four innings versus UC Riverside last Sunday.
In the bullpen, Joshua Romero notched his team-best sixth win of the season last Saturday at UC Riverside. On the year, Romero has boasted a 0.93 ERA with 18 strikeouts and three saves.
BIG WEST LEADERBOARDS
Jakob Simons tops The Big West in homers (9), slugging percentage (.713) and total bases (62) while he ranks second in runs (29), third in RBI (24) and fourth in OPS (1.143) and stolen bases (7). Kevin Fitzer has moved up to second in the league in OPS (1.187), home runs (5) and total bases (57) along with third in slugging (.681), eighth in RBI (21) and 10th in batting average (.363). Kamau Neighors is up to fifth in The Big West in walks (19) and eighth in stolen bases (6). On the pitching list, Joshua Romero is first in wins (6) and fourth in saves (3) while Thomas Bainton ranks eighth in ERA (3.00). As a team, CSUN is ranked second in the conference and fourth in the nation in sacrifice hits (26) while the team is second in homers (24) and stolen bases (33) and third in runs (172), RBI (155) and walks (114).
ABOUT UC DAVIS
The Aggies are 13-10 overall and 3-3 in Big West play. UC Davis is coming off a series win over defending Big West champion UC San Diego last weekend and a Tuesday win over Sacramento State (3-2). On the season, the Aggies are 4-7 on the road with a notable win over ranked UC Irvine. A season ago, UC Davis went 17-37 overall and 7-23 in Big West play. The team was picked to finish ninth in the conference this season by the league's head coaches.
Riley Acosta sports a team-high .306 batting average with six doubles and seven RBI while Mark Holbert is hitting .302 at the plate with 11 RBI. Nick Leehey and Jack Gallagher share the team lead in RBI with 13 apiece. On the pitching side, left hander Bryan Green leads the team with 29 strikeouts to go with a 4.45 ERA. As a team, UC Davis is ranked third in the nation in sacrifice hits at 27.
Series History: CSUN and UC Davis are tied at 28-28 in the all-time series. The Matadors have won the last five series over the Aggies including taking two of three games at UC Davis last season. Over the last five series, CSUN has won 13 of the last 16 games.
#GoMatadors
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