Saturday, April 20
Fullerton, Calif.
5:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
22-14, 0
6
at
4
Cal State Fullerton
13-23, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
CSUN
0
0
4
0
2
0
0
0
0
6
9
2
Cal State Fullerton
0
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
4
7
2
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Clinches Series at Fullerton with 6-4 Win
4/20/2024 9:40:00 PM | Baseball
FULLERTON, Calif.---CSUN Baseball clinched its weekend series at Cal State Fullerton with a 6-4 triumph on Saturday at Goodwin Field. Jakob Simons homered for the 14th time this season and finished with two hits while Will Linberg and Shunsuke Sakaino had two hits and an RBI apiece. Freshman Ryan Halamicek notched his fifth win of the year after a solid five-inning outing.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After managing one base runner through the first two innings, CSUN would break through in the top of the third inning. Following singles from Andrew Sojka and Kamau Neighbors, Linberg came through with an RBI double to right center. Just three pitches later, Simons hammered a 1-1 pitch over the center field fence for a three-run homer and a 4-0 lead.
Â
Halamicek picked up a 5-4-3 double play in the first inning, squashing a first and third, one-out jam. He went on to retire the side in order in the second, but the Titans responded with a two-run third. Eli Lopez picked up an RBI single to put the Titans on the scoreboard before a costly error at third base with two outs allowed Lopez to eventually score.
Another CSUN error in the fourth gave the Titans an opportunity to even the game up at 4-4. The error came with one out on a grounder off the bat of Matthew Bardowell. Jakob Schardt followed with an RBI triple and Colby Wallace hit a sacrifice fly. Halamicek though bounced back to retire four of the next five batters before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
The Matadors would quickly answer in the top of the fifth with a two-out rally to reclaim the lead. After the first two hitters were retired to start the frame, Jarren Sanderson kept the inning alive with a walk. A failed pickoff attempt allowed Sanderson to reach third before Ben Griffin worked a walk and Sakaino collected an RBI single to give CSUN the lead. Christian Rodriguez would deliver back-to-back wild pitches, allowing Griffin to score for a 6-4 CSUN lead.
Â
CSUN's bullpen would protect the two-run lead from there. Ryan Wentz took over on the mound in the sixth and retired the side in order. The right hander pitched around a one-out double in the seventh and a leadoff walk in the eighth to continue to keep the Titans off the scoreboard. Joshua Romero would close the door in the top of the ninth, sitting down the side in order for the save.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"Halamicek set the tone for us today and our bullpen really stepped up for us. They kept their poise and focused on the process even though they had some defensive miscues behind them. They should be proud of how they pitched overall.
"Jake Simons also continues to show the baseball world how valuable he is to any team."
UP NEXT
CSUN faces Cal State Fullerton in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
After managing one base runner through the first two innings, CSUN would break through in the top of the third inning. Following singles from Andrew Sojka and Kamau Neighbors, Linberg came through with an RBI double to right center. Just three pitches later, Simons hammered a 1-1 pitch over the center field fence for a three-run homer and a 4-0 lead.
Â
JAKOB SIMONS 3-RUN HOMER ??
— CSUN Baseball (@CSUNBaseball) April 21, 2024
No. 14 of the season from Simons!#GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/FVNhaoO4PO
Halamicek picked up a 5-4-3 double play in the first inning, squashing a first and third, one-out jam. He went on to retire the side in order in the second, but the Titans responded with a two-run third. Eli Lopez picked up an RBI single to put the Titans on the scoreboard before a costly error at third base with two outs allowed Lopez to eventually score.
Another CSUN error in the fourth gave the Titans an opportunity to even the game up at 4-4. The error came with one out on a grounder off the bat of Matthew Bardowell. Jakob Schardt followed with an RBI triple and Colby Wallace hit a sacrifice fly. Halamicek though bounced back to retire four of the next five batters before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
The Matadors would quickly answer in the top of the fifth with a two-out rally to reclaim the lead. After the first two hitters were retired to start the frame, Jarren Sanderson kept the inning alive with a walk. A failed pickoff attempt allowed Sanderson to reach third before Ben Griffin worked a walk and Sakaino collected an RBI single to give CSUN the lead. Christian Rodriguez would deliver back-to-back wild pitches, allowing Griffin to score for a 6-4 CSUN lead.
Â
First ball swinging!
— CSUN Baseball (@CSUNBaseball) April 21, 2024
Shunsuke Sakaino gives us the lead right back on an RBI single. #GoMatadors pic.twitter.com/ccmTzhtoR5
CSUN's bullpen would protect the two-run lead from there. Ryan Wentz took over on the mound in the sixth and retired the side in order. The right hander pitched around a one-out double in the seventh and a leadoff walk in the eighth to continue to keep the Titans off the scoreboard. Joshua Romero would close the door in the top of the ninth, sitting down the side in order for the save.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN improves to 22-14 overall and 10-4 in Big West play while Fullerton slips to 13-23 overall and 5-12 in conference.
- Neighbors extended his on-base streak to 18 games and his hit streak to 17 games after going 2-for-5.
- Linberg has reached base in 17 consecutive games.
- Halamicek worked five innings, allowing four runs with one earned to improve to 5-2 on the season.
- Wentz struck out four batters over three shutout innings.
- Romero notched his sixth save of the season and his 19th of his career.
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"Halamicek set the tone for us today and our bullpen really stepped up for us. They kept their poise and focused on the process even though they had some defensive miscues behind them. They should be proud of how they pitched overall.
"Jake Simons also continues to show the baseball world how valuable he is to any team."
UP NEXT
CSUN faces Cal State Fullerton in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Halamicek, Ryan (5-2)
L: Jones, Peyton (0-2)
S: Romero, Joshua (6)
Batting:
2B: Linberg, Will 1 ; Sakaino, Shunsuke 1
HR: Simons, Jakob 1
RBI: Linberg, Will 1 ; Simons, Jakob 3 ; Sakaino, Shunsuke 1
SH: Le, Mason 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Neighbors, Kamau 1 ; Linberg, Will 1 ; Simons, Jakob 1 ; Sanderson, Jarren 1 ; Griffin, Ben 1 ; Sojka, Andrew 1
SB: Le, Mason 1
HBP: Sanderson, Jarren 1
PO: Neighbors, Kamau 1
Batting:
2B: Lopez, Eli 2 ; Regino, Nico 1
3B: Schardt, Jakob 1
RBI: Lopez, Eli 1 ; Schardt, Jakob 1 ; Wallace, Colby 1
SH: Ortega, Max 1
SF: Wallace, Colby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lopez, Eli 1 ; Bardowell, Matthew 1 ; Schardt, Jakob 1 ; Wallace, Colby 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF/C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball1B/OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballA Conversation With Dave Serrano
Friday, May 15
Baseball HC reveal 2019
Sunday, June 23
National Student-Athlete Day 2019 - Jayson Newman
Friday, April 05
CSUN Baseball - 27 Miles
Friday, November 09