Tuesday, April 23
Fresno, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
at
Fresno State
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Completes Road Stretch at Fresno State
4/22/2024 6:35:00 PM | Baseball
GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball completes a five-game road swing on Tuesday when the Matadors visit Fresno State. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. on the Mountain West Network.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
CSUN at Fresno State
LHP Destin Allen-Fox (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. LHP Bryce Armstrong (1-0, 4.94 ERA)
LEADING OFF
The Matadors went 4-0 last week on the road, defeating Pepperdine 9-1 before sweeping a Big West series from Cal State Fullerton over the weekend. The Fullerton sweep propelled the Matadors to a virtual tie for first place in The Big West standings. CSUN (11-4) is currently tied with UC Irvine (11-4) and UC Santa Barbara (11-4) while UC San Diego has more wins at 13-5 but has played more games. The Matadors return home this weekend for a conference series with Cal State Bakersfield starting Friday.
LAST TIME OUT
CSUN completed its first sweep of Cal State Fullerton since 2002 this past weekend. The Matadors took the opener 9-6 behind a four-run seventh, highlighted by a go-ahead two-run single from pinch-hitter Andrew Sojka. In game two, CSUN broke a 4-4 tie in the fifth inning on a go-ahead RBI single from Shunsuke Sakaino while Jakob Simons belted a three-run homer earlier in the contest. The finale of the series would go into extra innings before CSUN scored four times in the top of the 12th behind a key RBI single from Sojka and a two-run triple from Mason Le. CSUN's bullpen tossed a combined 16.1 shutout innings in the series before the Titans scored two runs in the bottom of the 12th of game three.
SURGING AT THE PLATE
Jakob Simons is coming off a big week at the plate where he produced 13 RBI over a five-game stretch. Simons drove in eight runs in the Fullerton series while going 6-for-14 at the plate with a home run. Over his last nine games, Simons has raised his batting average from .299 to .338 and collected 23 RBI over that span. He currently leads the team in homers (14), RBI (49) and runs scored (46).
Kamau Neighbors has hit safely in 18-straight games, which is the longest hit streak by a Matador this season. He leads the Matadors with 49 base hits to go with a .350 batting average, 35 runs, 23 RBI and 11 doubles. Neighbors also ranks seventh in the nation in toughest to strikeout (15.6). Other top hitters in the lineup include Jarren Sanderson who has hit .364 with 20 RBI this season along with Shunsuke Sakaino who is batting .291 with 24 runs scored and 18 RBI.
ON THE MOUND
Freshman left hander Destin Allen-Fox will make his second-straight Tuesday start this week. Allen-Fox has appeared in four games this season, registering a 4.50 ERA with eight strikeouts over six innings. Last Tuesday against Pepperdine, Allen-Fox tossed three shutout innings, striking out three while allowing just one hit.
Hayden Hall racked up two wins in last weekend's Fullerton series as he worked 5.1 total innings with no runs allowed and four strikeouts. On the season, Hall has a 5-1 record with a 3.00 ERA and 19 strikeouts. Joshua Romero nailed down two saves in the Fullerton series to push his season total to six to go with seven wins and a 1.98 ERA. Ryan Halamicek (5-2, 5.04 ERA) also picked up a win in the Fullerton series as he worked five innings and yielded four runs with only one earned.
ON THE BIG WEST LEADERBOARDS
As a team, CSUN is ranked first in The Big West in sacrifice hits (41) and second in batting average (.291), runs scored (288), homers (40), RBI (258), stolen bases (54) and fielding percentage (.979). Kevin Fitzer, who has missed the last five games, still tops The Big West in OPS (1.362) and slugging percentage (.844) while he ranks second in batting (.404) and homers (10). Jakob Simons currently ranks first in home runs (14) and RBI (49) and second in OPS (1.197), runs scored (46) and slugging percentage (.719). Kamau Neighbors is also seventh in the conference in runs scored (35) and ninth in walks (27). On the pitching side, Joshua Romero is first in the conference in wins (7) and third in saves (6).
ABOUT FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs are 25-14 overall and 14-7 in the Mountain West Conference. Fresno State has lost five in a row after suffering a three-game sweep to San José State over the weekend. In 2023, Fresno State had a 30-27 overall record and 16-14 conference mark while the team was picked to finish second in the Mountain West this season. Tommy Hopfe, a preseason All-Mountain West selection, leads the team with a .350 batting average to go with six homers and 34 RBI. A pair of Long Beach State transfers, Eddie Saldivar and Rocco Peppi are hitting .346 and .344, respectively, while Peppi tops the team with 12 homers and 42 RBI. Left hander Bryce Armstrong will start versus CSUN as he sports a 4.94 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 23.2 innings.
Series History: The Bulldogs lead the Matadors 58-28 in the all-time series with wins in two-straight meetings. CSUN is making its first trip to Fresno State since an 8-2 loss in 2018.
#GoMatadors
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball completes a five-game road swing on Tuesday when the Matadors visit Fresno State. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. on the Mountain West Network.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
CSUN at Fresno State
LHP Destin Allen-Fox (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. LHP Bryce Armstrong (1-0, 4.94 ERA)
LEADING OFF
The Matadors went 4-0 last week on the road, defeating Pepperdine 9-1 before sweeping a Big West series from Cal State Fullerton over the weekend. The Fullerton sweep propelled the Matadors to a virtual tie for first place in The Big West standings. CSUN (11-4) is currently tied with UC Irvine (11-4) and UC Santa Barbara (11-4) while UC San Diego has more wins at 13-5 but has played more games. The Matadors return home this weekend for a conference series with Cal State Bakersfield starting Friday.
LAST TIME OUT
CSUN completed its first sweep of Cal State Fullerton since 2002 this past weekend. The Matadors took the opener 9-6 behind a four-run seventh, highlighted by a go-ahead two-run single from pinch-hitter Andrew Sojka. In game two, CSUN broke a 4-4 tie in the fifth inning on a go-ahead RBI single from Shunsuke Sakaino while Jakob Simons belted a three-run homer earlier in the contest. The finale of the series would go into extra innings before CSUN scored four times in the top of the 12th behind a key RBI single from Sojka and a two-run triple from Mason Le. CSUN's bullpen tossed a combined 16.1 shutout innings in the series before the Titans scored two runs in the bottom of the 12th of game three.
SURGING AT THE PLATE
Jakob Simons is coming off a big week at the plate where he produced 13 RBI over a five-game stretch. Simons drove in eight runs in the Fullerton series while going 6-for-14 at the plate with a home run. Over his last nine games, Simons has raised his batting average from .299 to .338 and collected 23 RBI over that span. He currently leads the team in homers (14), RBI (49) and runs scored (46).
Kamau Neighbors has hit safely in 18-straight games, which is the longest hit streak by a Matador this season. He leads the Matadors with 49 base hits to go with a .350 batting average, 35 runs, 23 RBI and 11 doubles. Neighbors also ranks seventh in the nation in toughest to strikeout (15.6). Other top hitters in the lineup include Jarren Sanderson who has hit .364 with 20 RBI this season along with Shunsuke Sakaino who is batting .291 with 24 runs scored and 18 RBI.
ON THE MOUND
Freshman left hander Destin Allen-Fox will make his second-straight Tuesday start this week. Allen-Fox has appeared in four games this season, registering a 4.50 ERA with eight strikeouts over six innings. Last Tuesday against Pepperdine, Allen-Fox tossed three shutout innings, striking out three while allowing just one hit.
Hayden Hall racked up two wins in last weekend's Fullerton series as he worked 5.1 total innings with no runs allowed and four strikeouts. On the season, Hall has a 5-1 record with a 3.00 ERA and 19 strikeouts. Joshua Romero nailed down two saves in the Fullerton series to push his season total to six to go with seven wins and a 1.98 ERA. Ryan Halamicek (5-2, 5.04 ERA) also picked up a win in the Fullerton series as he worked five innings and yielded four runs with only one earned.
ON THE BIG WEST LEADERBOARDS
As a team, CSUN is ranked first in The Big West in sacrifice hits (41) and second in batting average (.291), runs scored (288), homers (40), RBI (258), stolen bases (54) and fielding percentage (.979). Kevin Fitzer, who has missed the last five games, still tops The Big West in OPS (1.362) and slugging percentage (.844) while he ranks second in batting (.404) and homers (10). Jakob Simons currently ranks first in home runs (14) and RBI (49) and second in OPS (1.197), runs scored (46) and slugging percentage (.719). Kamau Neighbors is also seventh in the conference in runs scored (35) and ninth in walks (27). On the pitching side, Joshua Romero is first in the conference in wins (7) and third in saves (6).
ABOUT FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs are 25-14 overall and 14-7 in the Mountain West Conference. Fresno State has lost five in a row after suffering a three-game sweep to San José State over the weekend. In 2023, Fresno State had a 30-27 overall record and 16-14 conference mark while the team was picked to finish second in the Mountain West this season. Tommy Hopfe, a preseason All-Mountain West selection, leads the team with a .350 batting average to go with six homers and 34 RBI. A pair of Long Beach State transfers, Eddie Saldivar and Rocco Peppi are hitting .346 and .344, respectively, while Peppi tops the team with 12 homers and 42 RBI. Left hander Bryce Armstrong will start versus CSUN as he sports a 4.94 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 23.2 innings.
Series History: The Bulldogs lead the Matadors 58-28 in the all-time series with wins in two-straight meetings. CSUN is making its first trip to Fresno State since an 8-2 loss in 2018.
#GoMatadors
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