Tuesday, April 30
Northridge, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
San Diego State
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Hosts Final Midweek Against San Diego State
4/29/2024 6:54:00 PM | Baseball
GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball wraps up its non-conference schedule with its final midweek game on Tuesday at Matador Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. with Ghizal Hasan on the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
San Diego State at CSUN
RHP Aidan Russell (0-2, 8.68 ERA) vs. LHP Destin Allen-Fox (0-0, 3.60 ERA)
LEADING OFF
CSUN comes in with an eight-game win streak after completing a three-game sweep of Cal State Bakersfield at Matador Field. With four weeks left in the regular season, CSUN (14-4) is in a three-way tie for first place with UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara in The Big West while Cal Poly is in the hunt at 15-6 in conference play.
The Matadors' final non-conference game is a return meeting with San Diego State as CSUN looks for the season sweep. After Tuesday's game, the Matadors' final 12 games will be against Big West competition, starting this weekend in Honolulu versus Hawai'i in a three-game series. CSUN will return home on Friday, May 10 for the start of a three-game series with defending Big West champion UC San Diego.
LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors won their fifth consecutive Big West series by sweeping Cal State Bakersfield last weekend. CSUN though had to pull out three close games to complete the sweep as the Matadors won by a combined six runs. In game one, Will Linberg broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth with an RBI triple while Thomas Bainton worked into the seventh inning in a 5-3 victory. Bakersfield would rally to tie game two in the top of the ninth before Shunsuke Sakaino executed a squeeze bunt to bring home Andrew Sojka for a walk-off 5-4 victory that clinched the series. In the finale, Justin Vose worked a season-high six shutout innings and Diego Gutierrez pitched the final three innings to complete a four-hut shutout in a CSUN 3-0 triumph.
SURGING AT THE PLATE
Andrew Sojka has worked his way into the starting lineup as of late as the senior hit .636 in the four CSUN wins last week (7-for-11). During an eight-game hit streak, Sojka has improved his hitting average from .177 to a season-high .287. Shunsuke Sakaino is also coming off a strong weekend series where he drove in four runs including a game-winning bunt single on Saturday and a two-run triple on Sunday. Sakaino is up to a .297 batting average with 22 RBI on the year.
Kevin Fitzer, who returned to the lineup over the weekend, is slashing .392/.500/.800 with 10 homers, 38 RBI, 34 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. Jakob Simons remains the team leader in homers (15) and RBI (51) while he has 49 runs, 12 stolen bases and a .331 batting average. Jarren Sanderson is second on the team in batting at .348 followed by Kamau Neighbors at a .338 average.
ON THE MOUND
Freshman Destin Allen-Fox makes his third consecutive Tuesday start this week against San Diego State. Allen-Fox has not figured into the decision over the past two starts but has only allowed one run over seven total innings. On the season, Allen-Fox has a 3.60 ERA with 13 strikeouts in five appearances.
Over the weekend, Joshua Romero notched his Big West-leading eighth win of the season while he also picked up his seventh save. Romero tops the team with 18 appearances, all out of the bullpen, while racking up 25 strikeouts and a 2.12 ERA in 29.2 innings.
BIG WEST LEADERBOARDS
The Matadors lead The Big West in triples this season with 12 while they are second in batting average (.294), runs (316), hits (414), home runs (42), RBI (283), sacrifice hits (43) and stolen bases (63). Individually, Kevin Fitzer tops the conference in OPS (1.300), slugging percentage (.800) and he ranks second in home runs (10) and total bases (96). Jakob Simons also ranks first in the league in homers (15) and total bases (106) and second in slugging percentage (.702), RBI (51) and runs scored (49).
ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE
The Aztecs are 11-32 on the season with a 5-16 mark in the Mountain West Conference. SDSU looks to snap a nine-game skid after dropping three games over the weekend at New Mexico. The team has played 15 games already against Big West teams, posting a 4-11 record. Colby Turner, who has not played since April 10, tops the Aztecs in batting at .378 with four homers and 29 RBI. Shaun Montoya is hitting at a .318 clip with 36 runs scored while Irvin Weems has a team-high six homers to go with 26 RBI. On the mound, Aidan Russell earns the Tuesday start against CSUN as he holds a 0-2 record, 8.68 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 12 appearances.
Series History: San Diego State leads CSUN 47-43 in the all-time series, but the Matadors have won the last three meetings. On Feb. 21, CSUN rallied from a late 5-4 deficit by scoring three runs over the last two innings for a 7-5 victory at Tony Gwynn Stadium. CSUN is hosting San Diego State for the first time since 2019.
#GoMatadors
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball wraps up its non-conference schedule with its final midweek game on Tuesday at Matador Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. with Ghizal Hasan on the call at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
San Diego State at CSUN
RHP Aidan Russell (0-2, 8.68 ERA) vs. LHP Destin Allen-Fox (0-0, 3.60 ERA)
LEADING OFF
CSUN comes in with an eight-game win streak after completing a three-game sweep of Cal State Bakersfield at Matador Field. With four weeks left in the regular season, CSUN (14-4) is in a three-way tie for first place with UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara in The Big West while Cal Poly is in the hunt at 15-6 in conference play.
The Matadors' final non-conference game is a return meeting with San Diego State as CSUN looks for the season sweep. After Tuesday's game, the Matadors' final 12 games will be against Big West competition, starting this weekend in Honolulu versus Hawai'i in a three-game series. CSUN will return home on Friday, May 10 for the start of a three-game series with defending Big West champion UC San Diego.
LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors won their fifth consecutive Big West series by sweeping Cal State Bakersfield last weekend. CSUN though had to pull out three close games to complete the sweep as the Matadors won by a combined six runs. In game one, Will Linberg broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth with an RBI triple while Thomas Bainton worked into the seventh inning in a 5-3 victory. Bakersfield would rally to tie game two in the top of the ninth before Shunsuke Sakaino executed a squeeze bunt to bring home Andrew Sojka for a walk-off 5-4 victory that clinched the series. In the finale, Justin Vose worked a season-high six shutout innings and Diego Gutierrez pitched the final three innings to complete a four-hut shutout in a CSUN 3-0 triumph.
SURGING AT THE PLATE
Andrew Sojka has worked his way into the starting lineup as of late as the senior hit .636 in the four CSUN wins last week (7-for-11). During an eight-game hit streak, Sojka has improved his hitting average from .177 to a season-high .287. Shunsuke Sakaino is also coming off a strong weekend series where he drove in four runs including a game-winning bunt single on Saturday and a two-run triple on Sunday. Sakaino is up to a .297 batting average with 22 RBI on the year.
Kevin Fitzer, who returned to the lineup over the weekend, is slashing .392/.500/.800 with 10 homers, 38 RBI, 34 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. Jakob Simons remains the team leader in homers (15) and RBI (51) while he has 49 runs, 12 stolen bases and a .331 batting average. Jarren Sanderson is second on the team in batting at .348 followed by Kamau Neighbors at a .338 average.
ON THE MOUND
Freshman Destin Allen-Fox makes his third consecutive Tuesday start this week against San Diego State. Allen-Fox has not figured into the decision over the past two starts but has only allowed one run over seven total innings. On the season, Allen-Fox has a 3.60 ERA with 13 strikeouts in five appearances.
Over the weekend, Joshua Romero notched his Big West-leading eighth win of the season while he also picked up his seventh save. Romero tops the team with 18 appearances, all out of the bullpen, while racking up 25 strikeouts and a 2.12 ERA in 29.2 innings.
BIG WEST LEADERBOARDS
The Matadors lead The Big West in triples this season with 12 while they are second in batting average (.294), runs (316), hits (414), home runs (42), RBI (283), sacrifice hits (43) and stolen bases (63). Individually, Kevin Fitzer tops the conference in OPS (1.300), slugging percentage (.800) and he ranks second in home runs (10) and total bases (96). Jakob Simons also ranks first in the league in homers (15) and total bases (106) and second in slugging percentage (.702), RBI (51) and runs scored (49).
ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE
The Aztecs are 11-32 on the season with a 5-16 mark in the Mountain West Conference. SDSU looks to snap a nine-game skid after dropping three games over the weekend at New Mexico. The team has played 15 games already against Big West teams, posting a 4-11 record. Colby Turner, who has not played since April 10, tops the Aztecs in batting at .378 with four homers and 29 RBI. Shaun Montoya is hitting at a .318 clip with 36 runs scored while Irvin Weems has a team-high six homers to go with 26 RBI. On the mound, Aidan Russell earns the Tuesday start against CSUN as he holds a 0-2 record, 8.68 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 12 appearances.
Series History: San Diego State leads CSUN 47-43 in the all-time series, but the Matadors have won the last three meetings. On Feb. 21, CSUN rallied from a late 5-4 deficit by scoring three runs over the last two innings for a 7-5 victory at Tony Gwynn Stadium. CSUN is hosting San Diego State for the first time since 2019.
#GoMatadors
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