Friday, May 17
Northridge, Calif.
3:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
29-20, 15-10
2
vs
14
#22 UC Santa Barbara
37-12, 21-4
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UC Santa Barbara
0
1
1
0
2
1
8
0
1
14
16
1
CSUN
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
2
6
1
Photo by: Connor Clark
CSUN Drops Series Opener to UCSB
5/17/2024 6:05:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball fell 14-2 to No. 22 UC Santa Barbara on Friday afternoon at Matador Field. Ben Griffin and Will Linberg drove in the Matadors' two runs on the day while Shunsuke Sakaino reached base three times.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kenji Pallares earned the spot Friday start for CSUN and did his best to slow down the high-powered Gaucho offense over his six innings of work. Pallares retired the first four batters to begin the game, but a pair of hits from UCSB produced the game's first run in the top of the second.
Pallares allowed two of the first three batters to reach in the third inning, but he would limit the damage. Aaron Parker would line out with the bases loaded, bringing in UCSB's second run on a sacrifice fly. Moments later, Pallares retired Nick Oakley to strand two base runners.
The game remained after Pallares tossed a 1-2-3 top of the fourth. The Gauchos though leaned on the long ball in the fifth with Ivan Brethowr belting a two-run homer for a 4-0 lead. Pallares allowed the next two Gauchos to reach base, but he bounced back to retire Parker on a flyout and induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
UCSB stretched its lead further in the fifth inning as Jonah Sebring hit a solo homer to put the Gauchos ahead 5-0.
On the flip side, CSUN could not get much going against starter Ryan Gallagher all afternoon. Over the first five-plus innings, Gallagher was perfect on the mound as he retired the first 16 batters to begin the game. The Matadors though put together their best scoring chance in the sixth without the benefit of a hit. Griffin drew a walk to break up the perfect game with one out in the sixth. Gallagher would walk two of the next three batters, loading the bases for Jakob Simons with two outs. A comeback though was not in the cards as Gallagher retired Simons on a foul out to end the threat.
UCSB broke open the game against CSUN's bullpen in the seventh. A total of 11 hitters came to the plate with the Gauchos hitting three home runs including Brethowr who smacked a three-run shot to left.
CSUN would break up the no-hitter in the seventh against Gallagher with Andrew Sojka roping a base hit to right center. The Matadors then got on the scoreboard two batters later on an RBI single from Griffin. In the eighth, CSUN scored another run on a fielder's choice off the bat of Linberg, scoring Shunsuke Sakaino from third. The Matadors eventually loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but Andrew Gauna was robbed of a base hit on a diving catch from Jessada Brown in left center.
NOTES OF THE GAME
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"Kenji gave a good effort. There weren't enough plays made behind him and we never were able to shift momentum to our side because we couldn't make any adjustments. We became a one-dimensional offense today. Against good teams that can't be the case, so we'll see how good of group we are at learning."
UP NEXT
CSUN and UC Santa Barbara play game two of their weekend series on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kenji Pallares earned the spot Friday start for CSUN and did his best to slow down the high-powered Gaucho offense over his six innings of work. Pallares retired the first four batters to begin the game, but a pair of hits from UCSB produced the game's first run in the top of the second.
Pallares allowed two of the first three batters to reach in the third inning, but he would limit the damage. Aaron Parker would line out with the bases loaded, bringing in UCSB's second run on a sacrifice fly. Moments later, Pallares retired Nick Oakley to strand two base runners.
The game remained after Pallares tossed a 1-2-3 top of the fourth. The Gauchos though leaned on the long ball in the fifth with Ivan Brethowr belting a two-run homer for a 4-0 lead. Pallares allowed the next two Gauchos to reach base, but he bounced back to retire Parker on a flyout and induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
UCSB stretched its lead further in the fifth inning as Jonah Sebring hit a solo homer to put the Gauchos ahead 5-0.
On the flip side, CSUN could not get much going against starter Ryan Gallagher all afternoon. Over the first five-plus innings, Gallagher was perfect on the mound as he retired the first 16 batters to begin the game. The Matadors though put together their best scoring chance in the sixth without the benefit of a hit. Griffin drew a walk to break up the perfect game with one out in the sixth. Gallagher would walk two of the next three batters, loading the bases for Jakob Simons with two outs. A comeback though was not in the cards as Gallagher retired Simons on a foul out to end the threat.
UCSB broke open the game against CSUN's bullpen in the seventh. A total of 11 hitters came to the plate with the Gauchos hitting three home runs including Brethowr who smacked a three-run shot to left.
CSUN would break up the no-hitter in the seventh against Gallagher with Andrew Sojka roping a base hit to right center. The Matadors then got on the scoreboard two batters later on an RBI single from Griffin. In the eighth, CSUN scored another run on a fielder's choice off the bat of Linberg, scoring Shunsuke Sakaino from third. The Matadors eventually loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but Andrew Gauna was robbed of a base hit on a diving catch from Jessada Brown in left center.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN drops to 29-20 overall and 15-10 in Big West play while UCSB improves to 37-12 and 21-4.
- Pallares worked six innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits to go with four strikeouts.
- Simons went 1-for-4 to extend his on-base streak to eight.
ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"Kenji gave a good effort. There weren't enough plays made behind him and we never were able to shift momentum to our side because we couldn't make any adjustments. We became a one-dimensional offense today. Against good teams that can't be the case, so we'll see how good of group we are at learning."
UP NEXT
CSUN and UC Santa Barbara play game two of their weekend series on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: R. Gallagher (8-1)
L: Pallares, Kenji (0-2)
Batting:
2B: R. Calvin 1 ; N. Oakley 1 ; J. Sebring 1
HR: I. Brethowr 2 ; J. Brown 1 ; J. Sebring 1 ; J. Trimble 1
RBI: I. Brethowr 4 ; J. Brown 2 ; A. Parker 2 ; J. Sebring 3 ; J. Trimble 3
SF: A. Parker 1 ; J. Sebring 1
Base Running:
RUNS: I. Brethowr 2 ; J. Brown 1 ; Z. Darby 1 ; A. Parker 1 ; N. Oakley 2 ; J. Mendez 1 ; J. Sebring 1 ; J. Trimble 2 ; L. McCollum 3
HBP: Z. Darby 1 ; J. Trimble 1
Batting:
RBI: Linberg, Will 1 ; Griffin, Ben 1
SH: Le, Mason 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sakaino, Shunsuke 1 ; Sojka, Andrew 1
HBP: Simons, Jakob 1 ; Gauna, Andrew 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
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