California State University at Northridge
UC Santa Barbara
Matadors Finish Regular Season at UC Santa Barbara
5/8/2024 9:00:00 AM | Softball
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STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE
CSUN (24-24, 8-16 Big West) hits the road for the final series of the regular season against UC Santa Barbara (18-27, 12-12 Big West) at UCSB Campus Diamond. The Matadors open the three-game series with a doubleheader slated to begin on Friday, May 10, at noon. They finish the series with the Gauchos on Saturday, May 11, at 1 p.m.
Tune in on ESPN+ and on @CSUNSoftball on Twitter for in-game updates. All games will have live stats. The links for the live stream and stats will be available on GoMatadors.com.
LAST IN THE BATTER'S BOX
Game One
UCLA won 14-5 on Tuesday afternoon against CSUN at Matador Diamond.The Bruins took an early lead as Maya Brady capitalized on a throwing error on a dropped ball in left field. The Bruins continued sounding off as they scored again in the top of the second on another error. The Bruins continued their momentum into the top of the third inning as they climbed to 5-0. The Matadors quickly responded in the bottom of the third as they loaded the bases with Whatman, Vinessa Nunez, and Carys Murakami. Sanchez put the Matadors on the board with a single to bring in Nunez. The Matadors then scored once more off an error by the Bruins to cut the deficit to 5-2. Mia Cortez followed with a sacrifice fly to bring in Whatman. The Matadors then capped the inning with a walk to pull to within 5-4.
The Bruins answered in the top of the fourth as Brady hit a single to increase their score. They would follow with a double and grounder to bring their lead to 8-4. CSUN refused to fold as Whatman hit a home run into right field to pull CSUN closer at 8-5. The Bruins didn't let the Matadors get any closer as they cracked open the game with a pair of singles and a grand slam to raise their lead to 14-5 in the top of the fifth inning. The Matadors tried to close the distance, but they were unable to.
Game Two
The game opened with a pitching duel as Lauryn Carranco and India Cladwell didn't allow any runners to score early on. The Matadors were the first to make it on the board in the bottom of the second inning as Jadyn Nielsen made it home off a Triton throwing error by the third baseman. The Tritons tried to respond in the top of the third with a single, but the Matadors shut them down. Carranco kept the UC San Diego bats silent as she struck out two batters in the top of the fourth and one more in the fifth. The Matadors couldn't keep quiet though, as Murakami hit a sacrifice bunt to bring in Kaylee Escutia in the bottom of the fifth for a 2-0 lead.Â
The Matadors cracked open the game in the sixth inning with five runs coming in. Jerzie Liana started the rally with a single into right field to bring in Carman. Mia Cortez followed by making it home on a fielder's choice. Vinessa Nunez kept the ball rolling with a single into right field to bring in Makenzie San Pedro and Liana. Whatman closed the rally with a double to bring in Nunez and raise CSUN to a 7-0 lead. The Tritons attempted a rally of their own as they hit two singles in the seventh, but the Matadors shut them down to take the win.Â
Game Three
The Matadors returned reinvigorated as they came out with their bats sounding off. Kylie Galindo grounded out to shortstop as Whatman made it home. Sanchez brought in the second run off another error by the Tritons for a 2-0 lead. The Tritons attempted to answer with a triple sent into right field, but Isabella Alonso left the runner stranded in the second. The Matadors continued their momentum in the third inning as Carman made it home on a throwing error by UC San Diego. Cortez carried the Matadors to a 4-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to bring in Galindo.Â
The Tritons struck back in the top of the fourth inning with a single into center field and another into right to cut the deficit in half at 4-2. Alonso kept her cool and didn't allow another run as she struck out the batter to shut down the Triton rally. The Matadors added to their lead again in the fourth as Murakami hit a sacrifice fly into center field to bring Escutia home. Carman followed with a double to raise CSUN to 7-2 as Sanchez and Whatman scored. The Matadors continued to strike in the fifth inning as Escutia hit a double down the right field line to bring in Kennedy Gustin. Maddie Padilla then claimed the game at 10-2 for the Matadors as she singled into center field to bring in Gustin and Carman.
Game Four
The Tritons came out swinging as they took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The first to score was off a double sent flying into left center by Hailey Mulligan. UC San Diego continued its momentum with a single up the middle off the bat of Brooklyn Lee to bring in two runners. The Tritons continued to score in the top of the third inning as Deena Pederson hit a double to bring in Mulligan. Alexa DeMarse kept the score climbing with a single to bring in Pederson. Marissa Hassis would close the scoring with a single to bring in DeMarse for a 6-0 lead.Â
The Matadors didn't stay silent for long as they answered in the bottom of the third inning. Murakami began the tide change with a single sent to shortstop. Sanchez would put the Matadors on the board as she hit a triple into left center to bring in Murakami. Carman would follow with her own single to bring in Sanchez. Cortez rounded off the inning with a single to bring in Carman and cut the deficit in half at 6-3. The Tritons tried to respond, but Ortiz kept her cool and retired all three batters in a row. CSUN wouldn't stay silent as the Matadors continued their momentum into the fourth inning. Whatman would add another run for CSUN as she hit a single up the middle to bring in Nielsen. Carman followed with a double down the left field line to bring in Whatman and Murakami to tie the game at 6-6.Â
UC San Diego tried to score again in the top of the fifth, but Ortiz quickly shut down the Tritons once more. CSUN's bats continued to sound off as the Matadors took the lead with a single from Murakami to bring in Escutia for a 7-6 lead. The Tritons didn't let the Matadors hold the lead for long as they scored on a throwing error by the Matadors to tie the game. Alonso stepped in the circle soon after and retired the next three batters to keep the Tritons from taking the lead back. The Matadors would take back the lead with a single into right center by Chavez to bring in Gustin and Whatman. The Tritons tried to rally in the top of the seventh, but Alonso kept her cool and retired all three batters to seal the victory for CSUN.Â
ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA
The Gauchos are coming off a 7-6 loss after taking the series 2-1 against UC Riverside. UC Santa Barbara adds seven freshmen to its roster this season. Senior Madelyn McNally leads the team with a .435 batting average. She also leads in runs (43) and hits (67). Freshman Ainsley Waddell leads the team in RBIs with 33. Sophomore pitcher Malaya Johnson has pitched for 92.2 innings and tallied 48 strikeouts while maintaining a 3.10 ERA. Head coach Jo Evans is in her second year at the helm. CSUN leads series history with 78 wins, 44 losses, and one tie. The last time the Matadors faced the Gauchos was in 2023 when the CSUN swept the series 3-0 after the final game ended at 9-5 after eight innings.Â
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