Sunday, March 16
Northridge, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
2-14, 0-6
2
vs
6
UC Irvine
14-5, 5-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UC Irvine
0
0
1
0
2
1
0
1
1
6
11
0
CSUN
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
7
1
Photo by: Bella A Enriquez
CSUN Falls 6-2 to UC Irvine in Series Finale
3/16/2025 4:38:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball received a six-plus strong innings from starter Diego Gutierrez, but the Matadors would fall 6-2 to UC Irvine on Sunday at Robert J. Hiegert Field. Gutierrez tossed 6.2 innings, striking out five batters while allowing four runs, three of which were earned. The Matadors though would leave 13 on base in the series finale.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gutierrez opened the game by retiring eight consecutive batters for the Matadors, picking up four strikeouts along the way. Meanwhile, CSUN would load the bases with one out in the bottom of the first, but UCI's Ryder Brooks struck out two straight batters to escape unscathed.
CSUN though did break the scoreless tie in the bottom of the second. Royce Clayton, Jr. and Trent Abel picked up back-to-back hits to put runners at the corners then Kyle Panganiban followed with a safety squeeze to push across the first run of the game.
The lead though only lasted to the top of the third when Blake Penso belted a solo home run off Gutierrez to square the game at 1-1. Gutierrez would bounce back to retire the next four Anteaters, however, UCI struck again in the fifth. A hit batter and a single set the table in the fifth before a 4-6-3 double play allowed the go-ahead run to score. Moments later, Alonso Reyes stroked a solo homer to left center to push the lead to 3-1.
The Matadors appeared they would strike back in the bottom of the fifth when they loaded the bases with just one out. However, reliever David Butler worked his way out of trouble by retiring the next two batters to keep the lead at two.
An error in the sixth with two outs allowed UCI to tack on another run, while an inning later, CSUN would threaten once more when Colton Boardman led off with a single and Clayton drew a walk. Butler though responded by sitting down the next three Matador batters. CSUN also left two more stranded in the bottom of the seventh after Linberg and Xavier Rios drew one-out walks.
UCI picked up single tallies in the eighth and ninth to take a 6-1 lead to the bottom of the ninth. Down to the Matadors' final three outs, Andrew Becker began a rally with a one-out single, and he would eventually score on a two-out hit from Linberg. The Matadors though would not get any closer as reliever Max Martin shut the door for UCI.
NOTES OF THE GAME
"Northridge is not easy to pitch at and Diego has a great attitude about it. He's matured. I still remember his first start, he couldn't get out of the first inning, but he gave us a chance. Unfortunately, offensively the story this season has been we can get them on, but we can't get them in, so we've got to do a better job of converting when we've got chances."
UP NEXT
CSUN will stay at home to play Columbia on Tuesday afternoon at Robert J. Hiegert Field on ESPN+. First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
Gutierrez opened the game by retiring eight consecutive batters for the Matadors, picking up four strikeouts along the way. Meanwhile, CSUN would load the bases with one out in the bottom of the first, but UCI's Ryder Brooks struck out two straight batters to escape unscathed.
CSUN though did break the scoreless tie in the bottom of the second. Royce Clayton, Jr. and Trent Abel picked up back-to-back hits to put runners at the corners then Kyle Panganiban followed with a safety squeeze to push across the first run of the game.
The lead though only lasted to the top of the third when Blake Penso belted a solo home run off Gutierrez to square the game at 1-1. Gutierrez would bounce back to retire the next four Anteaters, however, UCI struck again in the fifth. A hit batter and a single set the table in the fifth before a 4-6-3 double play allowed the go-ahead run to score. Moments later, Alonso Reyes stroked a solo homer to left center to push the lead to 3-1.
The Matadors appeared they would strike back in the bottom of the fifth when they loaded the bases with just one out. However, reliever David Butler worked his way out of trouble by retiring the next two batters to keep the lead at two.
An error in the sixth with two outs allowed UCI to tack on another run, while an inning later, CSUN would threaten once more when Colton Boardman led off with a single and Clayton drew a walk. Butler though responded by sitting down the next three Matador batters. CSUN also left two more stranded in the bottom of the seventh after Linberg and Xavier Rios drew one-out walks.
UCI picked up single tallies in the eighth and ninth to take a 6-1 lead to the bottom of the ninth. Down to the Matadors' final three outs, Andrew Becker began a rally with a one-out single, and he would eventually score on a two-out hit from Linberg. The Matadors though would not get any closer as reliever Max Martin shut the door for UCI.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN drops to 2-14 overall and 0-6 in Big West play while UC Irvine improves to 14-5 overall and 5-1 in conference.
- Gonzalez has reached base safely in 15 straight games while Becker has reached in 12 in a row.
- Becker recorded his team-best fifth multiple-hit game of the season.
- Linberg has now hit safely in four consecutive games.
"Northridge is not easy to pitch at and Diego has a great attitude about it. He's matured. I still remember his first start, he couldn't get out of the first inning, but he gave us a chance. Unfortunately, offensively the story this season has been we can get them on, but we can't get them in, so we've got to do a better job of converting when we've got chances."
UP NEXT
CSUN will stay at home to play Columbia on Tuesday afternoon at Robert J. Hiegert Field on ESPN+. First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Butler, David (1-1)
L: Gutierrez, Diego (1-2)
S: Martin, Max (4)
Batting:
2B: Bermudez, Will 1 ; Penso, Blake 1
HR: Reyes, Alonso 1 ; Penso, Blake 1
RBI: Bermudez, Will 1 ; Martinez, Anthony 1 ; Reyes, Alonso 1 ; Penso, Blake 1
SH: Yeaman, Colin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bermudez, Will 1 ; Yeaman, Colin 1 ; Call, Chase 1 ; Reyes, Alonso 1 ; Penso, Blake 2
CS: Call, Chase 1
HBP: Call, Chase 1 ; Reyes, Alonso 1
Batting:
2B: Clayton, Jr., Royce 1
RBI: Panganiban, Kyle 1 ; Linberg, Will 1
SH: Panganiban, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Becker, Andrew 1 ; Clayton, Jr., Royce 1
HBP: Gonzalez, Roberto 2 ; Gauna, Andrew 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
3b/2b
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
C/INF
/ 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