Friday, March 21
Bakersfield, Calif.
6:30 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
at
Cal State Bakersfield
Photo by: Bella A Enriquez
CSUN Hits the Road to Face Cal State Bakersfield in Weekend Series
3/20/2025 1:06:00 PM | Baseball
GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball heads to Cal State Bakersfield this weekend for a three-game Big West series. The opener is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. with game two on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and the finale on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
FOR STARTERS
CSUN seeks its first conference win this weekend after opening the league season at 0-6. Despite the record, the Matadors have played the projected top two teams in the Big West to open the conference season while they have led in five total games including in the seventh inning or later in all three games against defending champion UC Santa Barbara. After this week's games in Bakersfield, CSUN will return home to open a Big West series with Hawai'i from March 28-30.
LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors got back on the winning track with a 12-2 run-rule win over Columbia on Tuesday at Robert J. Hiegert Field. CSUN racked up 12 hits in the win with seven extra base hits. Kyle Panganiban recorded a career-high four hits while Matthew Kurata and Jarren Sanderson hit home runs in the win. On the mound, freshman Max Mendes tossed three scoreless innings to begin the game and was credited with the win. CSUN scored three in the sixth along with five in the seventh to trigger the run-rule win in seven innings.
BECKER'S HOT START
True freshman Andrew Becker has emerged as a top hitter over the first month of the season. Becker has already racked up a team-high 18 hits and .375 batting average to go with nine runs scored, seven RBI and three doubles. In the Big West, Becker is ranked seventh in the league in hitting. The Solana Beach native is currently riding a 13-game on-base streak while he sports a team-best five multi-hit games on the year. Over his last 12 games, Becker has hit safely in 11 of them.
TOP MATADOR PERFORMERS
Junior Will Linberg holds a five-game hitting streak entering the weekend with four of those being two-hit efforts. Linberg is hitting .367 with five RBI in 12 games. At the top of the lineup, senior Roberto Gonzalez holds a team-best 16-game on-base streak while he has 16 hits, 11 walks, 10 runs scored, seven RBI and a .286 batting average. A redshirt freshman, Kyle Panganiban has eight hits over his last four games as he has raised his hitting average from .208 to .266.
On the pitching side, Saturday starter Diego Gutierrez paces the team with 21 strikeouts to go with sporting a 1-2 record and a 6.93 ERA. Sophomore Ryan Halamicek, who starts Friday at Cal State Bakersfield, has 20 strikeouts over 26.1 innings. In the bullpen, sophomore Gabriel Hernandez comes in with 16 strikeouts over 13.0 innings of work to go with a 3.46 ERA to lead the relievers.
SCOUTING CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD
The 'Runners are 7-16 overall and 2-1 in Big West play. Two weeks ago, Bakersfield took two of three games at UC San Diego, but the team has dropped six of its last seven games since including suffering a four-game sweep at Utah Tech. Cal State Bakersfield shares the Big West lead in walks with 100 to go with a team .247 batting average. Nick Mascaro leads the Big West with total hits at 35 and ranks second in batting at .389. Mascaro also tops the 'Runners with six homers while he shares the team lead in RBI with Brock Perreira at 14 apiece. On the mound, Jack Leary sports a team-high 23 strikeouts with a 5.29 ERA and Ryan King has 21 strikeouts with a 3.08 ERA.
Series History: CSUN leads Bakersfield 26-13 in the all-time series with wins over the last seven meetings. Last season, CSUN swept a three-game series at home but each game was decided by three runs or fewer. The Matador pitching staff held CSUB to seven runs over the three games. In 2023, the Matadors also swept a weekend series in their last trip to Bakersfield.
#GoMatadors
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball heads to Cal State Bakersfield this weekend for a three-game Big West series. The opener is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. with game two on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and the finale on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
FOR STARTERS
CSUN seeks its first conference win this weekend after opening the league season at 0-6. Despite the record, the Matadors have played the projected top two teams in the Big West to open the conference season while they have led in five total games including in the seventh inning or later in all three games against defending champion UC Santa Barbara. After this week's games in Bakersfield, CSUN will return home to open a Big West series with Hawai'i from March 28-30.
LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors got back on the winning track with a 12-2 run-rule win over Columbia on Tuesday at Robert J. Hiegert Field. CSUN racked up 12 hits in the win with seven extra base hits. Kyle Panganiban recorded a career-high four hits while Matthew Kurata and Jarren Sanderson hit home runs in the win. On the mound, freshman Max Mendes tossed three scoreless innings to begin the game and was credited with the win. CSUN scored three in the sixth along with five in the seventh to trigger the run-rule win in seven innings.
BECKER'S HOT START
True freshman Andrew Becker has emerged as a top hitter over the first month of the season. Becker has already racked up a team-high 18 hits and .375 batting average to go with nine runs scored, seven RBI and three doubles. In the Big West, Becker is ranked seventh in the league in hitting. The Solana Beach native is currently riding a 13-game on-base streak while he sports a team-best five multi-hit games on the year. Over his last 12 games, Becker has hit safely in 11 of them.
TOP MATADOR PERFORMERS
Junior Will Linberg holds a five-game hitting streak entering the weekend with four of those being two-hit efforts. Linberg is hitting .367 with five RBI in 12 games. At the top of the lineup, senior Roberto Gonzalez holds a team-best 16-game on-base streak while he has 16 hits, 11 walks, 10 runs scored, seven RBI and a .286 batting average. A redshirt freshman, Kyle Panganiban has eight hits over his last four games as he has raised his hitting average from .208 to .266.
On the pitching side, Saturday starter Diego Gutierrez paces the team with 21 strikeouts to go with sporting a 1-2 record and a 6.93 ERA. Sophomore Ryan Halamicek, who starts Friday at Cal State Bakersfield, has 20 strikeouts over 26.1 innings. In the bullpen, sophomore Gabriel Hernandez comes in with 16 strikeouts over 13.0 innings of work to go with a 3.46 ERA to lead the relievers.
SCOUTING CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD
The 'Runners are 7-16 overall and 2-1 in Big West play. Two weeks ago, Bakersfield took two of three games at UC San Diego, but the team has dropped six of its last seven games since including suffering a four-game sweep at Utah Tech. Cal State Bakersfield shares the Big West lead in walks with 100 to go with a team .247 batting average. Nick Mascaro leads the Big West with total hits at 35 and ranks second in batting at .389. Mascaro also tops the 'Runners with six homers while he shares the team lead in RBI with Brock Perreira at 14 apiece. On the mound, Jack Leary sports a team-high 23 strikeouts with a 5.29 ERA and Ryan King has 21 strikeouts with a 3.08 ERA.
Series History: CSUN leads Bakersfield 26-13 in the all-time series with wins over the last seven meetings. Last season, CSUN swept a three-game series at home but each game was decided by three runs or fewer. The Matador pitching staff held CSUB to seven runs over the three games. In 2023, the Matadors also swept a weekend series in their last trip to Bakersfield.
#GoMatadors
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