Saturday, March 29
Riverside, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
15-16, 8-3
2
at
3
UC Riverside
15-20, 6-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
R
H
E
Cal State Northridge
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
8
0
UC Riverside
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
3
8
2
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
Matadors Fall to Highlanders in Walk-Off Fashion, 3-2
3/29/2025 4:34:00 PM | Softball
RIVERSIDE, Calif -- CSUN Softball dropped the last game of the series versus the UC Riverside Highlanders, 3-2 in 11 innings at Amy S. Harrison Softball Field Saturday afternoon. Jadyn Nielsen, Kylie Galindo, and Gisella Vargas Sandoval each had two hits in the defeat. Lauryn Carranco pitched five innings, only allowing one run.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
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After a scoreless first inning from both sides, Jerzie Liana kicked things off in the second with a triple to right field. The next batter, Galindo, singled to right field and scored Liana. Just like that it was 1-0 Matadors.
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In the third inning, Nielsen got a rally started with a base hit to center. Tiara Westbrook then hit a long single over the right fielder's head and Nielsen was able to score on a throwing error. That costly mistake for the Highlanders added another run for CSUN to go ahead 2-0.
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In the bottom of the third, UCR got one back. A home run to left field off the bat of Eta Lauti cut the lead in half, making it 2-1 through three innings.
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Carraco picked up right where she left off yesterday. Through five innings, she only allowed that one run with two hits, and she struck out three in the process. She did a great job pitching to contact and she prevented any big rallies.Â
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Fast forward to the bottom of the sixth, UCR would tie things up. Isabella Alonso entered the game for Carranco, and she hit the first batter she saw. The next batter grounded out, but the lead runner advanced to second. The following hitter singled to left center and the tying run scored, making it a 2-2 game.
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In the top of the seventh, the Matadors threatened but couldn't get the go ahead run across. A walk from Rhea Furtado got a runner on base and she advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. The next batter, Mikayla Carman, reached on a fielding error, but Furtado was thrown out at home trying to capitalize on the error.
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In the bottom of the seventh, the Highlanders put the Matadors in a real tough spot. The had the bases loaded with nobody out. Knowing that any mistake would cost CSUN the game, the defense had to be on their toes. With nobody out, Alonso got the batter to strike out. The next batter, Rebeca Cabezas, tried a suicide squeeze but was unsuccessful as the runner was out at home. Alonso then got the next batter to pop out in foul territory to send the game into extras.Â
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Pitching and defense was the name of the game for the upcoming innings. There were no runs across heading into the 11th inning.
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With no score for four innings, UC Riverside batted in the bottom of the 11th, only needing one to win. Trendee Kahunahana of the Highlanders hit a ball over the left field wall for a walk-off home run to end the game.
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NEWS AND NOTES
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
"Hats off the UCR, they did a great job coming through. I thought Lauryn and Isabella did a great job in the circle. We have to be way better offensively and defensively. This one hurts. We'll use this one to learn and move on. We'll be better.
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UP NEXT
CSUN will travel to Westwood to take on No. 7 UCLA Tuesday night at 5:00 p.m. The game will be live streamed on Big 10+.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
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After a scoreless first inning from both sides, Jerzie Liana kicked things off in the second with a triple to right field. The next batter, Galindo, singled to right field and scored Liana. Just like that it was 1-0 Matadors.
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In the third inning, Nielsen got a rally started with a base hit to center. Tiara Westbrook then hit a long single over the right fielder's head and Nielsen was able to score on a throwing error. That costly mistake for the Highlanders added another run for CSUN to go ahead 2-0.
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In the bottom of the third, UCR got one back. A home run to left field off the bat of Eta Lauti cut the lead in half, making it 2-1 through three innings.
Â
Carraco picked up right where she left off yesterday. Through five innings, she only allowed that one run with two hits, and she struck out three in the process. She did a great job pitching to contact and she prevented any big rallies.Â
Â
Fast forward to the bottom of the sixth, UCR would tie things up. Isabella Alonso entered the game for Carranco, and she hit the first batter she saw. The next batter grounded out, but the lead runner advanced to second. The following hitter singled to left center and the tying run scored, making it a 2-2 game.
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In the top of the seventh, the Matadors threatened but couldn't get the go ahead run across. A walk from Rhea Furtado got a runner on base and she advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. The next batter, Mikayla Carman, reached on a fielding error, but Furtado was thrown out at home trying to capitalize on the error.
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In the bottom of the seventh, the Highlanders put the Matadors in a real tough spot. The had the bases loaded with nobody out. Knowing that any mistake would cost CSUN the game, the defense had to be on their toes. With nobody out, Alonso got the batter to strike out. The next batter, Rebeca Cabezas, tried a suicide squeeze but was unsuccessful as the runner was out at home. Alonso then got the next batter to pop out in foul territory to send the game into extras.Â
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Pitching and defense was the name of the game for the upcoming innings. There were no runs across heading into the 11th inning.
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With no score for four innings, UC Riverside batted in the bottom of the 11th, only needing one to win. Trendee Kahunahana of the Highlanders hit a ball over the left field wall for a walk-off home run to end the game.
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NEWS AND NOTES
- With the defeat, CSUN is now 15-16 on the year and 8-3 in Big West play.
- Galindo accounted for the only Matador RBI on the afternoon.
- Westbrook has now hit safely in six consecutive games.
- Carranco has lowered her ERA to 2.58 on the season.
- Today was CSUN's first extra innings loss since Feb. 28
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
"Hats off the UCR, they did a great job coming through. I thought Lauryn and Isabella did a great job in the circle. We have to be way better offensively and defensively. This one hurts. We'll use this one to learn and move on. We'll be better.
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UP NEXT
CSUN will travel to Westwood to take on No. 7 UCLA Tuesday night at 5:00 p.m. The game will be live streamed on Big 10+.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: PEREZ, B. (3-5)
L: Alonso, Isabella (7-8)
Batting:
3B: Liana, Jerzie 1
RBI: Galindo, Kylie 1
SH: Vargas Sandoval, Gizella 1 ; Jackson, Raegan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nielsen, Jadyn 1 ; Liana, Jerzie 1
Batting:
HR: LAUTI, E. 1 ; KAHUNAHANA 1
RBI: LAUTI, E. 1 ; SAOLE, H. 1 ; KAHUNAHANA 1
SH: EVERETT, R. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LAUTI, E. 2 ; KAHUNAHANA 1
SB: ALDAY, J. 1
HBP: LAUTI, E. 1 ; ALDAY, J. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
P/SS
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball1B/OF
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