CSUN Kicks-Off Big West Play in San Luis Obispo

GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif -- CSUN Softball (7-12) is hitting the road this weekend to kick-off Big West play when it heads to San Luis Obispo to take on Cal Poly for a three-game series. The Matadors will battle the Mustangs in a doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch at 1:00 p.m. followed by a 3:00 p.m. game. They will finish play with a third game on Sunday as that one is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. You can follow live stats on gomatadors.com

LAST TIME IN THE BATTER'S BOX
The Matadors went 3-1 in the CSUN Champions Classic last weekend. CSUN picked up its first win of the tournament on Feb 28 when it defeated Montana 9-1 in a six-inning run rule. Alexa Landeros hit her first home run of the year in the victory.

In CSUN's second win, the Matadors bested Montana the next day on March 1, 4-0 CSUN won on the heels of a complete game shutout by Lauryn Carranco.

Lastly, in CSUN's last game of the tournament, the Matadors defeated Fairleigh Dickinson via run rule, 9-1 in five innings. CSUN won the game on a walk-off single from star hitter Mikayla Carman. Isabella Alonso allowed just one run in five innings pitched.

CARRANCO THE CAPTAIN IN THE CIRCLE
Lauryn Carranco has been the best Matador pitcher seemingly since she first put on the uniform her freshman year. She has had impressive numbers during her first two seasons, and her junior year is no different. The junior from Clovis is 4-5 with a 3.91 ERA against some very strong opponents. She has eight complete games so far this season while tallying 48 strikeouts in the process. She already has 66 innings pitched in 12 appearances. Carranco was a Preseason All Big-West Team honoree and she is proving to be worthy of that accolade so far.

CARMAN THE CAPTAIN IN THE OUTFIELD
Outfielder and senior Mikayla Carman has been a leader on the offensive side of the ball so far in this young campaign. She has started in all 19 games and has a .368 batting average with a .507 on base percentage. She gets hits, 21 to be exact. And she draws walks, 13 of them to be exact, as she leads the team by far in that category. Carman was also selected to the Preseason All Big-West Team, and so far she is living up to the billing.

THE TRANSFER PUTTING THE TEAM ON NOTICE

Tiara Westbrook is quickly making her mark after transferring from Oregon State in the offseason. She is coming off a superb performance in the Mary Nutter Classic. Westbrook took Big West Player of the Week honors for her contributions. She batted .588 with a .882 slugging percentage. She amassed 10 hits in 17 at bats with 15 total bases. She had a total of one home run and six runs batted in. She was a focal point in both of the Matadors' wins in the classic. Against BYU, Westbrook went 3-4 with three runs batted in. Her three runs batted in accounted for half of the runs scored in the win. In the Matadors' victory by run rule against the Spartans, Westbrook tallied two hits, two runs and two runs batted in for her three at bats. Her two runs batted in came via the home run ball, the first of her Matador career. Westbrook currently leads the team in batting average at an impressive .383 mark.

SCOUTING CAL POLY
The Mustangs enter Saturday with a 4-13 record. Cal Poly recently was a part of the Louisville Slugger Invitational where it went 1-3, its lone win coming against LMU, 4-3.

Cal Poly was selected fifth in the Big West Preseason Poll, a year after finishing third in the Big West standings with an 18-8 mark.

The Mustangs' biggest offensive threat has to be catcher Julia Barnett. She is leading the Mustangs with a .382 (21-for-55) batting average and, among conference players, ranking eighth with five doubles and 17 hits. She also tops Cal Poly in total bases (29), RBI (12) and slugging percentage (.527).

Series History: CSUN leads the all-time series, 89-62-1. CSUN's last win against Cal Poly was on March 19, 2023 in San Luis Obispo, a 2-1 win that was a part of a series win over the Mustangs.

CSUN Kicks-Off Big West Play in San Luis Obispo

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Players Mentioned

Isabella Alonso

Mikayla Carman

Lauryn Carranco

Alexa Landeros

Tiara Westbrook