CSUN Has Eyes on First Place in the Big West With Series Against Fullerton

GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif -- CSUN Softball (17-18, 10-4 Big West) will hit the road for its penultimate road trip when the Matadors take on the Cal State Fullerton Titans (24-14, 10-5 Big West) at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton. The two squads will face off in a night cap on Friday at 6:00 p.m. Then, on Saturday, there will be a doubleheader with the first pitch of the first game scheduled at 1:00 p.m. followed by game two tentatively to start at 3 p.m. All games will be livestreamed on ESPN+.

FOR STARTERS
CSUN enters this weekend second overall in the Big West standings at 10-4. The Matadors are one-half game back of UC Santa Barbara for that first overall spot. CSUN has yet to lose a Big West series so far this season. The Matadors swept Cal Poly and took two out of three from Long Beach State, UC Riverside and UC Davis. Earlier in Big West play, CSUN also split a doubleheader with Hawai'i on March 15, with game three set to be completed on April 23.

Cal State Fullerton enters this weekend with a 10-5 record in Big West play, only a half game away from second place currently occupied by the Matadors. The Titans swept UC San Diego, Long Beach State and Cal Poly. However, they have been swept by UC Santa Barbara, and lost a series to Hawai'i as well.

LAST TIME IN THE BATTER'S BOX
CSUN continued its Big West winning ways by taking a series from UC Davis this past weekend at Matador Diamond. CSUN won the first game of the doubleheader last Friday, 1-0 on the heels of a Lauryn Carranco complete game shutout. The Matadors scored their lone run off the bat of Tiara Westbrook who homered to center field in the third inning.

The Matadors would drop game two of the doubleheader, 7-1 despite an RBI from Gizella Vargas Sandoval. Finally, CSUN would take the series on Saturday, 12-1 in five innings via the run rule. Mikayla Carman and Westbrook each hit a home run in the win. Carranco earned the win for the Matadors, tossing her 14th complete game of the season. Seven different Matadors had a hit in the win.

LEADING THE BIG WEST IN PITCHING - YOUR CSUN MATADORS
In Big West play, CSUN is leading the conference in pitching statistics. The Matadors are number one in ERA in Big West games with a 2.29 mark. CSUN has allowed the fewest runs (41) and struck out 50 in 101 innings. CSUN has also allowed the second fewest hits with 95.

A YEAR DIFFERENCE IN BATTING AVERAGE
In 2024, CSUN was middle of the pack (6th) in batting average in the Big West at a .276 average. The Matadors have seen a major improvement in batting average so far in the 2025 campaign. As of this weekend, CSUN is second with a .315 clip, close to a 40-point difference from year to year. CSUN currently has six players batting over .300 with Alexis Chavez leading the team with a .386 average in 28 games played.

A HUNDRED WINS FOR COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
Charlotte Morgan reached a milestone this past weekend when the softball team defeated UC Davis, 12-1 in five innings Sunday at Matador Diamond. She reached her 100th win, making her the fifth coach ever in program history to reach such a milestone. Coach Morgan entered the 2025 campaign with 83 wins. She has done a wonderful job leading CSUN to 17 wins so far in 2025. In conference is where the Matadors have shined the most. CSUN is a half game out of first place with a Big West record of 10-4. The Matadors have already bested their 2024 Big West record of 9-18 with still 13 games left to play.

TIARA WESTBROOK - THE TRANSFER THAT BRINGS THE FIRE
Westbrook transferred to CSUN from Oregon State this past season and has already had an immediate impact on this Matador lineup. Earlier this season she had 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. Overall, Westbrook is leading the team in home runs with six, including two versus UC Davis this past week. She is leading the team in RBI's with 27 and in total bases with 59.

CARRANCO THE CAPTAIN IN THE CIRCLE
Carranco has been one of CSUN's top pitchers seemingly since she first put on the uniform her freshman year in 2023. She has had impressive numbers during her first two seasons, and her junior year is no different. The junior from Clovis is 10-6 with a 2.45 ERA (good enough for second in the Big West) against some very strong opponents. She has 14 complete games so far this season while tallying 79 strikeouts in the process. She already has 122 innings pitched in 22 appearances. Carranco was a Preseason All Big-West Team honoree and she is proving to be worthy of that accolade so far.

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON
The Titans are just a half game out of second place (where CSUN currently stands) entering this weekend's three-game matchup. Fullerton is currently leading the Big West in batting average at .350. The team currently has six players batting over .300. CSUF's best hitter is Ava Arce, who is currently batting .404 average with a 1.093 OPS. She leads the team in home runs with seven and also leads the squad in RBI's with 42. Fullerton is led in the circle by Trisha McCleskey, as she has a 3.70 ERA in 27 games played. McCleskey also has six complete games and two shutouts. Right behind Mcleskey is Eva Hurtado. Hurtado is 3-2 with a 3.50 ERA in 24 games played to go with three complete games.

Series History: CSUF leads the series history with an 83-39-1 record. CSUN's last win came on April 4th of last season where CSUN won 3-1 at Matador Diamond.

CSUN Has Eyes on First Place in the Big West With Series Against Fullerton

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Players Mentioned

Mikayla Carman

Lauryn Carranco

Alexis Chavez

Gizella Vargas Sandoval

Tiara Westbrook