Tuesday, April 29
Northridge, Calif.
5:30 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
USC
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Baseball Returns Home to Face USC
4/28/2025 5:28:00 PM | Baseball
GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calir.---CSUN Baseball opens a four-game homestand on Tuesday when the Matadors take on USC at Robert J. Hiegert Field. First pitch is set for 5:35 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call.
FOR STARTERS
CSUN looks to stay on the winning track after taking the final two games of its series at Long Beach State over the weekend. Despite averaging 7.3 runs over its last nine games at home, CSUN is looking to post its first win at home since March 28. Tuesday's game with USC is the Matadors' final home non-conference game while two more midweek games still remain on the schedule at San Diego State (May 6) and at USC (May 13). This weekend, the Matadors open a three-game home series with UC Riverside in Big West action.
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
The Matadors secured their second Big West series win of the year, taking two of three games from Long Beach State at Blair Field. The Dirtbags rallied for a 13-7 in game one, scoring 10 unanswered runs over the middle innings. In game two, CSUN scored six early runs and produced its best pitching effort of the season in a 6-0 shutout win. The rubber game would last for nearly five hours and go 11 innings before the Matadors prevailed 13-12. The series win over Long Beach State was CSUN's fourth consecutive against the Dirtbags.
Kyle Panganiban produced a big series at the plate, hitting .429 with three doubles, four runs scored and four RBI. His RBI single in the top of the 11th scored Roberto Gonzalez and propelled CSUN to the one-run victory. Gonzalez would also have a strong series in Long Beach, totaling five hits in the series finale and ultimately batting .429 over the three games. Andrew Gauna totaled a team-high six RBI in the series while he scored five runs. On the pitching side, Jon Mocherman and Ryan Halamicek combined to throw a six-ht shutout as Mocherman allowed just one hit over four innings of work and Halamicek struck out six batters over his five shutout frames in earning the win. Noah Rinehart was credited with the win in game three of series after working the final 2.1 innings and allowing one hit and no runs.
MATADOR LEADERS
Senior Roberto Gonzalez has enjoyed a strong season at the dish in his first full year as a starter with the Matadors. The outfielder is leading CSUN in a host of offensive categories including batting (.347), slugging (.562), on-base percentage (.470) and stolen bases (9) to go with 29 runs scored and 23 RBI. Gonzalez' five triples are also 11th-most in the nation this season. Second baseman Kyle Panganiban has also had a breakout season with the Matadors thus far, leading the team with 49 hits and 12 doubles while he shares the team lead with Gonzalez with 29 runs scored. Panganiban is also hitting .310 and playing a steady second base, posting a .951 fielding percentage. Fellow freshman, Andrew Becker tops CSUN with 25 RBI while he has 27 runs scored, nine doubles and 44 total hits. In home runs, Andrew Gauna tops the team with a career-high seven followed by Jarren Sanderson and Matthew Pena with six apiece.
Junior Diego Gutierrez has made a team-high 11 starts in his first full season as a starting pitcher. The right hander is also tops in strikeouts with 58 in 60 innings. Ryan Halamicek now sports a team-high three wins this year to go with 50 strikeouts, a new career-high, in 60.2 innings.
SCOUTING USC
The Trojans are 29-14 overall along with 14-7 in their first season in the Big Ten. Winners of six in a row, USC is coming off a three-game sweep of Minnesota last weekend. USC has played eight games against Big West teams this season, posting a 4-4 record including a 12-2 win over Long Beach State last Tuesday. As a team, USC's pitching staff ranks second in the Big Ten in strikeouts per nine innings (9.5) and fourth in ERA (4.78) while its ranked seventh in batting average (.293). Ethan Hedges leads the Trojans with 11 homers, 42 runs, 46 RBI and a .366 batting average while he has eight saves and a 3.27 ERA this season. Brodie Purcell sports a 0.83 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 21 appearances out of the bullpen.
Series History: The Trojans hold a 57-25-1 edge over CSUN in the all-time series with wins in four straight meetings. The teams last played two seasons ago with USC coming out on top 8-5 while CSUN last hosted USC on April 12, 2022 in a 16-10 defeat.
#GoMatadors
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NORTHRIDGE, Calir.---CSUN Baseball opens a four-game homestand on Tuesday when the Matadors take on USC at Robert J. Hiegert Field. First pitch is set for 5:35 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call.
FOR STARTERS
CSUN looks to stay on the winning track after taking the final two games of its series at Long Beach State over the weekend. Despite averaging 7.3 runs over its last nine games at home, CSUN is looking to post its first win at home since March 28. Tuesday's game with USC is the Matadors' final home non-conference game while two more midweek games still remain on the schedule at San Diego State (May 6) and at USC (May 13). This weekend, the Matadors open a three-game home series with UC Riverside in Big West action.
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
The Matadors secured their second Big West series win of the year, taking two of three games from Long Beach State at Blair Field. The Dirtbags rallied for a 13-7 in game one, scoring 10 unanswered runs over the middle innings. In game two, CSUN scored six early runs and produced its best pitching effort of the season in a 6-0 shutout win. The rubber game would last for nearly five hours and go 11 innings before the Matadors prevailed 13-12. The series win over Long Beach State was CSUN's fourth consecutive against the Dirtbags.
Kyle Panganiban produced a big series at the plate, hitting .429 with three doubles, four runs scored and four RBI. His RBI single in the top of the 11th scored Roberto Gonzalez and propelled CSUN to the one-run victory. Gonzalez would also have a strong series in Long Beach, totaling five hits in the series finale and ultimately batting .429 over the three games. Andrew Gauna totaled a team-high six RBI in the series while he scored five runs. On the pitching side, Jon Mocherman and Ryan Halamicek combined to throw a six-ht shutout as Mocherman allowed just one hit over four innings of work and Halamicek struck out six batters over his five shutout frames in earning the win. Noah Rinehart was credited with the win in game three of series after working the final 2.1 innings and allowing one hit and no runs.
MATADOR LEADERS
Senior Roberto Gonzalez has enjoyed a strong season at the dish in his first full year as a starter with the Matadors. The outfielder is leading CSUN in a host of offensive categories including batting (.347), slugging (.562), on-base percentage (.470) and stolen bases (9) to go with 29 runs scored and 23 RBI. Gonzalez' five triples are also 11th-most in the nation this season. Second baseman Kyle Panganiban has also had a breakout season with the Matadors thus far, leading the team with 49 hits and 12 doubles while he shares the team lead with Gonzalez with 29 runs scored. Panganiban is also hitting .310 and playing a steady second base, posting a .951 fielding percentage. Fellow freshman, Andrew Becker tops CSUN with 25 RBI while he has 27 runs scored, nine doubles and 44 total hits. In home runs, Andrew Gauna tops the team with a career-high seven followed by Jarren Sanderson and Matthew Pena with six apiece.
Junior Diego Gutierrez has made a team-high 11 starts in his first full season as a starting pitcher. The right hander is also tops in strikeouts with 58 in 60 innings. Ryan Halamicek now sports a team-high three wins this year to go with 50 strikeouts, a new career-high, in 60.2 innings.
SCOUTING USC
The Trojans are 29-14 overall along with 14-7 in their first season in the Big Ten. Winners of six in a row, USC is coming off a three-game sweep of Minnesota last weekend. USC has played eight games against Big West teams this season, posting a 4-4 record including a 12-2 win over Long Beach State last Tuesday. As a team, USC's pitching staff ranks second in the Big Ten in strikeouts per nine innings (9.5) and fourth in ERA (4.78) while its ranked seventh in batting average (.293). Ethan Hedges leads the Trojans with 11 homers, 42 runs, 46 RBI and a .366 batting average while he has eight saves and a 3.27 ERA this season. Brodie Purcell sports a 0.83 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 21 appearances out of the bullpen.
Series History: The Trojans hold a 57-25-1 edge over CSUN in the all-time series with wins in four straight meetings. The teams last played two seasons ago with USC coming out on top 8-5 while CSUN last hosted USC on April 12, 2022 in a 16-10 defeat.
#GoMatadors
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