California State University Northridge Athletics
Friday, April 4
Northridge, Calif.
5:30 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
7-18, 3-10
5
vs
16
Cal State Fullerton
15-15, 7-6
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Cal State Fullerton
0
0
1
3
0
7
3
2
0
16
15
1
CSUN
1
0
0
1
3
0
0
0
0
5
11
1
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Drops Series Opener Against Cal State Fullerton
4/4/2025 9:14:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball took a lead to the sixth inning, but Cal State Fullerton scored 12 unanswered runs the rest of the way to collect a 16-5 win on Friday evening at Robert J. Hiegert Field. Roberto Gonzalez belted two homers and drove in three runs on the night while Matthew Pena homered for the sixth time this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Matadors jumped ahead first on Friday with Gonzalez belting a leadoff home run on the second pitch of the first inning. The 1-0 lead would hold up through the first two innings with starter Ryan Halamicek allowing just one hit over that span.
The Titans though fought back with the tying run in the third inning. Halamicek would fight off a line drive off his body in the inning as he retired two of the first three batters, but Andrew Kirchner delivered a game-tying RBI single through the right side with two outs.
The Fullerton bats came alive again in the top of the fourth as Eli Lopez opened the inning with a solo homer while three more singles and a fielder's choice produced a 4-1 lead.
CSUN would have a quick response in the home half of the fourth, getting a run back on a sacrifice fly from Trent Abel to bring home Jarren Sanderson. In the fifth, CSUN leaned on the long to reclaim the lead. The inning opened with a leadoff homer from Pena to left field, cutting the lead to 4-3. After Xavier Rios drew a walk, Gonzalez roped a two-run homer to left field to put the Matadors on top again at 5-4.
However, the Titans answered quickly in a big way in the sixth. A single from Paul Contreras opened the inning while Marcos Rosales soon followed with a go-ahead two-run homer to right center. CSUN would get a highlight reel play from Gonzalez on the next batter when the senior took away a home run from Isaiah Gomez in center field, but the Titans soon drew four consecutive walks to drive in force in another run. Fullerton would score seven times in the sixth inning, capped by a bases clearing three-run triple from Contreras to make it 11-5.
Unfortunately for CSUN, the Titans were far from done. Cal State Fullerton pushed across three runs in the top of the seventh, highlighted by a two-run double from Matthew Bardowell while two more scored in the eighth inning with Maddox Latta collecting a two-run double.
The Matador bats were unable to get much going offensively against stingy Fullerton pitching after the fifth inning. Abel would reach on an error in the sixth but was soon erased on a double play. CSUN picked up two hits in the seventh before reliever Derek Turner got Will Linberg to bounce out on an inning-ending fielder's choice. The Matadors would also leave a runner on base in the eighth and ninth innings as well.
NOTES OF THE GAME
UP NEXT
CSUN and Cal State Fullerton play game two of their weekend series on Saturday with first pitch set for 4:35 p.m. Ghizal Hasan will have the call on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Matadors jumped ahead first on Friday with Gonzalez belting a leadoff home run on the second pitch of the first inning. The 1-0 lead would hold up through the first two innings with starter Ryan Halamicek allowing just one hit over that span.
The Titans though fought back with the tying run in the third inning. Halamicek would fight off a line drive off his body in the inning as he retired two of the first three batters, but Andrew Kirchner delivered a game-tying RBI single through the right side with two outs.
The Fullerton bats came alive again in the top of the fourth as Eli Lopez opened the inning with a solo homer while three more singles and a fielder's choice produced a 4-1 lead.
CSUN would have a quick response in the home half of the fourth, getting a run back on a sacrifice fly from Trent Abel to bring home Jarren Sanderson. In the fifth, CSUN leaned on the long to reclaim the lead. The inning opened with a leadoff homer from Pena to left field, cutting the lead to 4-3. After Xavier Rios drew a walk, Gonzalez roped a two-run homer to left field to put the Matadors on top again at 5-4.
However, the Titans answered quickly in a big way in the sixth. A single from Paul Contreras opened the inning while Marcos Rosales soon followed with a go-ahead two-run homer to right center. CSUN would get a highlight reel play from Gonzalez on the next batter when the senior took away a home run from Isaiah Gomez in center field, but the Titans soon drew four consecutive walks to drive in force in another run. Fullerton would score seven times in the sixth inning, capped by a bases clearing three-run triple from Contreras to make it 11-5.
Unfortunately for CSUN, the Titans were far from done. Cal State Fullerton pushed across three runs in the top of the seventh, highlighted by a two-run double from Matthew Bardowell while two more scored in the eighth inning with Maddox Latta collecting a two-run double.
The Matador bats were unable to get much going offensively against stingy Fullerton pitching after the fifth inning. Abel would reach on an error in the sixth but was soon erased on a double play. CSUN picked up two hits in the seventh before reliever Derek Turner got Will Linberg to bounce out on an inning-ending fielder's choice. The Matadors would also leave a runner on base in the eighth and ninth innings as well.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN drops to 7-18 overall and 3-10 in Big West play while Cal State Fullerton improves to 15-15 overall and 7-6 in conference.
- Andrew Becker, Sanderson and Pena had two hits apiece in the contest.
- Abel extended his hit streak to eight games after collecting a single.
- Halamicek worked four innings, giving up four runs on seven hits to go with three strikeouts.
- The Titans drew 10 total walks in the ballgame.
- Five Matador relievers saw action with freshman Jackson Banuelos tossing the 1.2 innings to go with two strikeouts. Dante Zamudio would toss a shutout top of the ninth.
UP NEXT
CSUN and Cal State Fullerton play game two of their weekend series on Saturday with first pitch set for 4:35 p.m. Ghizal Hasan will have the call on ESPN+.
#GoMatadors
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Negrete, Mikiah (4-1)
L: Mejia, Tyler (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Latta, Maddox 1 ; Bardowell, Matthew 1 ; Schardt, Jakob 1
3B: Contreras, Paul 1
HR: Lopez, Eli 1 ; Rosales, Marcos 1
RBI: Johnstone, Carter 1 ; Latta, Maddox 3 ; Kirchner, Andrew 2 ; Bardowell, Matthew 3 ; Lopez, Eli 2 ; Contreras, Paul 3 ; Rosales, Marcos 2
SH: Burdick, Cam 1
SF: Kirchner, Andrew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnstone, Carter 3 ; Latta, Maddox 1 ; Kirchner, Andrew 1 ; Bardowell, Matthew 1 ; Ortega, Max 1 ; Lopez, Eli 2 ; Contreras, Paul 2 ; Rosales, Marcos 3 ; Gomez, Isaiah 2
HBP: Ortega, Max 1 ; Gomez, Isaiah 1
Batting:
2B: Becker, Andrew 1
HR: Gonzalez, Roberto 2 ; Pena, Matthew 1
RBI: Gonzalez, Roberto 3 ; Abel, Trent 1 ; Pena, Matthew 1
SF: Abel, Trent 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gonzalez, Roberto 2 ; Sanderson, Jarren 1 ; Pena, Matthew 1 ; Rios, Xavier 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
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RHP
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1B/OF
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RHP
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