Saturday, April 5
Northridge, Calif.
4:30 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
7-19, 3-11
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Cal State Fullerton
16-15, 8-6
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Cal State Fullerton
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CSUN
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Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Drops 9-3 Decision to Cal State Fullerton
4/5/2025 8:03:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---For the second straight day, Cal State Fullerton pulled ahead of CSUN in the late innings en route to a 9-3 victory on Saturday at Robert J. Hiegert Field. The Matadors picked up a strong start from Diego Gutierrez who tossed 6.2 innings and struck out a career-high 10 batters while allowing five runs. Andrew Becker collected two hits and scored a run.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first third of the ballgame would read as a pitcher's duel. Gutierrez struck out four batters over the first three frames with the Titans managing just one base hit. On the flip side, Trent Abel collected CSUN's lone hit, a double, over that span against Titan starter Dylan Smith.
Still a scoreless game in the fourth, the Titans broke through first on a two-out rally. The first two Titan batters were retired by Gutierrez, but back-to-back walks on full counts kept the inning alive. Paul Contreras delivered soon after with a three-run homer to left field to put the Titans ahead.
The Matadors would have a quick response in the bottom of the fourth. CSUN picked up one-out singles from Becker and Matthew Pena before Will Linberg drew a walk to load the bases. Abel followed with a sacrifice fly to score CSUN's first run then Cameron Calvillo knocked in another run with an RBI single to cut the lead to 3-2. Fullerton soon turned to the bullpen where Vain Myers entered and struck out the next batter to end the inning.
On the mound, Gutierrez took control over the next two innings. He would strike out two batters and pitch around a double in the fifth inning while he had perhaps his best frame in the sixth where he fanned two more batters in a 1-2-3 inning.
Meanwhile, CSUN evened the game in the fifth as Royce Clayton, Jr. opened with a leadoff triple and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Jarren Sanderson.
Over 100 pitches thrown, Gutierrez marched back to the mound in then seventh and looked to keep the game tied up at 3-3. Fullerton picked up a leadoff walk in the inning before Gutierrez struck out Isaiah Gomez and retired Carter Johnstone. However, the Titans came away with another timely two-out hit when Maddox Latta blasted a two-run homer to left field.
Similar to Friday when Fullerton tacked on late runs to take the series opener, the Titans put the game away by scoring four times over the final two frames on Saturday. Marcos Rosales had an RBI single in the eighth inning while Fullerton put up a three-spot in the ninth with Max Ortega and Contreras each picking up an RBI.
The Titan bullpen silenced the Matador bats in the late innings with CSUN managing just one hit over the last four frames.
NOTES OF THE GAME
"Diego had a great start. It's tough to see someone lose when he's doing his part and you can't pick him up enough."
UP NEXT
CSUN completes its weekend series with Cal State Fullerton on Sunday afternoon. First pitch on ESPN+ is set for 1:05 p.m. with Ghizal Hasan on the call.
#GoMatadors
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The first third of the ballgame would read as a pitcher's duel. Gutierrez struck out four batters over the first three frames with the Titans managing just one base hit. On the flip side, Trent Abel collected CSUN's lone hit, a double, over that span against Titan starter Dylan Smith.
Still a scoreless game in the fourth, the Titans broke through first on a two-out rally. The first two Titan batters were retired by Gutierrez, but back-to-back walks on full counts kept the inning alive. Paul Contreras delivered soon after with a three-run homer to left field to put the Titans ahead.
The Matadors would have a quick response in the bottom of the fourth. CSUN picked up one-out singles from Becker and Matthew Pena before Will Linberg drew a walk to load the bases. Abel followed with a sacrifice fly to score CSUN's first run then Cameron Calvillo knocked in another run with an RBI single to cut the lead to 3-2. Fullerton soon turned to the bullpen where Vain Myers entered and struck out the next batter to end the inning.
On the mound, Gutierrez took control over the next two innings. He would strike out two batters and pitch around a double in the fifth inning while he had perhaps his best frame in the sixth where he fanned two more batters in a 1-2-3 inning.
Meanwhile, CSUN evened the game in the fifth as Royce Clayton, Jr. opened with a leadoff triple and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Jarren Sanderson.
Over 100 pitches thrown, Gutierrez marched back to the mound in then seventh and looked to keep the game tied up at 3-3. Fullerton picked up a leadoff walk in the inning before Gutierrez struck out Isaiah Gomez and retired Carter Johnstone. However, the Titans came away with another timely two-out hit when Maddox Latta blasted a two-run homer to left field.
Similar to Friday when Fullerton tacked on late runs to take the series opener, the Titans put the game away by scoring four times over the final two frames on Saturday. Marcos Rosales had an RBI single in the eighth inning while Fullerton put up a three-spot in the ninth with Max Ortega and Contreras each picking up an RBI.
The Titan bullpen silenced the Matador bats in the late innings with CSUN managing just one hit over the last four frames.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN falls to 7-19 overall and 3-11 in Big West play while Cal State Fullerton improves to 16-15 overall and 8-6 in conference.
- Gutierrez's 10 strikeouts are the most by a Matador since Lucas Braun reached double figures two seasons ago.
- Becker produced his team-best 10th multiple-hit game of the season.
- Abel finished 1-for-3 at the plate in extending his hit streak to nine games.
"Diego had a great start. It's tough to see someone lose when he's doing his part and you can't pick him up enough."
UP NEXT
CSUN completes its weekend series with Cal State Fullerton on Sunday afternoon. First pitch on ESPN+ is set for 1:05 p.m. with Ghizal Hasan on the call.
#GoMatadors
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meyer, Gavin (3-0)
L: Gutierrez, Diego (2-3)
S: Faulks, Ryan (1)
Batting:
2B: Latta, Maddox 1
HR: Latta, Maddox 1 ; Contreras, Paul 1
RBI: Latta, Maddox 2 ; Ortega, Max 1 ; Contreras, Paul 4 ; Rosales, Marcos 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Latta, Maddox 2 ; Kirchner, Andrew 1 ; Bardowell, Matthew 2 ; Ortega, Max 1 ; Lopez, Eli 1 ; Contreras, Paul 1 ; Rosales, Marcos 1
HBP: Ortega, Max 1 ; Rosales, Marcos 1
Batting:
2B: Becker, Andrew 1 ; Abel, Trent 1
3B: Clayton, Jr., Royce 1
RBI: Sanderson, Jarren 1 ; Abel, Trent 1 ; Calvillo, Cameron 1
SF: Sanderson, Jarren 1 ; Abel, Trent 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Becker, Andrew 1 ; Pena, Matthew 1 ; Clayton, Jr., Royce 1
CS: Clayton, Jr., Royce 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
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