Friday, May 2
Northridge, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
23-23, 16-9
3
vs
2
UC Santa Barbara
27-22, 16-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
UC Santa Barbara
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
2
6
1
CSUN
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
3
7
0
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
Matadors Sweep Doubleheader, Capture Series Versus Gauchos
5/2/2025 8:03:00 PM | Softball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif -- CSUN Softball defeated the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in both games of a doubleheader Friday afternoon at Matador Diamond. In the first game, CSUN won 3-2. In the second game, the Matadors were victorious 4-1. Jerzie Liana hit a walk-off single and Raegan Jackson had a home run in game one. Tiara Westbrook had a three-run home run and Gisella Vargas Sandoval tallied an RBI in game two. Lauryn Carranco and Isabella Alonso each pitched a complete game for CSUN in the doubleheader sweep.
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HOW IT HAPPENEDÂ
GAME ONE
After a scoreless two and a half innings from both teams, Jackson made her mark on the game quickly. Jackson launched a home run over the left field wall to make it 1-0.Â
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CSUN held the Gauchos scoreless all the way until the top of the fifth. Bella Fuentes hit a single to center field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Elicia Acosta then singled to left field and the run scored to tie the game up at one apiece.Â
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In the top of the sixth, UCSB got a rally going. The Gauchos reached on two consecutive singles to start the inning. After a flyout, the next batter reached on a hit-by-pitch, loading the bases loaded with one out. Fuentes grounded out to second, but a run did score to give UCSB a 2-1 lead through five and a half innings.
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The score remained 2-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh. CSUN had three outs to work with. Carman doubled with one out to put the pressure on UCSB. Westbrook came to the plate with two outs and hit a long fly ball to right field. The fielder dropped the potential game-ending ball, giving UCSB an error and allowing Carman to score. The score was now tied at two apiece with Westbrook ending up at second. After Jizzell Ruiz came into the game to pinch run for Westbrook, Liana came up to the plate. Liana promptly singled to center field and Ruiz came around to score on a bang-bang play at home. CSUN won on a walk-off single by Liana.Â
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GAME TWO
In the first inning, Jadyn Nielsen recorded a single with one out. After Westbrook reached on a fielder's choice, Kylie Galindo got hit by a pitch to get the bases loaded for Gizella Vargas Sandoval. Sandoval was hit by a pitch as well and with nowhere to put her, CSUN went on top 1-0 through the first inning.
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In the second inning, with two outs, Carman walked to get a rally going. Nielsen then doubled to left field to put two runners in scoring position for Westbrook. Westbrook wasted no time in her at bat by hammering the first pitch to straight-away center field. A three-run bomb to put CSUN on top 4-0.
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Flash forward to the top of the fifth, UCSB started to get things going with a single. Elicia Acosta then doubled, scoring the run and putting the Gauchos on the board to make it a 4-1 game.
Isabella Alonso was in control for a majority of game two. She had three strikeouts, only allowing five hits and one walk. Needing three outs to close the game in the top of the seventh, she got the first batter to ground out to shortstop. Even though the next two batters reached on singles, Alonso got the following player to fly out to right field. Needing the next out, she got the last batter to line out to left field to end the game.
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NEWS AND NOTES
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
"Super proud of this team being able to take another series. It's huge, it's a hard thing to do. There are still some things we need to clean up and we're going to. I am proud of their fight. Proud of different people coming through. Jizzell coming through with that game-winning run in game one was huge. They have truly found who they are. They are playing like their younger selves. Big game tomorrow and we're excited to honor our seniors. Still we got to take care of business heading into next week."
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UP NEXT
CSUN plays its regular season finale tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. against UCSB at Matador Diamond. This is the final game before the Big West Championships in Fullerton next week.
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HOW IT HAPPENEDÂ
GAME ONE
After a scoreless two and a half innings from both teams, Jackson made her mark on the game quickly. Jackson launched a home run over the left field wall to make it 1-0.Â
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CSUN held the Gauchos scoreless all the way until the top of the fifth. Bella Fuentes hit a single to center field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Elicia Acosta then singled to left field and the run scored to tie the game up at one apiece.Â
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In the top of the sixth, UCSB got a rally going. The Gauchos reached on two consecutive singles to start the inning. After a flyout, the next batter reached on a hit-by-pitch, loading the bases loaded with one out. Fuentes grounded out to second, but a run did score to give UCSB a 2-1 lead through five and a half innings.
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The score remained 2-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh. CSUN had three outs to work with. Carman doubled with one out to put the pressure on UCSB. Westbrook came to the plate with two outs and hit a long fly ball to right field. The fielder dropped the potential game-ending ball, giving UCSB an error and allowing Carman to score. The score was now tied at two apiece with Westbrook ending up at second. After Jizzell Ruiz came into the game to pinch run for Westbrook, Liana came up to the plate. Liana promptly singled to center field and Ruiz came around to score on a bang-bang play at home. CSUN won on a walk-off single by Liana.Â
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GAME TWO
In the first inning, Jadyn Nielsen recorded a single with one out. After Westbrook reached on a fielder's choice, Kylie Galindo got hit by a pitch to get the bases loaded for Gizella Vargas Sandoval. Sandoval was hit by a pitch as well and with nowhere to put her, CSUN went on top 1-0 through the first inning.
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In the second inning, with two outs, Carman walked to get a rally going. Nielsen then doubled to left field to put two runners in scoring position for Westbrook. Westbrook wasted no time in her at bat by hammering the first pitch to straight-away center field. A three-run bomb to put CSUN on top 4-0.
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Flash forward to the top of the fifth, UCSB started to get things going with a single. Elicia Acosta then doubled, scoring the run and putting the Gauchos on the board to make it a 4-1 game.
Isabella Alonso was in control for a majority of game two. She had three strikeouts, only allowing five hits and one walk. Needing three outs to close the game in the top of the seventh, she got the first batter to ground out to shortstop. Even though the next two batters reached on singles, Alonso got the following player to fly out to right field. Needing the next out, she got the last batter to line out to left field to end the game.
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NEWS AND NOTES
- With the wins, CSUN is now 24-23 and 17-9 in Big West play.
- Westbrook hit her team-leading 10th home run of the season.
- Liana with her walk-off now has 27 RBIs on the year as she is second on the team in that category.
- Carranco is now 14-9 as her ERA has dropped to 2.67.
- Alonso is now 10-11 and her ERA has dropped to 3.94.
- UCSB is now 27-23 and 16-10 in Big West play.
- With a win tomorrow or Hawai'i loss, CSUN would clinch the second seed in the Big West Championships next week at Fullerton.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
"Super proud of this team being able to take another series. It's huge, it's a hard thing to do. There are still some things we need to clean up and we're going to. I am proud of their fight. Proud of different people coming through. Jizzell coming through with that game-winning run in game one was huge. They have truly found who they are. They are playing like their younger selves. Big game tomorrow and we're excited to honor our seniors. Still we got to take care of business heading into next week."
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UP NEXT
CSUN plays its regular season finale tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. against UCSB at Matador Diamond. This is the final game before the Big West Championships in Fullerton next week.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Carranco, Lauryn (14-9)
L: Malaya Johnson (16-9)
Batting:
2B: Giselle Mejia 1 ; Elicia Acosta 1
RBI: Bella Fuentes 1 ; Elicia Acosta 1
SH: Alexa Sams 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jazzy Santos 1 ; Kaylin Garcia 1
CS: Erin Mendoza 1
HBP: Tehya Banks 1
Batting:
2B: Carman, Mikayla 2
HR: Jackson, Raegan 1
RBI: Liana, Jerzie 1 ; Jackson, Raegan 1
SH: Vargas Sandoval, Gizella 1 ; Chavez, Alexis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carman, Mikayla 1 ; Ruiz, Jizzell 1 ; Jackson, Raegan 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballP/SS
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
1B/OF
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