Thursday, May 8
Fullerton, Calif
4:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
25-24
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UC San Diego
16-31
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UC San Diego
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CSUN
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Photo by: Big West Conference
CSUN Defeats UC San Diego in Second Round of Big West Championship, 4-2
5/8/2025 8:48:00 PM | Softball
FULLERTON, Calif -- CSUN Softball defeated the UC San Diego Tritons, 4-2 in the second round of the Big West Softball Championship Friday night at Anderson Family Field. Gizella Vargas Sandoval and Kaylee Escutia each had a home run in the victory. Tiara Westbrook had an RBI as well. With the win, CSUN will take on Hawai'i in the semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the bottom of the first, CSUN struck first. Mikayla Carman got hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Jadyn Nielsen then bunted Carman over to second. Westbrook stepped up to the plate and did what she does best. The sophomore from Arcadia brought Carman home with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead through one inning.
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Flash forward to the third inning when the Tritons responded. After the second batter of the inning reached on an error, Alexis Jimenez hit a towering fly ball to left field and over the wall. UCSD took the lead as the scoreboard now read 2-1 in favor of the Tritons.Â
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The score remained that way until the bottom of the sixth inning. CSUN wasn't done fighting. The first batter of the inning, Vargas Sandoval, mashed a ball over the left-field wall for a solo home run. The moonshot tied the game at two apiece. That home run wasn't the last one of the inning for the Matadors. After Larissa Flores was hit by a pitch, Escutia put a charge into the ball for a rocket over the center field wall. The two-run home run put CSUN on top, 4-2.Â
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Needing just three outs to end the game, Isabella Alonso relieved Lauryn Carranco to get the save. She retired the side in order 1-2-3 to secure the win for the Matadors.
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NEWS AND NOTES
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
"This game is the definition of what our team has been all year. UC San Diego is a great team. India Caldwell was doing an awesome job in the circle. I think for us, our hitters were pressing a little bit. Lauryn did a great job of keeping us in the game and giving us a chance. We believe we can take over a game at any time. For Lauryn, we always try to focus on good tunnels heading into a start. Proud of the way she competed and how she let the defense work behind her."
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UP NEXT
CSUN will take on Hawai'i in the semifinals of the Big West Championship tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. If the Matadors beat the Rainbow Wahine, CSUN will earn a finals berth with the championship game taking place on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the bottom of the first, CSUN struck first. Mikayla Carman got hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Jadyn Nielsen then bunted Carman over to second. Westbrook stepped up to the plate and did what she does best. The sophomore from Arcadia brought Carman home with an RBI single for a 1-0 lead through one inning.
Â
Flash forward to the third inning when the Tritons responded. After the second batter of the inning reached on an error, Alexis Jimenez hit a towering fly ball to left field and over the wall. UCSD took the lead as the scoreboard now read 2-1 in favor of the Tritons.Â
Â
The score remained that way until the bottom of the sixth inning. CSUN wasn't done fighting. The first batter of the inning, Vargas Sandoval, mashed a ball over the left-field wall for a solo home run. The moonshot tied the game at two apiece. That home run wasn't the last one of the inning for the Matadors. After Larissa Flores was hit by a pitch, Escutia put a charge into the ball for a rocket over the center field wall. The two-run home run put CSUN on top, 4-2.Â
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Needing just three outs to end the game, Isabella Alonso relieved Lauryn Carranco to get the save. She retired the side in order 1-2-3 to secure the win for the Matadors.
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NEWS AND NOTES
- CSUN wins its first game ever in the Big West Championship tournament.
- The home run for Vargas Sandoval was her first of the season.
- Escutia hit her third home run of the year.
- Carranco is now 15-11 on the year as her ERA drops to 2.62 with no earned runs allowed.
- Westbrook knocked in an RBI for her 38th of the season.Â
- The save was Alonso's second save of the year.
- Seven different Matadors had hits in the win.
- CSUN is now 25-24 on the year.Â
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
"This game is the definition of what our team has been all year. UC San Diego is a great team. India Caldwell was doing an awesome job in the circle. I think for us, our hitters were pressing a little bit. Lauryn did a great job of keeping us in the game and giving us a chance. We believe we can take over a game at any time. For Lauryn, we always try to focus on good tunnels heading into a start. Proud of the way she competed and how she let the defense work behind her."
Â
UP NEXT
CSUN will take on Hawai'i in the semifinals of the Big West Championship tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. If the Matadors beat the Rainbow Wahine, CSUN will earn a finals berth with the championship game taking place on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Carranco, Lauryn (15-11)
L: India Caldwell (11-14)
S: Alonso, Isabella (2)
Batting:
HR: Alexis Jimenez 1
RBI: Alexis Jimenez 2
SH: Haley Garcia 1 ; Alexa DeMarse 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Morgan Eng 1 ; Alexis Jimenez 1
HBP: Elise Nishimura 1
Batting:
2B: Escutia, Kaylee 1
3B: Nielsen, Jadyn 1
HR: Vargas Sandoval, Gizella 1 ; Escutia, Kaylee 1
RBI: Westbrook, Tiara 1 ; Vargas Sandoval, Gizella 1 ; Escutia, Kaylee 2
SH: Nielsen, Jadyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carman, Mikayla 1 ; Vargas Sandoval, Gizella 1 ; Flores, Larissa 1 ; Escutia, Kaylee 1
SB: Ruiz, Jizzell 1
HBP: Carman, Mikayla 1 ; Flores, Larissa 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
C/UTIL
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball1B/OF
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