CSUN Pitching Holds Off Seattle U in 4-3 Win

Saturday, February 14

Northridge, Calif.

4:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

2-0

Seattle U

0-2

Seattle U

CSUN

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Pitching Holds Off Seattle U in 4-3 Win

2/14/2026 8:44:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball scored four early runs and rode its pitching staff in the late innings to defeat Seattle U 4-3 to clinch the weekend series on Saturday at Robert J. Hiegert Field. Traige Oughton tossed five innings, allowing three runs while the Matador bullpen tossed four shutout frames with only two hits allowed. Matthew Pena hit a two-run homer on the offensive side.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In his first career start for CSUN, Oughton would have to work through a bases loaded jam with two outs in the first inning as he retired Cash Erdman on a grounder to first. CSUN appeared it would also come away without a run in the home half of the first before a two-out RBI double from Matthew Thomas broke the scoreless tie. Moments later, Pena belted a 2-2 pitch over the left-field wall for a 3-0 Matador lead.

CSUN added to its lead in the fourth on another two-out hit, this time by Vaughn Coleman who roped a single to right center to plate Trent Abel.

The 4-0 lead through two innings turned out to be just enough for the Matador pitching staff. Oughton retired five straight over shutout second and third innings before Seattle U cracked the scoring column in the fourth on an RBI groundout off the bat of Hayden Carlson.

The Redhawks would draw closer in the top of the fifth when Payton Knowled drove a two-run homer over the right center fence, trimming the CSUN lead to 4-3. Oughton though bounced back to keep Seattle U off the scoreboard for the remainder of the inning, picking up a 3-6-3 double play in the frame.

The Matador bullpen took over in the sixth as Kody King pitched around a leadoff double to strike out the side in a shutout inning. From there, James Voorhies relieved King and proceeded to shut down the Redhawks.

Voorhies struck out three over the seventh and eighth innings, allowing only a hit over that span. In the ninth, he returned to the mound where he collected three straight swinging strikeouts for his first career save as a Matador.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN improves to 2-0 on the season.
Voorhies finished with seven strikeouts and one hit allowed in his three innings of work.
Oughton scattered five hits with three strikeouts on the night.
Pena recorded the Matadors' fifth homer of the series.
The Matadors clinched their first series win to open a season since 2023.

ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"The pitching has been our Achilles heel for such a long time. We needed this as as a program to show ourselves that we have the ability to go to the bullpen even early on in the game and give them full confidence that they could close a game like this out. That was huge, the ability for Traig to minimize innings when he had runners on. Kody King coming in and pitching well and Jimmy [Voorhies] is going to be the story for a lot of people. He's got electric stuff and an electric arm.

I was frustrated with the offense after the first inning. It was a little deja vu from yesterday where we put up big runs and we started to swing for the fences. For me, that's my fault, that's a lack of discipline and we need to get better at that."

UP NEXT
CSUN goes for the series sweep on Sunday when it takes on Seattle U at 1 p.m. Ghizal Hasan will have the call on ESPN+.

#GoMatadors