CSUN Returns Home for Weekend Series with Western Michigan

Friday, February 27

Northridge, Calif.

5:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

Western Michigan

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Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Returns Home for Weekend Series with Western Michigan

2/26/2026 10:16:00 AM | Baseball

BASE Game Notes - Feb. 26

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball opens a four-game homestand on Friday as the Matadors take on Western Michigan in the first of a three-game series at Robert J. Hiegert Field. The opener is set for 5 p.m. while the series continues on Saturday at 4 p.m. and concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. Audio broadcasts will be available for all three games at GoMatadors.com/Radio with Ghizal Hasan on the call.

FOR STARTERS
CSUN (5-3) wrapped up its first road trip of the season on Tuesday, finishing the four games with a 2-2 record. The Matadors will play their next four games at home with three games on tap against Western Michigan followed by a midweek matchup with Michigan next Tuesday at 5 p.m. Next weekend will bring about the start of conference play as the Matadors travel to perennial Big West contender UC Irvine for a three-game series starting on Friday, March 6.

ON THE MOUND
CSUN will send out starters Adam Christopher, Traig Oughton and Gabriel Hernandez this weekend against Western Michigan. A senior transfer, Christopher (0-1) has started the past two Fridays and comes in with a 5.79 ERA and six strikeouts as he looks to earn his first win as a Matador. Oughton, a junior transfer, holds a 1-0 record with four strikeouts over his 9.1 innings on the mound while Hernandez has gone 1-1 with a 7.00 ERA in nine innings this season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors got back on the winning track with a 7-5 victory at California Baptist this past Tuesday. Matthew Thomas led the way with two home runs while Xavier Rios also went yard for CSUN. The Matadors trailed 5-2 through three innings before chipping away with a single tally in the fourth and the sixth innings. Finally, CSUN pushed across three runs in the seventh with Andrew Becker tying the game with an RBi single and Kyle Panganiban putting CSUN on top with an RBI single of his own. The Matador bullpen combined to toss five shutout innings to close the door as Zach Johnson tossed three clean frames to lead the way. Freshman James Voorhies pitched a shutout ninth to secure the save.

ON A TEAR
Kyle Panganiban has jumped out to red start to the season at the plate, hitting .370 while sporting a 1.255 OPS. Panganiban is the Big West leader in RBI with 13 while he is third in runs (9), third in slugging (.741) and fifth in homers (3). The third baseman has also reached safely in eight straight games and posted a six-game hit streak.

MATADOR QUICK HITS
As a team, the Matadors lead the Big West with 15 home runs through eight games this season. CSUN is also the conference leader in slugging percentage (.490) and ranks second in runs scored (52) … the Matador defense has also been a strength in the early going, ranking second in the Big West at a .982 clip … Matthew Thomas, a junior transfer, has recorded nine hits thus far this season, with all nine being extra base hits. Thomas shares the Big West lead with three other players in doubles (4) and shares the home run lead in the conference (4) with teammate Matthew Pena … Freshman James Voorhies has turned heads over his first three collegiate appearances out of the bullpen. Assuming the CSUN closer role in the early going, Voorhies already has two saves along with a win while boasting a 1.04 ERA and 14 strikeouts in just 8.2 innings.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos hold a 2-6 overall record this season after they dropped two midweek games at UNLV. Western Michigan also competed in the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament last weekend, going 1-2 with its lone victory over UC San Diego. In 2025, the Broncos went 19-32 overall and 12-18 in the Mid-American Conference. The team was picked to finish sixth in the MAC prior to the season by the league's head coaches. As a team, Western Michigan is batting .277 while the staff ERA sits at 9.46. Tanner Mally leads WMU in batting at .556 to go with nine runs scored. Both Michael Maloney and Connor Ostrander have two homers each this season.

Series History: CSUN will play Western Michigan for the time ever in baseball this weekend.

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