California State University Northridge Athletics
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Falls to Ole Miss, Defeats Portland State in First Doubleheader of 2026
2/6/2026 8:16:00 PM | Softball
FULLERTON, Calif --- The CSUN softball team (1-1) fell to the Ole Miss Rebels, 11-1 in the opening game of the season but came back to defeat the Portland State Vikings, 8-2 in the second game of the doubleheader at the Easton Classic hosted at Anderson Family Field Friday afternoon.
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Game One vs #22 Ole Miss
The Rebels broke open a scoreless game with four runs in the third inning before sending 12 batters to the plate during a seven-run fourth, handing the Matadors a loss in their season opener. CSUN managed four hits on the day, with Emma Lopez finishing 1-for-2 with a walk and scoring the Matadors' lone run. Vanessa Perez and Madison Okano each added hits, while Raegan Jackson drove in CSUN's only run with single in the third inning.
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Ole Miss struck first in the third as Mackenzie Pickens doubled home a run and Rachel Connors followed with a two-run single to make it 4-0.Â
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CSUN responded in the bottom half of the third when Lopez opened the inning with a single. She advanced to third on a double by Perez and then scored on Jackson's base hit to center.
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The Rebels quickly answered in the fourth, capitalizing on a throwing error before Persy Llamas drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. Madi George later connected on a two-run home run, and Taylor Malvin capped the inning with a two-run double as Ole Miss pushed its lead to 11-1.
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Ole Miss added two more runs in the fifth to end the game early. Malia Williams started in the circle for CSUN, allowing eight runs over 3 1/3 innings. Katelyn Dunakin and Aleyna Urbina also saw action in relief.
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Game Two vs Portland State
CSUN came out of the gates, scoring a run in the first inning. Leadoff batter Madison Okano doubled to begin the inning. Emma Lopez then singled Okano to third. After two consecutive outs, senior Jadyn Nielsen drove in her first run of the year, singling to second base as Okano scored, giving the Matadors the early 1-0 advantage.
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The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fourth when the Vikings answered back. After two walks in the inning, Mia Martinez singled to load the bases. After the next batter grounded to second base, a play was made at the plate to get the second out of the inning. Following the force play, Sierra Llamas singled to right field, bringing one run in to tie the game.
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The score remainedÂat 1-1 until the top of the sixth. Portland State would go on to take its first lead of the game when Martinez, the first batter of the inning, homered to give the Vikings at 2-1 lead.Â
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CSUN was then down to its final six outs as the Matadors entered the bottom of the sixth. They responded to the pressure by putting up a crooked number in the inning, scoring seven runs on five hits.Â
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Two consecutive singles by Jackson and Perez got the train started. Maddie Padilla, who pinch hit for Mackenzie Kila, picked up her first hit and RBIs since 2024 when she singled up the middle, scoring Jackson and Perez. The lead was now 3-2 for the Matadors.Â
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CSUN was not finished. Makenzi Padilla followed her sister with an RBI single to the pitcher. PSU's second baseman then committed a throwing error, allowing a second run to score giving CSUN a 5-2 lead.
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Okano then hit her second double of the game, as she plated two, making it 7-2. Rounding out the scoring with a Nielsen walk with the bases loaded, capping off the seven run inning.
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Freshman Perseus Yanez closed the game by retiring three out of four batters to seal the win for the Matadors.
NOTES OF THE GAME
It is a quick turnaround for the Matadors as CSUN will play two more games in the Easton Classic on Saturday. At 10:00 a.m. CSUN will take on Ole Miss for the second time. At 12:30 p.m. CSUN will then take on Boise State. Stats will be available on GoMatadors.com
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Game One vs #22 Ole Miss
The Rebels broke open a scoreless game with four runs in the third inning before sending 12 batters to the plate during a seven-run fourth, handing the Matadors a loss in their season opener. CSUN managed four hits on the day, with Emma Lopez finishing 1-for-2 with a walk and scoring the Matadors' lone run. Vanessa Perez and Madison Okano each added hits, while Raegan Jackson drove in CSUN's only run with single in the third inning.
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Ole Miss struck first in the third as Mackenzie Pickens doubled home a run and Rachel Connors followed with a two-run single to make it 4-0.Â
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CSUN responded in the bottom half of the third when Lopez opened the inning with a single. She advanced to third on a double by Perez and then scored on Jackson's base hit to center.
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The Rebels quickly answered in the fourth, capitalizing on a throwing error before Persy Llamas drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. Madi George later connected on a two-run home run, and Taylor Malvin capped the inning with a two-run double as Ole Miss pushed its lead to 11-1.
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Ole Miss added two more runs in the fifth to end the game early. Malia Williams started in the circle for CSUN, allowing eight runs over 3 1/3 innings. Katelyn Dunakin and Aleyna Urbina also saw action in relief.
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Game Two vs Portland State
CSUN came out of the gates, scoring a run in the first inning. Leadoff batter Madison Okano doubled to begin the inning. Emma Lopez then singled Okano to third. After two consecutive outs, senior Jadyn Nielsen drove in her first run of the year, singling to second base as Okano scored, giving the Matadors the early 1-0 advantage.
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The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fourth when the Vikings answered back. After two walks in the inning, Mia Martinez singled to load the bases. After the next batter grounded to second base, a play was made at the plate to get the second out of the inning. Following the force play, Sierra Llamas singled to right field, bringing one run in to tie the game.
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The score remainedÂ
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CSUN was then down to its final six outs as the Matadors entered the bottom of the sixth. They responded to the pressure by putting up a crooked number in the inning, scoring seven runs on five hits.Â
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Two consecutive singles by Jackson and Perez got the train started. Maddie Padilla, who pinch hit for Mackenzie Kila, picked up her first hit and RBIs since 2024 when she singled up the middle, scoring Jackson and Perez. The lead was now 3-2 for the Matadors.Â
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CSUN was not finished. Makenzi Padilla followed her sister with an RBI single to the pitcher. PSU's second baseman then committed a throwing error, allowing a second run to score giving CSUN a 5-2 lead.
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Okano then hit her second double of the game, as she plated two, making it 7-2. Rounding out the scoring with a Nielsen walk with the bases loaded, capping off the seven run inning.
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Freshman Perseus Yanez closed the game by retiring three out of four batters to seal the win for the Matadors.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- CSUN is now 1-1 to kick off the 2026 season.
- Okano, Nielsen, Maddie Padilla and Makenzi Padilla each had two RBIs in the win against Portland State
- Kaitlyn Tso in her Matador pitching debut against the Vikings went six innings, allowing five hits and striking out four. She threw 97 pitches.
- Jackson had hits in both games.
- Okano had two doubles and two runs scored against the Vikings
It is a quick turnaround for the Matadors as CSUN will play two more games in the Easton Classic on Saturday. At 10:00 a.m. CSUN will take on Ole Miss for the second time. At 12:30 p.m. CSUN will then take on Boise State. Stats will be available on GoMatadors.com
Players Mentioned
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/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
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INF
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INF
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UTIL
/ Softball
C/UTIL
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P/UTIL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P/1B
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