CSUN Falls to Western Michigan in Series Finale

Sunday, March 1

Northridge, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

6-5

Western Michigan

4-7

Western Michigan

CSUN

Photo by: Bella A Enriquez

CSUN Falls to Western Michigan in Series Finale

3/1/2026 4:23:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball led in the middle innings but could not hold off Western Michigan in a 10-5 defeat on Sunday at Robert J. Hiegert Field. The Matadors had Matthew Thomas and Will Linberg each record two hits while Thomas homered for the second straight day.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Matadors jumped on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first when Thomas belted a homer to left center for a 1-0 lead. Gabriel Hernandez, who earned the Sunday start on the mound, allowed one hit through the first two innings, but the Broncos broke through in the third on a two-run homer from Michael Maloney with two outs.

CSUN though responded with a big top of the fourth. The Matadors took advantage of two walks and a hit by pitch to load the bases with one out. Mateo Rickman would deliver with a two-run double to left center to put the Matadors back on top. Moments later, Trent Abel hit a bouncer to short, but the play would be mishandled, allowing both Will Linberg and Rickman to score, increasing the CSUN lead to 5-2.

However, the Matador lead would not last long. Western Michigan quickly got a run back on a leadoff homer from Jacob Rowold to start the fifth. From there, Hernandez issued a walk before he was lifted from the game. Lucas Alaniz entered the fray but could not retire the next two batters as the Broncos loaded the bases. Maloney drove in a run on a fielder's choice before a hit batter loaded the bases once more for Connor Ostrander, who delivered a three-run double to put Western Michigan ahead 7-5.

The Broncos pushed across three more runs in the seventh via back-to-back homers as Lucas Rick hit a two-run shot and Ostrander followed with a solo homer for a 10-5 lead.

After the early success in the scoring column, the Matadors would be blanked over the final five innings. DJ Thompson allowed one hit over 2.1 innings while Turner Dorran finished the game with 2.2 shutout innings and one hit allowed. CSUN would also be hampered by hitting into four double plays in the ball game, three of which being inning-ending twin killings.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN drops to 6-5 overall while Western Michigan improved to 4-7.
Thomas recorded his 13th multiple hit game on the home run while he recorded his team-best fifth multi-hit game of the season.
Thomas has also hit safely in six straight games.
Hernandez finished with four innings pitched and four runs allowed on four hits.
Jaiden Turner tossed the final two innings out of the Matador bullpen, striking out three batters with one hit allowed. Logan Miller also saw action in the game, retiring both batters he faced in the seventh.

ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"We had good baseball for a short period of time but that crooked number deflated us. We've got to do a better job of coaching them, I blame myself with the way I managed and the way I handled the bullpen. That's my fault. We could have done some things different. The inability to minimize those big innings causes crooked numbers. We gave up the home run and we didn't respond the right way. We walked one and hit three batters, that can't happen at the Division I level."

UP NEXT
CSUN concludes its homestand on Tuesday when the Matadors face Michigan at 5 p.m. on ESPN+. Ghizal Hasan will have the call.

#GoMatadors