California State University Northridge Athletics
Tuesday, March 3
Northridge, Calif.
5:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
Michigan
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Takes on Michigan to Close Homestand
3/2/2026 6:11:00 PM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball wraps up a four-game homstand on Tuesday when it faces Michigan at Robert J. Hiegert Field. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call.Â
BIG WEST PLAY AWAITS
The Matadors' midweek matchup with Michigan will be the final tuneup before the start of Big West play this weekend. CSUN will match up with last season's Big West regular season champion UC Irvine on the road in a three-game series, beginning this Friday. Next week, CSUN has a four-game homestand on tap at Robert J. Hiegert Field as the Matadors host Pepperdine on Monday, March 9 followed by their first home conference series against UC San Diego from March 13-15.Â
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
CSUN dropped its first series at home for the first time this season as Western Michigan took two of three at Robert J. Hiegert Field. The Broncos cruised to an 11-1 victory in the opener before the Matadors bounced back with an 11-4 win in game two behind six home runs. In the finale, CSUN took an early lead but could not hold off the Broncos who scored five in the fifth and three in the seventh in a 10-5 decision.Â
CSUN's game two win over Western Michigan featured multi-home run games from Matthew Pena and Kyle Panganiban while Will Linberg finished with a team-high four RBi to go with a homer as well. Zach Johnson tossed three shutout innings out of the bullpen in support of Traig Oughton who earned the win after working five innings and surrendering four unearned runs. Matthew Thomas finished 5-for-10 in the Western Michigan series, scoring six runs and belting a pair of homers.Â
THOMAS TAKES HOME BIG WEST HONORS
Junior outfielder Matthew Thomas became the first Matador since 2024 to earn Big West Field Player of the Week honors on March 2. Thomas slashed .538/.647/.1616 while racking up six extra base hits, four homers, five RBI, seven hits and nine runs scored. He began the week homering twice in a 7-5 win over California Baptist on Feb. 24. Thomas then followed up that performance with a big series against Western Michigan (Feb. 27-March 1) where he scored six times, drove in three runs and homered in each of the last two games. A Cal transfer, Thomas is hitting a team-high .359 at the plate with a Big West-leading six homers, 16 runs scored and a 1.026 slugging percentage.Â
MATADOR QUICK HITS
CSUN has flexed its muscles in the early going this season, leading the Big West with 22 home runs through the first 11 games of the season. That mark currently ranks 10th in the nation entering Tuesday's competition ... The Matadors also lead the Big West in slugging percentage at a .507 clip ... Matthew Thomas tops the Big West in a host of categories including OPS (1.494), runs scored (16), doubles (6) and slugging percentage (1.026). He also shares the home runs lead in the conference with teammate Matthew Pena ... When CSUN has scored in the first inning this season the team has gone 5-1. The team is also 4-1 when scoring first in games ... On the pitching side, 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.Â
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
Michigan (6-4) is coming off a series win at San Diego last weekend where it won the final two games of the series. The Wolverines have already played five nationally-ranked teams this season, posting a 3-2 record and notably a earning win over then-ranked No. 12 Oregon State, 5-3, to open the year. In 2025, Michigan went 33-23 overall and 16-14 in the Big Ten to finish sixth.
As a group, Michigan is batting .277, led by Brandon Stressler who is hitting .389 with one homer and six RBI. Colby Turner has hit an even .300 at the plate, totaling three homers with eight runs scored and 11 RBI. As a pitching staff, Michigan has posted a 4.42 ERA, totaling 80 strikeouts while opposing hitters are managing a .267 batting average.Â
Series History: The Wolverines lead the Matadors 3-2 in the all-time series. The teams last matched up in the 2019 season at Robert J. Hiegert Field where Michigan took two of three games. CSUN won the finale of that series by a 5-2 margin.Â
#GoMatadors
Â
BIG WEST PLAY AWAITS
The Matadors' midweek matchup with Michigan will be the final tuneup before the start of Big West play this weekend. CSUN will match up with last season's Big West regular season champion UC Irvine on the road in a three-game series, beginning this Friday. Next week, CSUN has a four-game homestand on tap at Robert J. Hiegert Field as the Matadors host Pepperdine on Monday, March 9 followed by their first home conference series against UC San Diego from March 13-15.Â
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
CSUN dropped its first series at home for the first time this season as Western Michigan took two of three at Robert J. Hiegert Field. The Broncos cruised to an 11-1 victory in the opener before the Matadors bounced back with an 11-4 win in game two behind six home runs. In the finale, CSUN took an early lead but could not hold off the Broncos who scored five in the fifth and three in the seventh in a 10-5 decision.Â
CSUN's game two win over Western Michigan featured multi-home run games from Matthew Pena and Kyle Panganiban while Will Linberg finished with a team-high four RBi to go with a homer as well. Zach Johnson tossed three shutout innings out of the bullpen in support of Traig Oughton who earned the win after working five innings and surrendering four unearned runs. Matthew Thomas finished 5-for-10 in the Western Michigan series, scoring six runs and belting a pair of homers.Â
THOMAS TAKES HOME BIG WEST HONORS
Junior outfielder Matthew Thomas became the first Matador since 2024 to earn Big West Field Player of the Week honors on March 2. Thomas slashed .538/.647/.1616 while racking up six extra base hits, four homers, five RBI, seven hits and nine runs scored. He began the week homering twice in a 7-5 win over California Baptist on Feb. 24. Thomas then followed up that performance with a big series against Western Michigan (Feb. 27-March 1) where he scored six times, drove in three runs and homered in each of the last two games. A Cal transfer, Thomas is hitting a team-high .359 at the plate with a Big West-leading six homers, 16 runs scored and a 1.026 slugging percentage.Â
MATADOR QUICK HITS
CSUN has flexed its muscles in the early going this season, leading the Big West with 22 home runs through the first 11 games of the season. That mark currently ranks 10th in the nation entering Tuesday's competition ... The Matadors also lead the Big West in slugging percentage at a .507 clip ... Matthew Thomas tops the Big West in a host of categories including OPS (1.494), runs scored (16), doubles (6) and slugging percentage (1.026). He also shares the home runs lead in the conference with teammate Matthew Pena ... When CSUN has scored in the first inning this season the team has gone 5-1. The team is also 4-1 when scoring first in games ... On the pitching side, 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.Â
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
Michigan (6-4) is coming off a series win at San Diego last weekend where it won the final two games of the series. The Wolverines have already played five nationally-ranked teams this season, posting a 3-2 record and notably a earning win over then-ranked No. 12 Oregon State, 5-3, to open the year. In 2025, Michigan went 33-23 overall and 16-14 in the Big Ten to finish sixth.
As a group, Michigan is batting .277, led by Brandon Stressler who is hitting .389 with one homer and six RBI. Colby Turner has hit an even .300 at the plate, totaling three homers with eight runs scored and 11 RBI. As a pitching staff, Michigan has posted a 4.42 ERA, totaling 80 strikeouts while opposing hitters are managing a .267 batting average.Â
Series History: The Wolverines lead the Matadors 3-2 in the all-time series. The teams last matched up in the 2019 season at Robert J. Hiegert Field where Michigan took two of three games. CSUN won the finale of that series by a 5-2 margin.Â
#GoMatadors
Â
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