CSUN Evens Series with 11-2 Win Over UC Davis

Saturday, April 18

Northridge, Calif.

2:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

21-16, 10-10

UC Davis

17-19, 8-12

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
UC Davis	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	7	2
CSUN	0	0	1	2	0	0	6	2	X	11	15	2

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Evens Series with 11-2 Win Over UC Davis

4/18/2026 6:17:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball broke open a tight game with a six-run bottom of the seventh as the Matadors evened their series with UC Davis with an 11-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at Robert J. Hiegert Field. Freshman Vaughn Coleman went 3-for-4 with a grand slam while Andrew Becker and Matthew Thomas had three hits apiece. Six Matador pitchers saw action in the contest with only one earned run coming across. Traig Oughton improved to 4-0 on the season with 3.2 innings out of the bullpen and one run allowed.

With the win, head coach Eddie Cornejo notched his 100th career head coaching victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Charles Rogers started for the third time out of the last five games for CSUN as the freshman right hander pitched around a one-out double in a scoreless top of the first. From there, the Matadors turned to Oughton, who collected much needed outs out of the bullpen, retiring the side in order in the second inning before stranding two runners in a shutout third.

CSUN lit up the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third after a one-out double from Coleman followed by an RBI single from Becker.

In the fourth, the Aggies broke through against Oughton with a solo homer off the bat of Elijah McNeal, but the Matadors answered quickly in the home half of the inning. Back-to-back hits from Colton Boardman and Will Linberg set the table before Jehee Lee put CSUN back on top with a sacrifice fly. The Aggies brought the infield in with a runner at third base and one out, but Trent Abel rifled a single up the middle for a 3-1 Matador lead.

The CSUN bullpen protected a slim lead over the middle innings. Logan Miller stranded two base runners in the fifth inning, retiring Korey Williams on a comebacker in front of the mound. Kody King took over in the sixth, sitting down the first five batters he faced before pitching around a pair of hits in the sixth for another scoreless frame.

The Matadors broke the game open in the seventh, sending 10 batters to the plate while the Aggies committed two costly errors. With the bases loaded and two outs, Mateo Rickman reached on a fielding error at shortstop. From there, Abel drew a walk to drive in another run, bringing Coleman to the plate next. The freshman battled to a 1-2 count before depositing a grand slam over the left field fence to push the lead to 9-1.

CSUN later added two more on a Linberg two-run double in the bottom of the eighth while the Aggies managed just a run the rest of the way.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN improves to 21-16 overall and 10-10 in Big West play while UC Davis drops to 17-19 overall and 8-12 in conference.
The Matadors outhit the Aggies 15-7.
Becker extended his hit streak to 16 games while Boardman stretched his on base streak to 22 games.
Thomas notched his team-best 15th multiple-hit game of the season.
Coleman's home run was his seventh of the year.
Jaiden Turner and Ryan Ellis also appeared on the mound for CSUN on Saturday. The Aggies pushed across an unearned run against Turner in the eighth while Ellis tossed a scoreless top of the ninth.

POST GAME COMMENTS FROM VAUGHN COLEMAN
"We're in a spot in the season where we could do something, so every game matters. We had to win today, there was really no other choice, that was our mindset.

"I feel great right now. I'm trying not to think too much and get on base for these guys. We have a lot of good hitters behind me. It's nice being at the top of the lineup again, I like it.

"As a team, we know we're good. We haven't played our best baseball the past couple weeks. We've really got to lock in and play good baseball tomorrow and the rest of the month, just take it one game at a time."

UP NEXT
CSUN and UC Davis play the rubber game of their weekend series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Ghizal Hasan has the call on ESPN+.

#GoMatadors