CSUN Falls Short in 4-3 Defeat to San Diego State

Tuesday, April 21

Northridge, Calif.

5:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

22-17

San Diego State

23-18

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
San Diego St.	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	4	8	0
CSUN	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	3	9	2

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Falls Short in 4-3 Defeat to San Diego State

4/21/2026 8:41:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN dropped a tight 4-3 decision to San Diego State on Tuesday evening at Robert J. Hiegert Field. Trent Abel recorded three doubles and drove in a run while Kyle Panganiban picked up two hits and an RBI.

The Matadors used eight different pitchers on the day with Zach Johnson working the most at 1.2 innings with no runs allowed.

HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN would get a shutout frame from weekend starter Gabriel Hernandez to open Tuesday's matchup with the Aztecs. From there, CSUN turned to the bullpen where Charles Rogers would be the first seven relievers to see action. The Aztecs though greeted Rogers unkindly, pushing across a pair of runs on a two-run homer from Zane Kelly in the second.

The Matadors would get a quick response in their home half of the second, collecting a two-out RBI single from Xavier Rios. In the fifth, CSUN drew even with more two-out magic, this time it would be Panganiban who came away with the timely hit. Shortly after Vaughn Coleman collected a one-out double in the frame, Panganiban picked up an RBI single through the left side to square the game at 2-2.

Matador pitching consisting of Rogers, Johnson and Gage McCown blanked the Aztecs over three straight frames. However, San Diego State ended that string with a leadoff homer in the sixth off the bat of Jake Johnson. SDSU threatened for more with a runner at second base and two outs, but right hander Adam Christopher fanned Anthony Marnell to get out of trouble.

The Aztecs squeezed across an insurance run in the top of the eighth via an infield single from Marnell with runners at the corners. San Diego State later loaded the bases with two outs, but Jaiden Turner retired Drew Rutter on a grounder, keeping CSUN within striking distance.

CSUN pulled closer in the bottom of the eighth on back-to-back two-out doubles from Will Linberg and Abel, but the Matadors stranded the tying run at second base. In the last of the ninth, Panganiban represented the winning run at the plate with a runner at first base and two outs before Jake Frohn struck out the Matador third baseman to end the game.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN drops to 22-17 overall this season while San Diego State improves to 23-18.
The Matadors outhit the Aztecs 9-8 in the contest.
Turner pitched 1.1 shutout innings for CSUN while Christopher worked a shutout frame with two strikeouts. Other Matador pitchers used on the night included Cody Carson and Logan Miller.
Coleman went 1-for-3 with a walk to extend his on base streak to 14 games. Panganiban has also reached safely in 12 straight.
Andrew Becker saw his 17-game hit streak end in the game.
The Aztec bullpen consisting of McKnight and Frohn worked six combined innings with two runs allowed.

ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"I'm going to walk away from today's game feeling like we didn't play our brand of baseball because we were hesitant, we were scared at times and we were second guessing at times. I appreciate them exposing us, so we can learn from that and be better prepared for this weekend, but I didn't think we were going for it much today, and it showed."

UP NEXT
CSUN opens a pivotal Big West series at Cal Poly this Friday with first pitch set for 6 p.m on ESPN+.

#GoMatadors