California State University Northridge Athletics
Wednesday, April 29
Northridge, Calif.
5:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
Fresno State
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Takes on Fresno State on Wednesday
4/28/2026 11:37:00 AM | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball returns to action on Wednesday for a midweek matchup with Fresno State at Robert J. Hiegert Field. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. with Ghizal Hasan on the call in an audio only broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.Â
FOR STARTERS
The Matadors (22-20, 11-13 Big West)Â host their penultimate midweek game of the season on Wednesday against the Bulldogs. The teams are meeting for the second time this season after CSUN prevailed 11-9 on March 17 in Fresno. The Matadors are 6-3 in midweek games this season including going 4-2 at Robert J. Hiegert Field. CSUN will host its final midweek game of the season next Tuesday, May 5 against California Baptist.Â
CSUN is taking a week off from Big West play this week as the Matadors will play a non-conference series at No. 6 Oregon State starting Friday in Corvallis. The Matadors return to Big West action next weekend against UC Santa Barbara at home (May 8-10) before CSUN wraps up the regular season at Hawai'i the following week (May 13-15).Â
ON THE MOUND
CSUN's freshman Charles Rogers (0-1) will make his 10th start of the season on Tuesday against Fresno State. Rogers has accumulated 15 strikeouts over 28 innings of work to go with a 6.75 ERA this season. The right hander has started five of the past eight games, tossing a shutout inning in all of those appearances. His deepest outing of the season came on Feb. 27 when he tossed 3.1 innings and allowed a run to Western Michigan.Â
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
CSUN dropped three games to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo last weekend. The Matadors held leads in two of the three games, but the Mustangs picked up clutch hits throughout the series and received solid work out of their bullpen to hold on each time. Cal Poly took the opener 8-5 before holding off CSUN in game two, 5-4. The finale of the series went the Mustangs' way again in a 5-2 decision.Â
Despite the results at Cal Poly, the Matadors received a solid series from slugger Matthew Pena who homered in game one and batted .455 (5-for-11) over the three games. Shortstop Trent Abel and Matthew Thomas also had five hits in the series for CSUN. On the pitching side, freshman Charles Rogers opened Saturday and Sunday, tossing a shutout bottom of the first in each contest. Zach Johnson also worked two games out of the bullpen, throwing 2.1 combined innings of shutout work with three strikeouts.Â
LEADING THE BIG WEST
CSUN's offense continues to be one of the most explosive in the Big West this season as the Matadors top the conference in home runs (59), RBI (259) and slugging percentage (.501). The team is also ranked second in the Big West in several more categories including batting average (.295), hits (420), doubles (93), total bases (714). On the defensive side, the Matadors are sporting a .976 fielding percentage, which is tied for second in the Big West.Â
Individually, Matthew Thomas continues to lead the Big West in OPS (1.175), runs scored (42) and slugging percentage (.739). Teammate Matthew Pena moved into the top spot in the Big West on the home run list with his 14th of the season this past weekend. Â
MATADOR QUICK HITS
CSUN's pitching staff enters the week ninth in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings, averaging 3.19. Sophomore starter Gabriel Hernandez has played a big role in that average, allowing just 10 walks for a 1.53 average to rank 30th in the nation ... The Matador defense has turned 40 double plays on the season, good enough for second in the Big West and 12th in the nation ... CSUN's 59 home runs this season are the most for the program since 2018 ... Three Matadors are ranked in the top-10 in batting in the Big West as Matthew Thomas is third (.360), Andrew Becker is eighth (.333) and Mateo Rickman is ninth (.330) ... Speaking of Thomas, he enters the week 18th in the nation in slugging percentage (.745).Â
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs are 12-28 overall this season with a 1-13-1 mark in Mountain West play. Fresno State is coming off three straight losses to San Diego State over the weekend. On the season, the Fresno State has gone 3-4 in games against Big West teams. As a team, the Bulldogs are hitting .273 at the plate while the pitching staff holds a 6.75 ERA for the season. Griffen Sotomayor tops the Bulldogs with a .331 batting average and 35 RBI to go with six homers. Marcus Nolen sports a team-high seven homers with 32 RBI.Â
Series History: The Matadors trail the Bulldogs 58-30 in the all-time series but have won two straight meetings. In CSUN's 11-9 win at Fresno State earlier this season, the Matadors were led by freshman Vaughn Coleman who drove in six runs and homered twice.Â
#GoMatadors
Â
FOR STARTERS
The Matadors (22-20, 11-13 Big West)Â host their penultimate midweek game of the season on Wednesday against the Bulldogs. The teams are meeting for the second time this season after CSUN prevailed 11-9 on March 17 in Fresno. The Matadors are 6-3 in midweek games this season including going 4-2 at Robert J. Hiegert Field. CSUN will host its final midweek game of the season next Tuesday, May 5 against California Baptist.Â
CSUN is taking a week off from Big West play this week as the Matadors will play a non-conference series at No. 6 Oregon State starting Friday in Corvallis. The Matadors return to Big West action next weekend against UC Santa Barbara at home (May 8-10) before CSUN wraps up the regular season at Hawai'i the following week (May 13-15).Â
ON THE MOUND
CSUN's freshman Charles Rogers (0-1) will make his 10th start of the season on Tuesday against Fresno State. Rogers has accumulated 15 strikeouts over 28 innings of work to go with a 6.75 ERA this season. The right hander has started five of the past eight games, tossing a shutout inning in all of those appearances. His deepest outing of the season came on Feb. 27 when he tossed 3.1 innings and allowed a run to Western Michigan.Â
ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
CSUN dropped three games to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo last weekend. The Matadors held leads in two of the three games, but the Mustangs picked up clutch hits throughout the series and received solid work out of their bullpen to hold on each time. Cal Poly took the opener 8-5 before holding off CSUN in game two, 5-4. The finale of the series went the Mustangs' way again in a 5-2 decision.Â
Despite the results at Cal Poly, the Matadors received a solid series from slugger Matthew Pena who homered in game one and batted .455 (5-for-11) over the three games. Shortstop Trent Abel and Matthew Thomas also had five hits in the series for CSUN. On the pitching side, freshman Charles Rogers opened Saturday and Sunday, tossing a shutout bottom of the first in each contest. Zach Johnson also worked two games out of the bullpen, throwing 2.1 combined innings of shutout work with three strikeouts.Â
LEADING THE BIG WEST
CSUN's offense continues to be one of the most explosive in the Big West this season as the Matadors top the conference in home runs (59), RBI (259) and slugging percentage (.501). The team is also ranked second in the Big West in several more categories including batting average (.295), hits (420), doubles (93), total bases (714). On the defensive side, the Matadors are sporting a .976 fielding percentage, which is tied for second in the Big West.Â
Individually, Matthew Thomas continues to lead the Big West in OPS (1.175), runs scored (42) and slugging percentage (.739). Teammate Matthew Pena moved into the top spot in the Big West on the home run list with his 14th of the season this past weekend. Â
MATADOR QUICK HITS
CSUN's pitching staff enters the week ninth in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings, averaging 3.19. Sophomore starter Gabriel Hernandez has played a big role in that average, allowing just 10 walks for a 1.53 average to rank 30th in the nation ... The Matador defense has turned 40 double plays on the season, good enough for second in the Big West and 12th in the nation ... CSUN's 59 home runs this season are the most for the program since 2018 ... Three Matadors are ranked in the top-10 in batting in the Big West as Matthew Thomas is third (.360), Andrew Becker is eighth (.333) and Mateo Rickman is ninth (.330) ... Speaking of Thomas, he enters the week 18th in the nation in slugging percentage (.745).Â
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs are 12-28 overall this season with a 1-13-1 mark in Mountain West play. Fresno State is coming off three straight losses to San Diego State over the weekend. On the season, the Fresno State has gone 3-4 in games against Big West teams. As a team, the Bulldogs are hitting .273 at the plate while the pitching staff holds a 6.75 ERA for the season. Griffen Sotomayor tops the Bulldogs with a .331 batting average and 35 RBI to go with six homers. Marcus Nolen sports a team-high seven homers with 32 RBI.Â
Series History: The Matadors trail the Bulldogs 58-30 in the all-time series but have won two straight meetings. In CSUN's 11-9 win at Fresno State earlier this season, the Matadors were led by freshman Vaughn Coleman who drove in six runs and homered twice.Â
#GoMatadors
Â
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