CSUN Gets Back on Winning Track, Defeats Fresno State 7-4

Wednesday, April 29

Northridge, Calif.

5:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

23-20

Fresno State

12-29-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Fresno State	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	4	5	2
CSUN	1	2	0	1	0	0	1	2	X	7	14	1

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Gets Back on Winning Track, Defeats Fresno State 7-4

4/29/2026 8:29:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball scored three times over its final two at bats en route to a 7-4 victory over Fresno State on Wednesday at Robert J. Hiegert Field. Matthew Thomas finished a triple shy of the cycle as he collected four hits including a homer and two RBI.

Andrew Becker would hit a go-ahead solo homer in the seventh while relief pitcher Cody Carson tossed three scoreless innings in earning his first win of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Thomas got the Matador offense rolling early with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first. An inning later, Kyle Panganiban scored on a wild pitch while Trent Abel smacked a solo home run to extend the Matador lead to 3-0. Over the third and fourth innings, Thomas picked up two more hits including an RBI double that plated Colton Boardman for a 4-0 advantage.

The Matador pitching staff would be strong early as Charles Rogers and Calix Armijo tossed scoreless innings each to start. In the third, Ryan Ellis pitched around a single and a Matador error in a scoreless inning while he tossed a 1-2-3 fourth to maintain the lead.

Fresno State though broke through in the fifth inning with two-out hitting. Reliever Jack Jones retired the first two batters, but Mikey Pickett reached on an infield single to keep the inning alive. A hit by pitch followed by an RBI single from Mikey Boyd put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard. The big blow of the inning would come off the bat of Marcus Nolen who hit a three-run homer to left to tie the game at 4-4.

After the four-run frame, the Matadors turned to Carson who cooled off the Fresno State bats. Carson faced the minimum over three outstanding innings of work as he benefited from a double play in the seventh to wipe away a one-out hit.

Meanwhile, the Matadors broke the 4-4 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning as Becker hit an opposite field homer to left that just cleared the fence. CSUN added to its lead in the eighth inning when Will Linberg singled to left field with a runner on base. An error by left fielder Cam Schneider allowed Evan Saito to score all the way from first base on the play. Two batters later, Matthew Pena laid down a well-placed bunt single up the third-base line with two outs, scoring Linberg for a 7-4 lead.

Freshman closer James Voorhies slammed the door in the top of the ninth, tossing a 1-2-3 inning for his fifth save of the season.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN improves to 23-20 overall while Fresno State drops to 12-29-1.
The Matadors outhit the Bulldogs 14-5 in the contest.
All nine CSUN starters had at least one hit while the Matadors recorded a hit in each inning they batted.
Thomas collected a homer, a single and two doubles on the day. He would attempt to complete the cycle in the sixth inning but was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. His multi-hit game was his 18th of the season.
Linberg and Panganiban also had two hits each for CSUN.
Pena stretched his hit streak to eight games.
Rogers started the third straight game for CSUN as he worked a clean top of the first.

UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road for a non-conference series with sixth-ranked Oregon State, starting Friday at 5:35 p.m.

#GoMatadors