Matadors Square Off with Sixth-Ranked Oregon State

Friday, May 1

Corvallis, Ore.

5:35 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

#6 Oregon State

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

Matadors Square Off with Sixth-Ranked Oregon State

4/30/2026 3:00:00 PM | Baseball

BASE Game Notes - April 30

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball visits sixth-ranked Oregon State this weekend in a three-game series in Corvallis, Ore. The opener is set for Friday at 5:35 p.m. while the rest of the series is set for Saturday at 3:05 p.m. and Sunday at 1:05 p.m. All three games will be available at Pac-12 Insider.

FOR STARTERS
CSUN (23-20, 11-13 Big West) is taking a week off from Big West competition, making the trip to Oregon State for a non-conference series this weekend. This season marks the third consecutive year the Matadors and Beavers will play a weekend series as nationally-ranked Oregon State has won all seven meetings over the past two seasons. Following this week's action, CSUN opens its final homestand next Tuesday against California Baptist before meeting UC Santa Barbara in a three-game series next weekend. The regular season wraps up the following week at Hawai'i (May 13-15).

A LOOK AT THE BIG WEST RACE
Currently sixth in the league standings, the Matadors are on the outside looking in for the moment when it comes to postseason positioning for the upcoming Big West Championship. However, the Matadors (11-13) are just a half-game back of the fifth and final postseason spot, occupied by Hawai'i at 10-11. Cal Poly sits in first place at 15-6 followed by UC San Diego in second place at 13-7 and both UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton in third place at 13-8 each.

ON THE MOUND
Freshman Charles Rogers opens the Oregon State series on the mound this Friday. The right hander has started the past three games for CSUN, tossing a scoreless inning in each of those starts. Overall, Rogers (0-1) sports a 6.52 ERA with 16 strikeouts over 29 innings and 19 total appearances. The Matadors' starters for the rest of the series are to be determined.

LAST TIME OUT
The Matadors snapped a four-game skid with a 7-4 victory over Fresno State on Wednesday at Robert J. Hiegert Field. CSUN would score three times over its final two at bats to break a late tie in the win. Matthew Thomas finished a triple shy of the cycle as he drove in two runs and had four hits. Andrew Becker broke the 4-4 tie in the seventh inning with a go-ahead home run while CSUN added two runs in the eighth. Cody Carson turned in his best outing of the season in relief, working three shutout frames in earning his first win as a Matador. In the ninth, James Voorhies nailed down his fifth save of the campaign.

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 (62), RBI (264) and slugging percentage (.506). The team is also ranked second in the Big West in several more categories including batting average (.297), hits (434), doubles (95), total bases (739) and on-base percentage (.381). On the defensive side, the Matadors are sporting a .976 fielding percentage, which is tied for second in the Big West.

Fresh off a four-hit effort on Wednesday, junior Matthew Thomas tops the Big West in batting average at .374 while he is also ranked first in OPS (1.217), runs scored (43), doubles (18) and slugging percentage (.771). Thomas shares the home run lead with Matthew Pena with 14 on the year.

MATADOR QUICK HITS
CSUN's pitching staff enters the weekend ranked eighth in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings, averaging 3.16. Sophomore starter Gabriel Hernandez has played a big role in that average, allowing just 10 walks for a 1.53 average to rank 29th in the nation ... The Matador defense has turned 41 double plays on the season, good enough for second in the Big West and ninth in the nation ... CSUN's 61 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 first (.374), Mateo Rickman is ninth (.330) and Andrew Becker is tied for 10th place (.333) ... Speaking of Thomas, he enters the weekend 15th in the nation in slugging percentage (.771).

SCOUTING OREGON STATE
The Beavers are 34-10 on the season, holding the eighth-best win percentage in the nation at .773. The team is competing as a Division I independent for the season straight season. Oregon State has already played four series against Big West teams this season and accumulated an 11-1 record in those games. On the year, the Beavers are an impressive 16-4 at home. OSU though is coming off a 9-7 loss to UTRGV on Wednesday. Oregon State sports the third-best ERA in the nation at 3.30 led by weekend starters Eric Segura (1.70 ERA) and Dax Whitney (2.00 ERA). Whitney is also second in Division I baseball in strikeouts with 104 recorded. On the hitting side, Bryson Glassco leads the team with a .295 batting average to go with five homers and 19 RBI. Bryce Hubbard has a team-high eight homers while AJ Singer has driven in 44 runs to lead the squad.

Series History: The Beavers lead the Matadors 17-9 in the all-time series with wins in nine straight games. CSUN suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of Oregon State last season in Northridge with the two sides combining for 20-plus runs in each game. The Matadors were also swept in 2024 in a four-game series in Corvallis despite leading in three games.

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