CSUN Edges Pepperdine 4-2 to Take Season Series

Tuesday, April 7

Northridge, Calif.

5:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

18-13

Pepperdine

10-22

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

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Edges Pepperdine 4-2 to Take Season Series

4/7/2026 9:24:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball picked up timely home runs from Matthew Pena and Matthew Thomas and strong pitching throughout the night in holding off Pepperdine for a 4-2 victory on Tuesday at Robert J. Hiegert Field.

Seven Matador pitchers saw action in the contest with a trio of hurlers combining to hold the Waves off the scoreboard over the last three innings. On the offensive side, Matthew Pena had two hits and two RBI to go with his 13th home run of the season while Matthew Thomas blasted a go-ahead homer, his 11th of th year, and totaled two RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Tuesday's game would prove to a pitcher's duel through the early innings. CSUN's Charles Rogers limited the Waves to just one hit over his first three innings of work, benefiting from a 7-4 double play to end the top of the third when left fielder Andrew Becker threw out Max Aude at second base. On the flip side, the Waves picked up three shutout innings of work from Jackson Pace who faced the minimum through three innings.

CSUN threatened in the bottom of the fourth against the Wave bullpen with two runners on base and two outs, but reliever Gabe Maya fanned Matthew Cormier to end the frame.

Still a scoreless game in the top of the fifth, Pepperdine broke through first when Aude came away with a two-out RBI single. An inning later, Pepperdine leaned on the long ball with James Dell'Amico blasting a solo home run for a 2-0 lead.

After leaving two runners on base in the fifth, CSUN would drawn even in the bottom of the sixth. Mateo Rickman legged out an infield single with one out, bringing Pena to the plate. The Matador slugger would jump on the first pitch, hammering a two-run homer over the right field fence.

CSUN flexed its muscles once more in the bottom of the seventh when Thomas smacked a two-out solo homer to right field, giving the Matadors their first lead at 3-2. The Matadors would eventually load the bases in the inning but reliever Pierson Howe retired Jehee Lee on a fielder's choice.

Pepperdine would load the bases as well in the top of the eighth, taking advantage of two walks issued by Jaiden Turner and and a hit batsman by James Voorhies. However, Voorhies bounced back to strike out Aidan Camberg, leaving three on the base paths.

After Thomas drove in an insurance run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly, Voorhies returned to the mound in the ninth looking for the save. The freshman right hander would do just that, striking out two Wave batters before retiring Julian Nunez on a flyout to right for the final out.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN improves to 18-13 overall this season while Pepperdine drops to 10-22.
Both teams finished with seven hits each while each side left nine runners on base.
Kody King was credited with the victory after tossing a shutout top of the seventh where he struck out two batters.
Voorhies earned his third save of the season, working 1.1 shutout frames with three strikeouts.
Out of the bullpen, Calix Armijo struck out a batter in a shutout fourth. Turner also recorded two outs in the top of the eighth while Zach Johnson and Cody Carson each tossed one inning.
Becker and Rickman each had two hits on the night. Becker has now hit safely in 10 straight games.
Boardman, who reached on a walk, extended his on base streak to 16 games.
CSUN's victory secured a season series win over Pepperdine.

ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"This was one of my favorite games of the year because we passed the baton [on the mound] and we worked as a team on all sides. With our pitching, we were able to limit damage and keep passing the baton to the relievers who did an excellent job with runners and they left a lot of runners on base. We made big plays on defense like the Jehee block [in the eighth inning with a runner at third base], Calvillo's foul ball catch and Becker's play on a line drive. Offensively, we had some timely hits with execution, our base running scheme and situational hitting. The home runs obviously helped but all around it was a solid ball game."

UP NEXT
CSUN hits the road this weekend to take on UC Riverside in a three-game Big West series. Due to anticipated inclement weather in the Riverside area, the series has been adjusted with games set for Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The opener on Thursday is set to begin at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

#GoMatadors