CSUN Opens Final Homestand Against California Baptist on Tuesday

Tuesday, May 5

Northridge, Calif.

5:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

California Baptist

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Opens Final Homestand Against California Baptist on Tuesday

5/4/2026 3:52:00 PM | Baseball

BASE Game Notes - May 4

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball kicks off its final homestand this Tuesday with a midweek matchup with future Big West competitor California Baptist. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. Ghizal Hasan has the call in an audio only broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.

FOR STARTERS
The Matadors (24-22, 11-13 Big West) are hosting their final midweek game of the season on Tuesday before setting their attention on Big West play with their final six games of the regular season against conference teams. CSUN face UC Santa Barbara later this week in a three-game conference series while the regular season concludes next week against Hawai'i (May 13-15).

A LOOK AT THE BIG WEST RACE
Idle last weekend, CSUN returns to Big West competition this week, looking to get back in the postseason race. CSUN is currently sixth in the Big West standings and two games back of the final postseason spot for the conference championship tournament. Cal State Fullerton and Hawai'i are each 13-11 as they hold on to the final postseason spots at the moment while Cal Poly sits in first place (17-7) followed by UC Santa Barbara in second place (16-8) and UC San Diego in third place (14-10). Still in the hunt for the postseason, and just below CSUN, sits UC Davis (12-15) and UC Irvine (10-14).

ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
CSUN gave sixth-ranked Oregon State a battle for three games on the road as the Matadors took the opener 8-6 before falling 6-5 and 5-2 over the final two games. On Friday, Vaughn Coleman homered twice while Mateo Rickman hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning. Oregon State would even the game in the seventh, but CSUN pushed across two runs in the 10th inning and closer James Voorhies shut the door in the bottom of the inning to secure the upset victory. In game two, CSUN took a 5-3 lead on a two-run single from Trent Abel in the sixth, but the Beavers drew even in the seventh, withstood a bases loaded jam in the 10th and scored the winning run in the 11th. In the rubber match, CSUN would fall behind by four runs early and could not make up the gap as the Matadors left 10 runners on base.

At the plate, Coleman powered the Matador offense by going 8-for-12 with five runs scored and three RBI in the series. Abel drove in the winning run on Friday with a squeeze play while he finished with five total RBI over the three games. On the mound, Voorhies blanked the Beavers over the final 2.2 innings of Friday's victory in picking up his fourth win of the season. The win over the Beavers was CSUN's first over a top-10 ranked team since beating No. 2 Stanford in 2022.

LEADING THE BIG WEST
CSUN's offense continues to be one of the most explosive in the Big West as the Matadors top the conference in home runs (65), RBI (279) and slugging percentage (.497). The team is also ranked second in the Big West in several more categories including batting average (.294), hits (463), doubles (98), total bases (782) and on-base percentage (.378). On the defensive side, the Matadors are sporting a .976 fielding percentage, which is tied for first in the Big West.

Junior outfielder Matthew Thomas holds first place in the Big West in multiple offensive categories including OPS (1.156), slugging percentage (.728), runs scored (43) and doubles while he shares the conference lead in home runs with teammate Matthew Pena at 14 on the year.

MATADOR QUICK HITS
CSUN's pitching staff enters the week ranked seventh in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings, averaging 3.14. Sophomore starter Gabriel Hernandez has played a big role in that average, allowing just 11 walks for a 1.56 average to rank 25th in the nation ... The Matador defense has turned 44 double plays on the season, good enough for second in the Big West and 11th in the nation ... CSUN's 65 home runs this season are the most for the program since 2018 ... Two Matadors are ranked in the top-10 in batting in the Big West as Matthew Thomas is fourth at .356 and Andrew Becker is eighth at .331 ... Speaking of Thomas, he enters the weekend 11th in the nation with 19 doubles recorded ... Freshman closer James Voorhies has notched five saves to rank third in the Big West.

SCOUTING CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
The Lancers come in with a 37-11 overall record including a 10-5 mark in the WAC. CBU, which is currently one game back of first place in the WAC, will make the transition to the Big West next season. The Lancers are 19-6 on the road after sweeping Utah Valley last weekend. On the year, CBU is 8-3 against Big West opponents. Offensively, CBU ranks sixth in the nation in base hits (538) and doubles (116) along with 10th in batting average (.318) while individually, the team boasts the top two hitters in the WAC in Chris Ramirez (.394) and Cole Hansen (.391). Ramirez is up to fourth in the nation with 78 hits on the year. On the mound, CBU also leads the WAC in staff ERA at 3.82.

Series History: CSUN holds a 10-3 edge over CBU in the all-time series. In February, the Matadors took the first meeting of the season with the Lancers as Matthew Thomas homered twice in a 7-5 victory in Riverside. CSUN last hosted CBU in 2024 with the Lancers coming out on top 12-4.

#GoMatadors