CSUN Drops 8-4 Opener to UCSB

Friday, May 8

Northridge, Calif.

5:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

24-24, 11-14

UC Santa Barbara

32-15, 17-8

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
UC Santa Barb.	0	0	4	0	0	0	1	3	0	8	15	1
CSUN	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	4	9	2

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Drops 8-4 Opener to UCSB

5/8/2026 9:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball dropped the opener of its weekend series to UC Santa Barbara by an 8-4 score on Friday at Robert J. Hiegert Field. Matthew Thomas led the way offensively, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a homer while Kyle Panganiban drove in two runs and had two hits. The game was squared at 4-4 in the seventh before the Gauchos pushed across four runs over the final three innings to take game one of the series.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Matadors would be up for the challenge facing UCSB's Friday ace and the national leader in earned run average in Jackson Flora. The first four CSUN batters reached to start the bottom of the first as Thomas drove in the game's first run on an RBI single.

After Flora escaped further trouble in the first inning, the Matadors went back to work in the second. Singles from Colton Boardman and Matthew Cormier set the table while Panganiban later drove in both runs via a single to right center. Thomas followed with a single of his own, but Flora limited the damage, striking out Pena and Trent Abel to end the threat.

The Gauchos were kept at bay in the first two innings, but they broke through with a four-run top of the third. UCSB loaded the bases in the frame with three singles while a walk forced in its first run. Moments later, Rowan Kelly and William Vasseur picked up RBI hits to put the Gauchos ahead at 4-3.

Flora retired the Matadors in order in the third and fourth innings before Thomas ended that string with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the fifth, tying the game at 4-4.

A Pena single knocked Flora from the game in the fifth, but the Matador bats went cold against reliever Chase Hoover. Mateo Rickman singled with two outs in the fifth inning against Hoover, but the left hander bounced back to retire the next 11 batters. Overall, Hoover would work 4.1 innings, allowing just the one hit in his stint on the mound.

Kody King gave CSUN a big lift out of the bullpen with two straight shutout frames over the fifth and sixth, but UCSB broke the 4-4 tie in the seventh on an RBI single from Kelly. The Gauchos added three more in the eighth inning, taking advantage of three hits along with a Matador error to extend to an 8-4 lead.

CSUN finally collected a base runner on Hoover in the ninth inning when Coleman drew a one-out walk. Panganiban followed with a walk of his own, bringing the tying run to the on deck circle. A comeback though was not in the cards as Josh Jannicelli entered from the bullpen and retired both Thomas and Pena to nail down a save.

NOTES OF THE GAME

CSUN drops to 24-24 overall and 11-14 in Big West play while UC Santa Barbara improves to 32-15 overall and 17-18 in conference.
The Gauchos outhit the Matadors 15-9.
King gave CSUN 2.1 innings out of the bullpen, allowing one run on two hits.
Pitchers Logan Miller, Zach Johnson and Cody Carson also saw action in relief.
Gabriel Hernandez opened the ballgame for CSUN, allowing four runs on eight hits to go with five strikeouts.
Thomas notched his team-best 19th multi-hit game of the season. He became the just the second hitter to record a home run against Flora this season.
Pena reached base for the 13th straight game.

ACCORDING TO COACH EDDIE CORNEJO
"I liked the attitude early. I liked the aggressiveness early. At some point, we gave in to the pressure of the game and we had several miscues defensively. We started elevating pitches on the mound and we weren't competitive at the plate. If we want to end on a good note this season, we have to compete for all nine innings, not just four."

UP NEXT
CSUN continues its weekend series with UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan on the call.

#GoMatadors