Heading into Friday’s game, the visiting Long Beach State Dirtbags had only managed to hit one ball beyond the outfield walls this year. But they hadn’t played at Matador Field. With the walls 325-feet away down the line, a three-run dinger by LBSU’s Juan Avila made all the difference as the CSUN bats were unable to keep up with the Dirtbags and fell 8-2. “Bottom line was (Long Beach) outplayed us today,” CSUN head coach Matt Curtis said. “They swung… Read more

CSUN’s bats are hot after a 5-2 non-conference victory over CSU Bakersfield Tuesday. CSUN (17-20, 4-5 Big West) will need the hot hitting to continue if it plans on scoring runs against the Dirtbags, who notched their second shutout of 2012 in their last outing at USC. Long Beach State (19-19, 9-3) has used its pitching to earn six consecutive series victories and travels to Northridge for a three-game series this weekend. LSBU has three starting pitchers with ERAs below… Read more

The Matador bats came out swinging and hit three home runs, but defense was the unsung hero of Tuesday afternoon’s 5-2 victory over Cal State Bakersfield at Matador Field. Matador Harley Holt faced off against Scott Brattvet in what appeared to be a pitcher’s duel at the beginning. In the top of the first, Holt got two quick outs before the Roadrunners began sprinting and scored a run with a mix of singles and walks. That was the only score… Read more

CSUN outdueled CSU Bakersfield in the first meeting between the two on Apr. 10 and have another chance today to prove that the walk-off win wasn’t a fluke. In the first matchup, the Matadors (16-20) narrowly came away with a victory over the Roadrunners (18-18) after a Ryan Raslowsky grounder was mishandled by the CSUB shortstop, allowing CSUN to score the winning run. This time around, Northridge will have sophomore Harley Holt on the mound to start while CSUB will… Read more

WESTWOOD – The Matadors hadn’t forgotten an embarrassing 19-7 loss in their home opener on Feb. 21 to their rivals from Westwood. At Jackie Robinson Stadium for a second go-round against the No. 11 Bruins Tuesday night, CSUN came out swinging, scoring early and taking a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning. “(The home opener) was on our mind and we definitely wanted to get back at (the Bruins) for that loss they put on us,” CSUN’s Nate Ring said…. Read more

The Matadors may have gotten a confidence boost coming out of their Big West Conference series win over No. 27 Cal Poly, and they could sure use it when they face familiar foe, No. 11 UCLA today. CSUN (16-19, 4-5 Big West) hosted UCLA (24-8, 10-5 Pac-12) Feb. 21 and was dismantled by the Bruins’ bats, 19-7, in the Matadors’ home opener. In the loss, Northridge managed nine hits and scored in three consecutive innings, but UCLA’s nine-run eighth exploited… Read more

Thirty minutes after surviving a nerve-wracking slugfest of a Game 1 in which he pinch-ran a crucial run for CSUN (15-19, 3-5 Big West), pitcher Alex Muren got on the mound for Game 2 to make sure the Mustangs’ powerful offense was held in check at least once Saturday afternoon at Matador Field. Eight Cal Poly hits later, it was clear that offense dominating defense was going to remain the theme of the afternoon, much to Muren’s dismay. “(Cal Poly)… Read more

The Matadors (14-18, 2-4 Big West) head into their Big West Conference home opener Friday against No. 27 Cal Poly (20-11, 4-2) with some momentum after a thrilling 4-3 win over CSU Bakersfield Tuesday afternoon in non-conference play. The walk-off victory displayed the scrappiness of the CSUN offense after the bullpen uncharacteristically gave up the lead in the ninth, leaving questions for Northridge to answer heading into the weekend series against Cal Poly. The Mustangs come into the series after… Read more