The Cal State Northridge baseball team was just one out away from winning the second game of its three-game series against the UC Riverside Highlanders on Sunday, but ended up with a 4-3 loss instead, resulting in the series loss, as well.
The Matadors headed into Sunday’s rubber match in Riverside with a 1-1 split in the series after losing Friday’s game 3-0, then coming back on Saturday to deliver a decisive 14-5 victory.
On Sunday, Northridge took a 1-0 lead in the third inning after T.S. Reed, who got on base with a double, crossed the plate on John Parham’s groundout. The Highlanders responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning, putting them ahead 2-1.
The Matadors tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth inning. Ryan Pineda singled, then advanced to third on a double by catcher Chris Hannick. Dominic D’Anna’s groundout pushed Pineda across the plate and Hannick advanced to third. Center fielder Jeff Pruitt hit a fly ball to right field and Hannick tagged, but was thrown out at home.
In the seventh inning, Northridge took a 3-2 lead. Pruitt hit a single, advanced to second on a passed ball, then scored on a single to center field by DeMarco.
The Matadors held the lead until the Highlanders came up to bat in the ninth. Riverside shortstop Trevor Hairgrove started off the frame with a single and advanced to third on a ball hit through the left side. Right fielder Joey Gonzales singled and second baseman Drew Garcia hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Hairgrove to tie the game. With two outs, first baseman Aaron Wible smacked a single to right field, scoring Gonzales for the 4-3 win.
Junior righthander Edwin Quirarte took the loss for Northridge, giving up three hits and two runs in one inning. Freshman righty Ryan Juarez started on the mound and threw for six innings, giving up four hits and two runs. P.J. Rousey made a brief appearance in the seventh, facing just two batters before being pulled for Paul Tremlin. Neither gave up any hits.
Richard Cates and Pineda both went 2-for-4 at bat for the Matadors, who outhit the Highlanders 9-to-7. Parham, DeMarco and D’Anna each had one RBI in the game.
The weekend series started on Friday night with the Matadors being shutout 3-0. Riverside scored two runs in the first inning and capped the game with a third run in the eighth.
Freshman righthander Davin Tate gave up three hits and two runs in seven innings on the mound for the Matadors. Sophmore righthander Billy Ott came in for relief in the eighth, scattering two hits and one run.
Paul Applebee took the win for the Highlanders after 7.1 innings of work, with Stephen Penny coming in for the final 1.2 innings.
Offensively, the Matadors collected six hits, while the Highlanders had five. Freshman Matt Warr hit 2-for-3 for Northridge, while Reed, Parham, Cates and DeMarco each got one hit.
Saturday’s game proved to be a battle of the bats, with both teams slugging double-digit hits. For the Matadors, Warr and DeMarco hit 3-for-5 and Reed, Cates and Hannick each had two hits. Parham, D’Anna, Muren and Pineda each had one hit in the Matadors’ 16-hit game.
Pineda’s one hit was a huge one – a grand slam in the first inning. Reed was the first to reach base for the Matadors, after being hit by a pitch. Cates hit a single to advance Reed, then D’Anna hit a single through the left side to score Reed. Warr hit a single to score Cates and Muren walked to set the table for Pineda’s first career homerun, giving Northridge a 6-0 lead.
Riverside cut the lead in half in the second inning, scoring three runs on five hits. Wible singled and advanced to second on a single by Goetz, then scored on a single by Brandon Schnebly. Catcher Jordan Obdyke scored Goetz, but was thrown out at second when he tried to turn his single into a double. Third baseman Ben Price singled to bring home Schebly and the inning ended with a 6-3 CSUN lead.
The Highlanders continued to close the gap in the fifth inning, scoring two more runs. After Gonzales walked and Garcia singled, Wible hit a sacrifice fly that scored Gonzales. Garcia stole second, then scored on a single by Goetz, with the inning ending at 6-5.
The Matadors extended their lead to 8-5 in the sixth. Hannick hit a double, then scored on a DeMarco’s single to left field. DeMarco took second on a wild pitch and came home on a single to center field by Reed.
DeMarco struck again in the eighth, with a single to right field. Reed reached base when he was hit by a pitch and DeMarco advanced to second. Two wild pitches led to DeMarco crossing the plate for a 9-5 lead.
Northridge added five more runs in the ninth inning, with Warr starting the rally with a double. Pineda reached first with a walk and Hannick hit a single through the left side, bringing around Warr. DeMarco smacked a triple to score Pineda and Hannick, then Reed followed suit with a triple of his own to score DeMarco. A passed ball sent Reed home for a final score of 14-5.
Senior righthander Phil Hann got the win for the Matadors after throwing five innings. Hann gave up nine hits and five runs. Quirarte came in for three innings and scattered three hits and senior Eric Billings threw the final inning, surrendering just one hit.
For Riverside, Matt Larkin took the loss, giving up nine hits and eight runs in 5.2 innings. Ryan Platt pitched three innings and gave up two hits and three runs. Dustin Emmons pitched just 0.1 innings and gave up five hits and three runs.
Northridge takes on UNLV for two non-conference games on Tuesday and Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Matador Field before hosting UC Irvine for a three-game Big West series starting Friday at 3 p.m.
