The CSUN baseball team ended their 10-game losing streak, defeating Columbia 12-2 in a seven-inning game Tuesday at the Robert J. Hiegert Field.
Max Mendes made his first season start for the Matadors and had a solid performance. Mendes pitched three scoreless innings, recorded two strikeouts and allowed no hits.
“It felt good. I did it a lot in high school, and I’m just trying to find any way to help this team win,” Mendes said.
CSUN’s starting pitcher added that the win helped with team morale as they faced the ugly losing skid.
“We needed this. The energy in the clubhouse is high, and now we’re going into Bakersfield with confidence,” Mendes said. “The sticks swung well, and all our pitches did really great today.”
Despite the losing streak, Mendes added that the team didn’t fall apart and used it to get closer.
“We’ve tried to stick together as a team. It’s been pretty rough these last couple of games, but we know we’ve been playing good competition, and we’ve been in most of the games, so we’re just trying to turn the tide and flip it around. I think everyone’s putting their head down and getting to work just trying to get us to win again,” Mendes said.
CSUN wasted no time getting on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Roberto Gonzalez led off with a triple and scored on a wild pitch to give CSUN a 1-0 lead.
The Matadors extended their lead by a run in the third when Will Lineberg tripled and scored on a sacrifice groundout.
In the fourth inning, Tyler Mejia’s RBI double and a Columbia throwing error allowed CSUN to extend their lead to 4-0.
Columbia finally got on the board in the sixth inning when Anton Lazits hit a solo home run, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
CSUN responded quickly with a three-run homer from Matthew Kurata in the bottom of the sixth inning, extending their lead to 7-1.
The Lions struck again in the seventh, but CSUN erupted with a five-run inning and put the cherry on top with a two-run homer to seal the deal, ending the game with the final score of 12-2.
With CSUN’s dominant win, the Matadors return to the winning column and improve to 3-14 overall. They are looking to build momentum as they prepare for their next game on the road, against Cal State Bakersfield on Friday, March 21, at Hardt Field.
