Coming into the 2025 season, the CSUN baseball team was looking to build off a 30-24 record from the previous season.
Simply put, this season has not gone the way the Matadors wanted, as they currently sit with an 8-23 record and are in second-to-last place in the Big West with a 4-14 conference record.
It’s been a year full of ups and downs, but primarily downs for CSUN, with the biggest struggle being the pitching staff. For nearly the second consecutive season, the team has placed near the bottom of the conference in every major pitching statistic.
Considering the program’s recent success with pitchers getting drafted, it’s head-scratching seeing this year’s pitching staff significantly struggle.
In their most recent outing this past Sunday, CSUN allowed 23 runs in a loss to UC San Diego. It’s the second-most runs allowed in program history. They also allowed 20 runs earlier in the same week to Arizona State.
During the 2024 season, CSUN’s team ERA was 5.66, which ranked in the bottom half of the Big West. Fast forward to this season, the team is dead last in the conference with an overall ERA of 8.90.
Although this season is far from over, the Matadors haven’t had a team ERA this high since 2004. That year, the team finished with a 6.98 ERA and a 19-38 record.
One of the biggest issues plaguing the pitching staff has been giving up the long ball. Currently, the team ranks last among Big West teams with 64 home runs given up. The second closest team is UC San Diego, with 37 home runs allowed and a distinctively large margin.
To put things into perspective, CSUN allowed just 53 home runs in 54 games last season. This year’s team topped that number in 31 games. The Matadors are on pace to allow the most home runs in program history, with the program record being 72, set in 1995.
CSUN has allowed teams to break double-digit runs in 13 of their 31 games played, nearly half of their games. In those 13 games, the Matadors have won just one, coming against Hawai’i in a 15-10 victory on March 28.
That same series against the Rainbow Warriors in the rubber match on Sunday, March 30, CSUN carried a six-run lead into the top of the ninth inning, only to allow 10 runs to come across, dropping the game and season series 14-10.
CSUN’s pitching staff hasn’t found much success with strikeouts either. The program currently ranks last in the conference with 234 strikeouts.
Despite the season not going to plan for the Matadors, Diego Gutierrez has been a bright spot in the staff as he has amassed a 2-3 record, pitching 50.1 innings, which ranks fifth in the Big West. He also has 45 strikeouts and has recorded a team-high 6.08 ERA.
The road doesn’t get much easier for CSUN as they kick off a four game homestand this week, starting Tuesday against Portland and then a weekend series vs. the No. 6 team in the country, the Oregon State Beavers.
To salvage the rest of the season and finish on a strong note, the pitching has to improve, and that will be put to the test immensely this week. All four games will be televised on ESPN+.
