The CSUN softball team’s season came to a conclusion over the weekend after being swept against the Cal State Fullerton Titans.

At the start of the season the Matadors (16-23, 5-16 Big West) were expected to contend for the Big West Conference Championship, but were unable to really get started. After starting the season 4-1, CSUN had 10 games cancelled due to rain in February.

The Matadors played well in March and after sweeping UC Davis during the first week of April, improved to 14-10. Nine consecutive Big West Conference games proved to be the deciding factor of the season though, as the Matadors went on to lose all nine games.

During that streak, the Matadors were held to one run or less in eight of the nine games. That seemed to be the common link throughout the season for CSUN.

While the pitching was excellent, allowing opponents to score seven or more runs just six times all season long, the batting was less then perfect, as they were held to two runs or less 22 times in 42 games. In those 22 games, CSUN’s record was just 4-18.

The good news for the Matadors is that the team is young. The only player on the team leaving will be starting pitcher Kia Fennell.

While Fennell is an extremely valuable piece to the team, with all the returning players, CSUN should have a successful next season.

Among the returning players, juniors Janine Grund and Jan Moshier and sophomore Erin Sigala received All-Big West honors. Grund batted .277 on the year and Moshier hit .299 with a team-leading nine homers and 23 RBI.

Sigala was fourth on the team with a .273 batting average, but her impressive stats go far beyond the batter’s box. Sigala was the team’s No. 2 starter and finished 6-13 with a 3.74 ERA. She started a team-high 21 games and had 111 strikeouts in 119 2/3 innings pitched.