The Matadors (11-13) have been struggling to keep opposing runners off the path, but have the perfect chance to regain their composure on the mound heading into their conference opener at Cal State Fullerton (15-9) this weekend.

CSUN will begin Big West Conference play Friday at Goodwin Field against the Titans and their struggling offense.

Fullerton’s bats have not put runs on the board in its last two games and have only notched a combined eight runs in the last seven games.

Although the Titans have two hitters that are hitting over .300 in junior Carlos Lopez and sophomore Michael Lorenzen, they have also lacked the explosive bat that they’ve been used to in years past and have only knocked three over the fence this season.

For CSUN, sophomore Miles Williams has hit three home runs and tallied 14 RBI en route to a .294 batting average, third best of any Matador. Miles has a team-leading 25 hits this season and has compiled a .447 slugging percentage.

Junior Adam Barry leads Northridge with a .333 average and has 10 RBI with a team-leading .446 on-base percentage.

Transfer Cal Vogelsang is on an eight-game hitting streak, batting near the top of the order while senior Todd Eskilin has also been productive.

After a slow start to the season, Vogelsang is second on the team in hits (21) and has managed to raise his average to .269. Eskilin is hitting .293 and could be key in the run support against the Titans.

Right-handed pitcher Alex Muren has been a stud in his last three outings, all Northridge wins. Muren has managed to pitch deep into games. He had his second complete game of the season in his last outing, a 3-2 win at St. Mary’s Sunday. It was Muren’s fifth win of the year.