Over the weekend Cal State Northridge and Cal State Bakersfield faced off in a three-game series where both teams were in desperate need of a win.
The Matadors headed into the series with a five-game losing streak, and the Roadrunners had a four-game losing streak of their own.
Bakersfield put an end to their losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the Matadors at Hardt Field on Friday. The Matadors jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Jason Dabbs drove in a run on his fielder’s choice to shortstop.
The Roadrunners, who got a complete game from Mickey Jannis, responded by scoring three runs over the next two innings to take a 3-1 lead. The Matadors cut the lead to one run in the sixth inning on a RBI single by Dominic D’ Anna, however, the Roadrunners once again responded with two runs over the next two innings to put the game away.
Ryan Juarez took the loss for the Matadors and pitched 7 1/3 innings, striking out six, while giving up five earned runs.
The series moved to Matador Field for the last two games of the series and Northridge was hoping that some home cooking can put an end to a losing streak that had reached six games, however, the Matadors were soundly beaten 5-0.
The Matador offense was shut out for the first time this season, while being limited to six hits. For the second straight game the Roadrunners got a complete game performance from their pitcher. This time Matt Reyes went the distance.
The Matadors did get a good pitching performance from Paul Tremlin, who pitched six innings, gave up three earned runs and struck out six batters, while taking the loss.
The Matadors put an end to their seven-game losing streak in the series finale on Sunday with a 3-2 victory over the Roadrunners.
Head coach Steve Rousey decided to change things up a bit. Rousey had reliever Jimmy Jolicoeur as his starting pitcher.
Jolicoeur pitched six innings and struck out five batters, while allowing one earned run in picking up his second victory of the season. Rousey also started Jason Dabbs at right field, Chris Allen at first base, and Connor Rhoads at catcher.
“I put some different guys out there and it worked out,” Rousey said. “I was really happy with how the guys on the bench that normally start conducted themselves and really supported their teammates.”
The Matadors fell behind in the first inning when the Roadrunners Jason Kudlock hit an RBI triple. The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fifth, where the Matadors scored all three of their runs.
Rhoads got an RBI when he reached first base on a fielder’s choice. Rhoads later scored in the inning on a wild pitch. Nate Ring brought in the final run on a RBI sacrifice fly. The Matadors were able to hold the lead the rest of the way. Justen Gorski pitched the last two innings for the Matadors and got the save.
“We’ve been in a rut lately and this is a great win for us to stop the losing streak,” Jolicoeur said. “When you’re winning a lot you get on a roll, and the same thing happens when you are losing. We look forward to continue winning against San Diego State on Tuesday.”
The Matadors were able to prevail against the Aztecs, 3-2, at Matador Field. Northridge erased the Aztecs’ 2-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh by scoring three runs.
