After a five game hiatus CSUN will resume Big West play this week with a three game series against Cal Poly at Matador Field. The Matadors (18-14, 0-3) will be looking for their first conference victory of the season.

Last season the Matadors went 0-3 against the Mustangs. Two of the losses were by one run.

The Mustangs come into the series with a record of 9-21, and are 2-4 in conference play. The Mustangs have struggled recently posting a 2-10 record in their last 12 games, however, Matador head coach Steve Rousey expects a hard fought three-game series.

“They are a very good ball club because they do have talent,” Rousey said. “I know they are far, far better than what their record reflects. I would expect them to come out here with a do or die mentality, and we will see the best they have to offer.”

“We are not going to let down on Cal Poly,” said Pitcher Bill Ott. “Any Big West team is always capable of stealing a win.”

Despite getting swept by UC Irvine, Ott feels that there were some lessons learned from that series that can benefit the Matadors in the future.

“We didn’t play poor baseball per se (against UC Irvine) but we weren’t as aggressive as we should have been,” Ott said. “Going into conference with these last two wins is going to be big for us.”

Rousey said that he does not expect the team to have any lingering effects from the UC Irvine series.

“The guys are done with Irvine, it’s over with,” Rousey said. “Whether it’s because somebody just got done beating us, or Cal Poly beat us last year and we want to beat them this year, I don’t care as long as we want to win.”

The Matadors posted big offensive numbers during non-conference play, however, in their last nine games; the highest offensive output has been seven runs, which came in a 12-7 loss to Pepperdine.

Although the offense has fallen off its torrid pace, the pitching has improved, giving up just four runs in the last two games, both victories.