The Matadors (15-9) defeated the Utah State Aggies (5-11) in a doubleheader Wednesday at Matador Diamond with scores of 2-1 and 5-4.
Junior pitcher Brianna Elder (11-3) took the circle for game one for CSUN and pitched a complete game. Utah’s Noelle Johnson (4-7) took the loss after pitching six solid innings.
Northridge got on the scoreboard first. In the bottom of the first inning, an RBI double from freshman center fielder Taylor Glover scored junior infielder Abby Linn.
Utah State tied the game and would stay locked with CSUN until the top of the sixth inning off of an RBI single from sophomore first baseman Libby Pederson that advanced freshman pitcher Abby Indreland home.
CSUN won the game in style with a walk-off hit in the bottom of seventh inning when an RBI from junior catcher Sydney House brought Linn home.
The Matadors recorded just seven hits and one error in the low-scoring affair.
CSUN freshman pitcher Daphne Pofek (2-3) got the win in game two against Aggies junior pitcher Noelle Johnson (4-8) in a higher-scoring matchup.
The Matadors struck first again they got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning.
Freshman second baseman Katie Hooper doubled to right center, which scored Glover for a 1-0 lead.
Utah bounced back in the top of the second inning as they knotted up the game. Northridge scored another run in the bottom of the second to take the lead right back.
In the top of third inning, Utah exploded for three runs, giving them a 4-2 lead.
Continuing the back-and-forth scoring, CSUN scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, tying the game at four runs apiece.
Both teams did no harm in the next three innings. In extra innings, CSUN scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Sophomore third baseman Maylynn Mitchell singled, advancing senior first baseman Tanna Bindi to third base and advancing freshman shortstop Taylor Nate to score the winning run, elevating CSUN 5-4 over the Aggies.
Elder said that the rally to get the winning run was a perfect reflection of putting pressure on the defense. “We were starting a little bit slow and got a little too comfortable (In the second game). A rally for us in the fourth inning was definitely putting pressure on the defense, which has been our goal.”
Hooper said CSUN did well in both games because it has been “putting the ball in play, putting pressure on the defense and starting off strong.”
The Matadors will visit the Loyola Marymount Lions in a doubleheader on Friday. The first game will take place at noon and the following game will take place at 2 p.m.
