The Matadors (18-7) dropped two out of three games over the weekend to finish off a rough road trip at the 2015 Husky Classic in Seattle, WA.
Northridge split their set of Saturday games, bouncing back from a Friday loss against No. 19 Washington State University (25-4). The Matadors defeated the Seattle University Redhawks (7-17), 8-0 in their first game of the day, before dropping an extra-inning ballgame 5-3, against the Ohio State University Buckeyes (13-7).
CSUN took the field against the Washington University Huskies for the second time in as many days on Sunday. The Matadors suffered another late-inning Husky rally, this time in the sixth inning, for a final score of 4-2.
Senior pitcher Brianna Elder and freshman pitcher Zoe Conley traded pitching duties over the weekend. The Elder-Conley one-two punch has proved valuable for the Matadors in previous games, but a few hiccups over the weekend caused some trouble for the battery. The duo combined for 16 strikeouts, and 19 hits allowed in three games played.
Sophomore first baseman Arianna Wassmer had a solid weekend collecting seven base hits and plating four Matador base runners.
Sophomore utility Aliyah Ricks, who started Sunday’s contest as the designated player and lead-off hitter, collected four hits on four at-bats and two stolen bases. CSUN’s number two batter, sophomore center fielder Taylor Glover slapped three base hits of her own, one of which drove home Ricks. Glover added two RBIs over the weekend to her season total. Glover, who has twice as many stolen as her next competitor, added her 18th stolen base to her stat line.
The Big West’s leading slugger, sophomore utility player Katie Hooper, padded her lead a bit with her ninth home run and 29th RBI of the season. Hooper’s long ball was the only home run for the Matadors throughout the weekend tournament.
The Matadors had their worst weekend of the season record-wise (1-3), but will try to get back into the win column when they return to the Matador Diamond on Thursday to host a tournament of their own. CSUN will kick off the CSUN tournament by facing off against the Bryant University Bulldogs (5-10) at 3pm. The Matadors will invite the Buffalo University Bulls (5-11) on Friday at 4 pm, then again on Saturday at the same time. The tournament will end for CSUN on Sunday after their game against the Colorado State Rams (11-12).
