STOCKTON, Calif. – Coming off a four-game sweep, the Tigers are heading south to take on Cal State Northridge in a four-game series starting on Friday.
It was a high-scoring weekend for the Tigers as they averaged just over nine runs a game against the Bears. With 14 extra-base hits, the Tigers will look to continue the hot streak against a Matadors pitching staff that limited a powerful UCLA team last weekend.
James Arakawa leads the Tigers to start the season in batting average, hitting .538 through three games with five RBI and six runs scored. Ben Nemivant leads the team in home runs, as he hit two in one inning against Northern Colorado. Nemivant also leads the team in RBI, slugging percentage and OPS.
Thomas Gavello adds to his list of preseason accolades as he was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team. Gavello was also named to the Perfect Game All-WCC Team and the D1Baseball Preseason Top 50 third basemen list. To start the season, Gavello is hitting .417, good for fourth on the team with one home run, four RBI and he leads the team in stolen bases.
It may have been an even better weekend for the Tigers on the mound, with the staff only allowing two earned runs in four games. Zach Patterson threw six innings of shutout baseball with five strikeouts. Elijah Birdsong leads the team in strikeouts as he threw 5.2 innings while allowing one run. As a staff, the Tigers have a K/BB rate of 5.0 with 40 strikeouts to just eight walks to start the year.
SERIES INFORMATION:
DATES: 2/25-2/27
TIMES: Friday 2 PM | Saturday 11 AM & 2:30 PM | Sunday 1 PM
LOCATION: Matador Field, Northridge, Calif.
LIVE STATS: https://gomatadors.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
*The double-header on Saturday will not be available on video.
HISTORY BETWEEN THE TWO:
The Tigers have a 6-4 record against the Matadors over the past ten games, including a five-game win streak from 2011-2012. The two teams had not played since 2013 when CSUN swept the Tigers.
