Long Beach State University Athletics
Thursday, April 2
Northridge, Calif.
5 p.m.
Long Beach State University
9-19, 4-9
2
at
7
CSUN
16-12, 7-6
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Long Beach St.
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
6
0
CSUN
0
2
0
1
3
1
0
0
X
7
13
0
Long Beach State Falls At CSUN After Midgame Rally
4/2/2026 8:14:00 PM | Baseball
Long Beach State rallied in the fifth before CSUN pulled away Thursday.
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Long Beach State mounted its strongest offensive push in the fifth inning, but Cal State Northridge answered immediately and pulled away for a 7-2 win Thursday night in the Big West series opener.
The Dirtbags broke through in the top of the fifth after trailing 3-0, stringing together three consecutive hits to pressure CSUN starter Gabriel Hernandez. Luke Taylor opened the inning with a single to left, Kaiden Smaka followed with a single up the middle, and Smith Chandler worked a walk to load the bases with one out. Matt Toomey then delivered an RBI single that stayed fair up the right field line, bringing home Chandler for Long Beach State's first run, before Trevor Goldenetz lifted a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Smaka and cut the deficit to 3-2.
Toomey finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and accounted for two of Long Beach State's six hits, while Goldenetz added a hit and RBI. Jake Evans, Smaka, and Taylor each contributed one hit during the Dirtbags' most productive inning of the night.
The Matadors answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth as Colton Boardman and Mateo Rickman opened the inning with consecutive singles.One batter later, Matthew Pena drove a three-run home run to right field, bringing home Rickman and Boardman and extending the Matadors' lead to 6-2.
Anderson worked 4.1 innings in the start, allowing six runs on 10 hits while striking out three. Tyler Gebb entered in relief and recorded two outs, while Ka'imi Kahalekai surrendered one run in the sixth before Mason Tymick and Andrew Carter, who made his first appearance of the season, combined for two scoreless innings and five strikeouts to close the night. Tymick struck out three in his inning of work, and Carter retired all three batters he faced in the eighth.
CSUN collected 13 hits overall, led by Matthew Pena's two-hit, four-RBI performance and Matthew Cormier's three-hit night. Matthew Thomas also added three hits and an RBI for the Matadors.
Long Beach State had early chances when Trevor Goldenetz singled in the first and Toomey reached in the third, but Hernandez kept the Dirtbags off balance through eight innings, allowing just two runs and one walk while striking out four.
The series continues Friday with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. in Northridge.
The Dirtbags broke through in the top of the fifth after trailing 3-0, stringing together three consecutive hits to pressure CSUN starter Gabriel Hernandez. Luke Taylor opened the inning with a single to left, Kaiden Smaka followed with a single up the middle, and Smith Chandler worked a walk to load the bases with one out. Matt Toomey then delivered an RBI single that stayed fair up the right field line, bringing home Chandler for Long Beach State's first run, before Trevor Goldenetz lifted a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Smaka and cut the deficit to 3-2.
Toomey finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and accounted for two of Long Beach State's six hits, while Goldenetz added a hit and RBI. Jake Evans, Smaka, and Taylor each contributed one hit during the Dirtbags' most productive inning of the night.
The Matadors answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth as Colton Boardman and Mateo Rickman opened the inning with consecutive singles.One batter later, Matthew Pena drove a three-run home run to right field, bringing home Rickman and Boardman and extending the Matadors' lead to 6-2.
Anderson worked 4.1 innings in the start, allowing six runs on 10 hits while striking out three. Tyler Gebb entered in relief and recorded two outs, while Ka'imi Kahalekai surrendered one run in the sixth before Mason Tymick and Andrew Carter, who made his first appearance of the season, combined for two scoreless innings and five strikeouts to close the night. Tymick struck out three in his inning of work, and Carter retired all three batters he faced in the eighth.
CSUN collected 13 hits overall, led by Matthew Pena's two-hit, four-RBI performance and Matthew Cormier's three-hit night. Matthew Thomas also added three hits and an RBI for the Matadors.
Long Beach State had early chances when Trevor Goldenetz singled in the first and Toomey reached in the third, but Hernandez kept the Dirtbags off balance through eight innings, allowing just two runs and one walk while striking out four.
The series continues Friday with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. in Northridge.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gabriel Hernandez (3-2)
L: Anderson, Caleb (1-4)
Batting:
RBI: Goldenetz, Trevor 1 ; Toomey, Matt 1
SF: Goldenetz, Trevor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Chandler, Smith 1 ; Smaka, Kaiden 1
Batting:
2B: Mateo Rickman 1 ; Matthew Pena 1
HR: Matthew Pena 1
RBI: Matthew Thomas 1 ; Mateo Rickman 1 ; Matthew Pena 3 ; Trent Abel 2
SF: Trent Abel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Matthew Thomas 1 ; Colton Boardman 1 ; Mateo Rickman 1 ; Matthew Pena 2 ; Matthew Cormier 2
SB: Matthew Thomas 1
HBP: Mateo Rickman 1 ; Vaughn Coleman 1 ; Cameron Calvillo 2
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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