NORTHRIDGE – CSUN Baseball (19-26) hosts its final non-conference game of the season on Tuesday afternoon as the Matadors take on California Baptist at 3:00 p.m. A video stream of the game will be available on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ross Porter on the call.

Probable Pitching Match-Up
California Baptist at CSUN
RHP Angel Delgado (2-1, 3.32 ERA) vs. RHP Cassius Hamm (2-2, 6.00 ERA)

CSUN is coming off a tough weekend at Matador Field. The Matadors dropped three-straight games to No. 8 UC Santa Barbara, however the final two games were decided by a combined four runs. UCSB won a slugfest in the opener, 16-7, and held on for 4-2 and 5-3 victories to wrap up the series. The Matadors slugged five home runs in the series including four in the opener.

Freshman Denzel Clarke went 4-for-9 in the UCSB series with a pair of home runs. In game one, Clarke became the first Matador this century to hit an inside-the-park home run. Junior Sean Skelly and senior Kyle Barret each finished 4-for-10 against UCSB while sophomore Brandon Bohning belted two home runs and four RBI in the series. On the pitching side, senior left hander Isaiah Nunez notched his eighth quality start of the season as he worked 7.0 innings and allowed three runs on five hits. Sophomore right hander Blake Schriever worked a career-high 4.2 innings out of the bullpen and struck out a personal-best seven batters in the finale.

Making his return to the mound Tuesday, senior right hander Cassius Hamm will make his third start of the season on Tuesday. Hamm has not appeared in a game since starting at UCLA on April 2. Prior to his injury, Hamm went 2-2 with a 6.00 ERA in 24.0 innings over 13 appearances. Hamm has also collected 16 strikeouts on the season.

Heading into the week, second baseman Barret ranks second in the Big West in doubles (16), fifth in hits (56), seventh in batting average (.337) and extra base hits (21) and eighth in total bases (85). Barret has hit safely in 16 of the 17 Big West games he has played in as well as 33 contests overall. The senior is tops on the team with 17 multiple-hit games this season while he is ranked second with eight multiple-RBI games.

Bohning’s two home runs against UCSB moved him into the team lead and into seventh place in the Big West’s Top 10. The sophomore shortstop is also tied for third in the conference with 13 stolen bases. Freshman Andrew Lucas is tied for fourth in the conference with four triples while Skelly is tied for eighth in home runs (6). Clarke ranks fourth in sacrifice hits (8) and ninth in stolen bases (10) in the league. The Matadors are second in the Big West in home runs (45) and slugging percentage (.405).

CSUN has played California Baptist eight times in history with the Matadors posting wins in all eight of those games. The teams faced off for the first time in 20 seasons on April 23 this as the Matadors rallied for a 7-4 win in Riverside. CSUN trailed 2-0 and 4-3 in the game before junior Blake Doremus hit a game-tying home run in the seventh inning. The Matadors scored three in the ninth to seal the win, highlighted by a go-ahead RBI double from Lucas. Prior to the teams’ meeting two weeks ago, the Matadors last played CBU in April 1999 in Northridge with CSUN claiming a 1-0 decision. CSUN has not lost in six all-time meetings at Matador Field.

A Closer Look at California Baptist
In their first season at the Division I level, the Lancers are 29-18 and 14-7 in WAC play. CBU is in fourth place in the conference but is just one game out of first place. The Lancers outscored Utah Valley 21-2 in a three-game sweep over the weekend at Totman Stadium. Against Big West foes, CBU is 1-7 on the season with its lone win coming against nationally-ranked UC Santa Barbara. In the WAC, the Lancers lead the league in ERA (.372) and shutouts (6).

Senior Luke Navigato is ranked third in the WAC in hits (71) and fifth in batting average (.382) while he has collected 42 runs, 30 RBI and seven home runs. Freshman Chad Castillo is second on the team with a .358 batting average to go with 25 runs and 22 RBI. In the middle of the order, senior Ryan Mota is tops on the team in home runs (14), RBI (43) and slugging percentage (.575) while junior Andrew Bash has racked up 10 home runs and 28 RBI. Bash is also the WAC leader in ERA (1.91) on the mound. Making the Tuesday start, graduate right hander Angel Delgado (2-1) sports a 3.32 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 38.0 innings.