CSUN Baseball (17-18) returns to non-conference play with a midweek contest at San Diego State on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. Live stats and an audio broadcast will be available for the game, and links can be found on the baseball schedule page at GoMatadors.com.

The Matadors dropped a hard-fought series to Long Beach State last weekend, losing a two-run game in the opener (7-5) and a one-run decision in the finale (3-2). CSUN picked up a 2-1 win in the middle game of the series on Saturday afternoon. The Matadors led in each game of the series including 2-0 in the finale but the Dirtbags collected timely hits to hand CSUN its first conference series loss.

Kevin Riley collected four hits against the Dirtbags, driving in four runs including hitting two home runs. Riley hit a solo home run in the second inning on Saturday, which proved to be the difference in the one-run win. Nolan Bumstead and Trevor Casanova each racked up four hits while Albee Weiss belted his 14th home run of the season in the opener. On the pitching side, Walker Armstrong took the hard-luck loss on Friday as he tossed 4.2 innings and gave up five runs but only one was earned. A day later, Isaiah Nunez earned his first victory of the season with 6.2 innings of work to go with five strikeouts and one run allowed.

Weiss’ home run on Friday moved him up to a fifth-place tie with Robert Fick (1995-96) on the Matadors’ all-time career Top 10 list. With 36 career home runs, Weiss can climb into fourth place, occupied by Eric Gillespie (1994-96), with one more long ball. The Big West leader in homers, Weiss is third in the nation in the category.

In the Big West, the Matadors’ second and third place hitters in the lineup lead three separate categories. Casanova is the league leader in hits (52) while he is tied for first in runs scored (29) and doubles (14). Weiss is tops in the conference in home runs, RBI (43) and slugging percentage (.655). Justin Toerner is also in first place in triples with five. As a team, the Matadors lead the Big West in runs (239), hits (356), doubles (67), RBI (226), extra base hits (127), total bases (593), home runs (50) and slugging percentage (.481).

Senior Andrew Weston will take the hill for the fourth-straight Tuesday this week. Weston (0-0) has pitched 6.2 total innings this season and struck out five batters while posting a 4.05 ERA. He pitched a season-high 3.0 shutout innings, scattering three hits to go with three strikeouts in a win over Fresno State last week. With four more starts, Weston would enter the Matadors’ all-time Top 10 list in games started.

Looking ahead, the Matadors will open up a three-game home series with UC Irvine beginning Friday. Following this week, CSUN will only have four remaining home games as 14 of the final 18 regular season games will be played on the road.

The Matadors and Aztecs have 85 times all time since 1960 with San Diego State holding a 45-40 edge. The teams last met in 2015 with each squad winning on its home field. In fact, the home team has won 15 of the last 16 meetings in non-neutral site games as the Aztecs have the only road win during the span in 2014 (12-0). Dropping nine straight on the road in the series, the Matadors seek their first win at San Diego State since 1996. Toerner tallied three hits in the two games against the Aztecs three years ago and stole three bases.

A Closer Look at San Diego State
The Aztecs are 23-13 on the year and 8-6 in the Mountain West Conference. Last weekend, San Diego State hosted Cal State Fullerton and took two of three games including the rubber game 9-6 on Sunday. At Tony Gwynn Stadium this season, the Aztecs are 13-7. Last season, SDSU won 42 games and won the Mountain West Conference Tournament, advancing to the Long Beach Regional.

Junior Jordan Verdon is hitting .362 with 36 RBI, 25 runs and five home runs to go with a .616 slugging percentage. Also hitting above .350, senior David Hensley has hit .352 at the plate with 27 runs, 18 RBI and three homers. As a team, the Aztecs are hitting .302 on the year and boast six hitters with a .317 average or better. Earning the Tuesday start, senior right hander Jorge Fernandez (3-3) owns a 4.68 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 25.0 innings of work.