NORTHRIDGE – CSUN Baseball (8-4) returns home Wednesday afternoon for a midweek contest against UNLV at Matador Field. First pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health with Ross Porter on the call.

Live video, audio and stat links are all available on the baseball schedule page at GoMatadors.com.

The Matadors went 3-1 at last weekend’s GCU Classic in Phoenix. CSUN defeated Valparaiso twice by the finals of 14-13 and 6-5 in back-and-forth contests. The Matadors earned a split against Grand Canyon, falling 13-8 on Friday before defeating the ‘Lopes 4-1 a day later.

In a wild Friday match up with Valparaiso, the Matadors surrendered a nine-run ninth-inning lead before winning in walk-off fashion on an RBI single from Joey Cooper. On Sunday, Trevor Casanova would help spark a four-run eighth against the Crusaders with a go-ahead two-run double as the Matadors rallied past Valpo. Wesley Moore earned his first career victory against GCU, going five innings while Cassius Hamm nailed down the save with four shutout innings.

For his efforts last week, senior Albee Weiss was named Big West Field Player of the Week on Monday. Weiss hit .364 with 10 RBI, three doubles, two home runs and a .773 slugging percentage as the Matadors went 4-1 during the week. Playing in left field for the first time in his career, Weiss recorded hits and RBI in four of the Matadors’ five games. Collecting his sixth multi-home run game of his career, Weiss hammered two home runs and collected four RBI against Valparaiso on Sunday. Weiss is the second Matador in as many weeks to earn the weekly honor as Casanova received the nod last week.

The Matadors’ offense continues to rank among the best in the nation in several categories. CSUN is currently second in the nation in hits (161) and slugging percentage (.631), third in batting average (.356) and home runs (26), and fifth in runs (123) and doubles (34). Weiss is second in the nation in home runs (7) and total bases (43) and he is third in RBI (24).

In the Big West, Casanova leads the conference with a .469 batting average and 23 hits while he is tied for second in home runs (3) and tied for third in runs scored (13). Freshman second baseman Brandon Bohning is tied with senior shortstop Alvaro Rubalcaba for the league lead in runs scored (14). Cooper is posting a conference-best .518 slugging percentage and nine walks. Weiss leads the Big West in home runs and RBI while Kevin Riley is tied for first in doubles with six.

CSUN will send senior right hander Hayden Shenefield on Wednesday against the Rebels. Shenefield is 1-0 this season in five appearances to go with four strikeouts over five innings of work. On Feb. 19, Shenefield made his only start of the season against BYU as he tossed an inning and allowed five runs.

Dating back to 1976, the Matadors lead the all-time series with UNLV 27-24. CSUN has won five-straight games overall in the series but the teams have not met since 2011. The Matadors defeated the Rebels 11-6 in UNLV’s last trip to Matador Field seven seasons ago. CSUN has posted eight-straight wins over UNLV at home in the series.

A Closer Look at UNLV
The Rebels are 11-1 on the season including 3-0 in the Mountain West Conference. UNLV swept Fresno State last weekend at home to open conference play, winning three consecutive one-run games. Last season, the Rebels finished 20-36 with a 10-20 record in the Mountain West. Prior to facing CSUN, UNLV will visit CSU Bakersfield on Tuesday.

Junior Kyle Isbel is batting a team-leading .440 at the plate with 17 RBI, 15 runs, four home runs and a .860 slugging percentage. Fellow junior, Max Smith also has four home runs to go with a .400 batting average, 14 RBI, 12 runs scored and a .720 slugging percentage. As a team, the Rebels are hitting .315 with 97 runs scored. Junior right hander Paul Richy (1-0) will be starting for the Rebels against CSUN as he comes in with a 1.42 ERA and six strikeouts over 6.1 innings.