The CSUN baseball team lost a close 3-1 contest in the Alumni Homecoming Game against the University of California, Riverside (UCR) Highlanders on Saturday at the Robert J. Hiegert Field.

CSUN (11-30) was in control early on, but a cold stretch in the middle innings and missed opportunities late in the game ultimately led to their downfall.

“We were hitting the balls hard, but we left some guys on [base] in key situations,” said Andrew Becker. “Our pitchers did really well, and I wish we could have given them some run support to take the game over.”

CSUN out hit UCR 8-4, but left seven runners on base, four of which were potential game winning runs in the final two innings.

Early in the game, the Matadors made consistent contact with the ball, highlighted by a homerun from Kyle Panganiban, and held the Highlanders to zero hits through the first two frames.

Panganiban has been great in the batter’s box this year, leading the team with 52 hits and 32 runs on a .309 batting average.

In the fourth, the Highlanders (16-29) tied the game with an unearned run on a series of wild pitches by Diego Gutierrez. In the fifth inning, they took the lead with two solo home runs.

The middle innings were dominated by UCR starting pitcher Matthew O’Brien. In the seven innings he pitched, O’Brien only allowed six hits and struck out nine batters.

Despite the great pitching from the Highlanders, CSUN had some late chances to win the game. Matador Colton Boardman was five feet from hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth, but the fly ball fell just short of the wall to end the game.

The Matadors have had to rely on each other a lot this season to get through tough conference matches. Most notably, younger players like Becker and Panganiban have had to step up in their early careers.

“We just try to pass the baton and get the next guy up, especially in a close game. We’re trying to not do too much, just give [the baton] to the next person and learn to trust each other,” Becker said.

Four of CSUN’s next five games will be at home. The Matadors will need to take care of business if they want to be in a good position for the Big West Championship at the end of the month.

“I think it’s huge for us to be able to play at home just because of our ballpark,” Panganiban said. “I think that if we use that to our advantage, then we should be in good shape.”