Cougar baseball got its season off to a strong start, winning both ends of a season-opening double-header at Westmont.  CSUSM scored a ninth inning run to take the first game 4-3, and won the second contest 4-2.  The Cougars are now 2-0 on the year, while Westmont falls to 0-3.

The well-played, well-pitched contests bode well for a Cougar team that lost much of its powerful lineup from last season.  Though the team lost a good portion of its home run total, it appears to have replaced that with pitching and defense, while continuing to manufacture runs.

CSUSM ace Johnny Holtman got the call in game one, and picked up right where he left off last season.  The super-talented sophomore threw 6 2/3 innings of four-hit ball, allowing just two runs.  He struck out five and walked just one.

The Cougars got on the board first, when Mike Pena led off the second inning with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and eventually came around to score on an error.  Westmont would answer in the bottom half of the inning, taking a 2-1 lead.  CSUSM tied it right back up in the fifth, with smooth-fielding shortstop Johnny Omahen singling, reaching second on a balk, and scoring on an error.

The tie game would persist into the seventh.  In the top of the inning, Steve Harris was hit by a pitch, and Ricardo Moran drove a one-out single to advance pinch-runner David West to third.  That brought Louie Russo to the plate, and the hard-hitting second baseman ripped a double down the left field line, giving the Cougars a 3-2 lead.

Westmont clawed back in the eighth, tying the game with an unearned run.  But the Cougars would not be denied, as Russo knocked a two-out single, and Scott Clement made Westmont pay with the game-winning RBI triple in his Cougar debut.  Pitcher Steve Lemmon would have an equally successful debut, throwing a scoreless ninth to close out the game and earn the save.

Game two would be an equally tight affair.  Starting pitcher Travis McCracken looked right at home in his first start in Cougar blue, allowing just four hits and one run over five quality innings of work.  He didn't walk anyone while striking out three.

CSUSM once again struck first, rallying with two outs in the third inning.  Clement knocked a single, right fielder James Scott followed that up with a single of his own, and Mike Pena made it three straight base hits, driving home the game's first run and putting the Cougars up 1-0.

After Westmont tied it in the bottom of the inning, the Cougars would re-take and extend the lead in the fourth, thanks to the the team's first home run of the season.  Austin Coleman led off with a single to center and left fielder Josh Miller was hit by a pitch to put CSUSM in business with no outs.  Omahen successfully sacrificed them over, and after an out, Russo blasted the game's biggest hit, a three-run homer to put the Cougars up 4-1.

The game got tense late, as Westmont scored one in the ninth and brought the winning run to the plate.  But veteran lefty Eric Julienne got the job done, inducing the game-ending groundout to pick up the save and secure the 4-2 victory.

CSUSM will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Vanguard.  The team's home opener is on Monday, February 9th, against San Diego Christian at 2:00 PM at Escondido High.