Cougar baseball brought the lumber to Poway High on Sunday, scoring 32 runs in a double-header sweep of Doane College (Neb.).  CSUSM won game one 15-5, and took game two 17-7 to improve its record on the season to an impressive 13-5.

For the second straight day, centerfielder James Scott got things started off right, going with a two strike pitch and driving it over the fence in left center.  The home run was Scott's team-leading ninth on the season.  Scott Clement followed that up with a triple, and was driven home by Dance Ponciano, who eventually came in to score himself on a pair of wild pitches.  CSUSM held a 3-1 lead at the end of one.

Doane tied it up in the third, and the teams traded runs in the fourth to make it 4-4. 

After four close innings, the Cougars would put the contest out of reach in the fifth.  CSUSM re-took the lead when Scott Clement led off the inning with a blast off the football stadium beyond the left field fence, but that was just the start.  Ponciano followed up with a single, Josh Miller reached on an error, and Mike Pena drew a walk to load the bases.  Austin Coleman plated a run with a sac fly, and a wild pitch scored another run.  Pinch hitter Steve Harris then sliced a two-RBI double to left center, and after a walk, Ponciano knocked his second base hit of the inning for an RBI.  The inning's final run came home to score on an error. 

When the dust settled, CSUSM held a commanding 11-4 lead.

The Cougars would continue expanding the lead, until James Scott blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to make it 15-5 and end the game.  Scott finished the game 4-for-5 with 4 RBI, Louie Russo was 4-for-4 with 4 runs scored, Ponciano was 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI, and Clement was 2-for-4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.

On the mound, Chris Skaalen started and threw 4 2/3 innings, striking out three and allowing 4 runs.  Matt Jenkins picked up the win by throwing an inning and a third of relief, allowing just an unearned run.  McClinton Heil worked an easy inning, striking out two hitters.  And Cheyne Gorski finished off the game with a scoreless eighth.

Game two would follow much the same script, with the teams trading runs early before the Cougars pulled away with one big inning.  Doane held a 7-6 lead in the fourth, but CSUSM exploded for six runs in the bottom of the inning.  After Juan Perez ripped a one-out double to get things started, Russo continued his red hot hitting with a towering home run to left.  Harris would then draw a walk and come in to score on a double down the line by Scott.  Clement followed that up with a walk, and Ponciano drove two in with a booming double of his own.  An RBI groundout by Spencer Pardon capped off the inning, which ended with the Cougars up 12-7.

After the big fourth inning, the Cougars needed nothing more than a quick fifth, and Heil once again delivered, striking out the side for his second scoreless inning of the day.  He went back out in the fifth and worked another much-needed 1-2-3 inning.  Heil, who threw six scoreless innings against La Sierra on Thursday, now has a 0.60 ERA in 15 innings of work this season.  Gorski came on to work an easy seventh and secure the victory once again.

As was the case in game one, the Cougars' offensive stats were plentiful.  Russo hit 2 home runs and drove in 4, Harris was 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored, Ricardo Moran was 3-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI, and Scott was 2-for-2 with 4 runs scored.

CSUSM will look to keep the hot hitting going in  a huge game at Point Loma this Tuesday.