Hosting the #18-ranked team in the NAIA, Cougar baseball battled to a split with Master's College at Escondido High on Tuesday, winning game one 6-5 before losing game two 14-9.

In game one, Cougar ace Johnny Holtman battled some uncharacteristic control problems early on, and Master's took an early 3-0 lead.

CSUSM tied it up in the second, rallying hard with two outs.  Louie Russo just missed a home run to left, settling for a double, and Mike Pena knocked an 0-2 base hit to drive him in.  That brought up Johnny Omahen, who stayed back beautifully on an outside fastball, squaring up on it and driving it opposite field over the fence in right.

Master's re-took a 4-3 lead in the top of the third, but the Cougars tied it right back up.  Dane Ponciano legged out a leadoff double, and Scott Clement knocked a clean RBI single to center.  After pinch runner Niko Leite adeptly took third on a routine ground ball to the third baseman, he trotted home on another big two-out hit from Russo.

That put San Marcos up 5-4, and it stayed that way through the top of the fourth, as Josh Miller made a ridiculous diving catch in left to help Holtman to his first scoreless inning.  CSUSM would quickly add to the lead in the bottom of the inning, as James Scott led off with a sky-high shot to right.  Scott's 14th home run of the season made it 6-4.

In the sixth of seven scheduled innings, Master's strung together a pair of two-out doubles, cutting the lead to 6-5 and knocking Holtman out.  They would continue to threaten, eventually loading the bases for Joe Zeller, who came in hitting a team-leading .366; but reliever Spencer Pardon was brought into the game, and induced a huge fly out to center to preserve the lead.

CSUSM was unable to plate a run in the sixth, leaving Pardon to protect the tenuous one-run lead in the seventh.  The first two runners reached base, but catcher Scott Clement caught the runner on second straying too far off the bag, picking him off with a great throw.  And Pardon would take immediate advantage, getting a textbook 6-4-3 double play that was turned perfectly by Omahen and Russo to end the game.

It's the first save of the season for Pardon, who only recently converted from outfielder to pitcher and has been very effective in his brief time on the mound.

Game two would not start well for CSUSM, as Master's jumped out to an early 5-0 lead.  The big blow came in the second inning: a three-run Tyler Diamond home run that Ricardo Moran nearly ran down in center, but inadvertently knocked over the fence.

But just as in game one, San Marcos would rally with two outs in the second.  Three walks loaded the bases, and Moran would make the pitcher pay, lining a solid two-run single up the middle.

Cougar starter settled in after the rocky second inning, getting defensive help in the fourth from Austin Coleman, who made a great snag at third on a line drive.  

Coleman would do it with the bat in the bottom of the fourth, launching a no-doubter well over the fence in left, cutting the lead to 5-3.

But the Cougars weren't done.  After Pena and Omahen drew walks, Moran crushed a line drive homer to center, giving CSUSM its first lead of the ballgame, 6-5.

Master's manufactured a run in the fifth, tying it 6-6.  But Coleman would put the Cougars right back on top, leading off the inning with a homer to center - his second of the game and sixth of the season.

But Master's would strike right back, as Diamond crushed a two-run homer to put them back on top 8-7 in the sixth.  They would go on to blow the game open against the Cougar bullpen, pushing it to 14-7 by the time the dust settled.

CSUSM would try to battle back, with Josh Miller and Coleman knocking in runs in the sixth.  Matt Jenkins would give the Cougars a chance, retiring all four batters he faced in relief.  But there would be no final inning rally, and CSUSM fell 14-9.

Baseball will be back in action this Friday at Poway High against reigning NCAA Division III champion Chapman.