Strong, timely hitting and resilient pitching were keys for Cougar baseball on Saturday, as the squad took both ends of a double-header at Cal State Los Angeles, 10-8 in game one and 9-4 in game two. 

CSUSM completes the three-game road sweep of the Golden Eagles, members of NCAA Division II and the CCAA Conference.  The Cougars improve to 17-7-1 this season, while CSULA drops to 12-13.

In game one, the Cougars got down early, battled back to take a commanding lead, then held on for dear life at the end.  Starting pitcher Travis McCracken gave another strong effort, allowing four runs in six innings of work.  All those runs were scored in the third inning, and McCracken was able to bounce back and shut out CSULA for the rest of his outing.  The win improves him to 5-1 this season.

A Matt Jenkins solo home run put CSUSM up 1-0, but the team found itself down 4-1 after CSULA's big third inning.  The Cougars would cut into that lead in the fourth and fifth innings, with Mike Pena driving in Josh Miller in the former, and Miller driving in Kevin Silvett in the latter.

CSUSM's patience at the plate played a huge role in the win.  The Cougars drew 11 walks in the contest, and they played a key role in a six-run sixth inning that ultimately decided the game.  Pena and Omar Manzanarez led off the frame by drawing walks, and Ricardo Moran drove in the inning's first run with a base hit.  Secciani, Silvett, and Miller all walked, pushing home two more runs, and a Ryle Parks base hit brought two more runs home.  Finally, Pena earned his second walk to extend the inning, and an error pushed the Cougar lead to 9-4.

CSUSM stayed patient in the seventh, as Moran, Secciani, Silvett, and Miller were walked in order to lead of the inning, making it 10-4.

The Cougars got a taste of their own medicine in the eighth, however, as the bullpen walked three men to start the inning and CSULA took advantage, scoring four runs to cut it to 10-8.  But closer Spencer Pardon was able to work out of it, getting all three outs in the eighth and working a relatively easy ninth to pick up the save.

Game two would play out much the same way, minus the late comeback attempt by the Golden Eagles.

Starting pitcher Johnny Holtman earned his first win of the year, striking out two and walking none in four innings of work.  He gave up four runs in the third inning, but like McCracken, was flawless in the rest of his work.

Silvett got things started for CSUSM in the first, belting a solo home run to, but once again the Cougar offense didn't really kick in until they were down 4-1.

In the top of the fourth, Johnny Omahen singled in Mitch Ferguson to make it 4-2, and the Cougars would go on to take their first lead the following inning.  Moran led off the fifth with a single, and with two outs, Miller reached on an error, and Parks made the defense pay with a huge three-run home run to put his team up 5-4.

After reliever Ricky Chavarria worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning, Miller doubled home Secciani to put CSUSM up 6-4.  CSULA threatened in the bottom of the sixth, putting two on with no outs, but Julienne entered the game and put out the fire, inducing a double-play and fly out to get out of the jam unscathed.

In the top of the seventh and final inning, the Cougar offense put it out of reach.  Ferguson and Omahen led off with singles, and after a failed sacrifice bunt, Manzanarez drew a walk to load the bases for Moran.  Moran would put the cherry on top of what has been a brilliant series at the plate for virtually the entire Cougar lineup, ripping a triple down the right field line to clear the bases. 

Julienne struck out the side in the seventh to earn his first save of the season, secure the 9-4 win, and finish off the huge sweep.

The Cougars are off to a great start to their tour of the CCAA conference, but things won't get easier at #2 UC San Diego on the road on Monday at 2:00 PM.