Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

A final-inning rally came up just short in a game one 5-4 loss, but a big performance on the mound by Johnny Holtman led the Cougars to a 6-1 win in game two of a double-header at The Master's College on Tuesday.

CSUSM is now 20-10-1 this season.  Master's is 13-19.

The Cougars got on the board early in game one, with Josh Miller singling in Ricardo Moran in the top of the first.  But Master's quickly answered, tying the game in the bottom of the first, and taking the lead in the third behind a two-run home run by Jared Otto.

Down 5-1 in the seventh and final inning, the resilient Cougars mounted a rally off Master's ace Joe Zeller and nearly stole the game.  Matt Jenkins was hit by a pitch with one out, and after a Moran single, Kyle Secciani doubled in both runs to cut the lead to 5-3.  After a fly out, Miller delivered another big hit, driving home Secciani with a single to make it 5-4.  But after pinch runner Niko Leite stole second to put the tying run in scoring position, Zeller struck out the final better to end the rally and the game.

CSUSM would bounce back in game two, however, thanks largely to the performance of Holtman.  The big righty had everything working, allowing just two hits in five innings of work, walking one and striking out two.  A first inning run, coming from a hit-by-pitch and stolen base, was the only blemish on his day.

Down 1-0 in the third, the Cougar offense would tie the game up and gradually build a sizeable lead.  Secciani drew a walk, advanced on a balk, stole third, and came home on an error.

In the fourth, Mike Pena led off with a single, Mitch Ferguson singled, and Omar Manzanarez put CSUSM up 2-1 with a groundout.

CSUSM would add another in the fifth, as Kevin Silvett singled, Miller was hit by a pitch, and Ryle Parks drove in the run with a base hit.

Finally, the Cougars would put the game out of reach in the sixth, courtesy of a solo home run by Moran and a two-run bomb by Silvett.

Reliever Auggie Richardson worked a perfect sixth, and Spencer Pardon closed out the game with a scoreless seventh to finish off the 6-1 win.

CSUSM will be playing a two-game home series against Sioux Falls at the field at Point Loma on Wednesday and Thursday.