Box Score Box Score
Playing at Concordia on Monday, Cougar baseball carried a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning but couldn't hold on, eventually losing 9-4.
CSUSM drops to 20-16 on the year. Concordia improves to 23-16.
Starting pitcher Matt Kretchmer did his job, pitching into the sixth inning and leaving with the lead. He allowed one run in 5+ innings, working around 5 hits and 3 walks and striking out 5 batters.
Meanwhile, the Cougar offense built a nice early lead, starting with some savvy baserunning in the third inning. Anthony Renteria led off with a base hit and advanced to third after a groundout and a pickoff attempt that was thrown away. Kyle Secciani then drew a walk and promptly stole second. A wild pitch would advance both, bringing in the game's first run, and after Trent Jemmett drew a walk, Kevin Silvett delivered an RBI base hit up the middle to make it 2-0.
The Cougars added another in the fourth, with Johnny Omahen leading off with a base hit, stealing second, and coming home on a Jeremy Baum single. Renteria would add a base hit later in the inning, but Baum was thrown out trying to score.
And from there things would go downhill for the Cougars. Concordia cut the lead to 3-2 off the bullpen in the sixth inning, then exploded for six runs in a seventh inning that was punctuated by a Danny Casey two-run triple. Another run in the eighth made it 9-3, and though Jemmett added an RBI single in the ninth, the Cougars would fall 9-4.
The Cougars will look to get back on the winning track this weekend when they travel to Arizona to face Arizona Christian for a four-game series.
