Box Score Box Score
Two years ago, Cal State San Marcos baseball was one victory away from winning a conference championship and making its first Nationals appearance, but their bid was spoiled by the University of British Columbia, who defeated the Cougars twice on the final day to take home the title.
For the players on this year's team who remember that, then, Friday must have felt like sweet revenge.
The Cougars held on to defeat British Columbia 7-5 on day two of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round in Riverside, advancing to play a rematch against top seed Cal Baptist Saturday at 10:00 AM.
The fourth-seeded Cougars improve to 34-18 on the season. Second seed British Columbia finishes its year at 31-17.
Flame-throwing righty Johnny Omahen took the mound for the Cougars. As the team's everyday shortstop the last four seasons, Omahen is a key part of the Cougar lineup; but he's been just as impressive on the mound this year, going 6-1 with a 2.72 ERA.
Omahen came out throwing darts, striking out the first two batters he faced in a 1-2-3 first inning.
British Columbia countered with Brandon Kaye, who went 4-4 with a 4.36 ERA this season, making 11 starts. The 6'4” righty works down in the zone, allowing just two home runs in 53 innings entering Friday.
Senior Kevin Silvett slapped a two-out double into left in the first, but Kaye would strike out cleanup man Austin Coleman to prevent any damage.
UBC's Andrew Madsen led off the second with a double down the line, glancing off the glove of diving third baseman Austin Coleman. Omahen showed no signs of panic, though, inducing a groundout, striking out Blake Carruthers on three pitches, and getting a lazy fly out to center to end the inning.
Omahen led off in the second and helped his own cause, working a walk, but pinch runner Corey McCloskey was thrown out trying to advance on a ball in the dirt. Omahen went right back to work on the mound, striking out his fourth batter while working a hitless third.
The Cougars would break through in the bottom of the inning. Mike Mecucci laced a one-out stand-up double into the corner in left, and Kyle Secciani followed with a walk. Trent Jemmett then ripped a ball to the opposite field warning track that right fielder Adam Quan caught on the run, but after Kevin Silvett drew a walk to load the bases, Coleman delivered a huge base hit through the 5.5-hole that plated Mecucci and Secciani.
Up 2-0, Omahen retired the side in order in the fourth. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Cougar catcher Ryle Parks smoked a ball to the wall in right center, turning on the afterburners (term used loosely) and making it to third. His hustle would pay off, as Mecucci poked a single past the outstretched glove of second baseman Keaton Briscoe to make it 3-0 Cougars.
Omahen was greeted in the fifth by a Carruthers single, and a failed pickoff attempt that leaked all the way to the right field bullpen allowed him to reach third. Bob Foerster then laced a double barely fair down the right field line, making it 3-1. After a Kevin Nickel single, Omahen induced a 4-6-3 double play, allowing a run to score but effectively ending what could have been a much bigger inning.
The Cougars would have quite a response. Jemmett took the first pitch he saw off the wall in right for a double, advancing to third on a deep Silvett fly out to center but getting cut down trying to score on Coleman's soft chopper to second. That would not stop the Cougars' rally, however, as Omahen lined a base hit to left, Jeremy Baum drew a walk, and after UBC visited the mound but decided to leave Kaye in, Anthony Renteria turned and wheeled on an inside fastball, crushing a grand slam long over the fence in right to put CSUSM in commanding position up 7-2.
Though Omahen has been very effective on the mound this season, he has made it through six full innings in only two of his eight starts. He would have no trouble in the sixth on Friday, working an easy frame that concluded with a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play.
Thunderbirds' reliever Travis Bruce worked a quick sixth, and UBC loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh on an error at third, a ground ball base hit, and a comebacker that bounced off Omahen and went for an infield single. UBC would score one on a wild pitch in the dirt that bounced away from Parks, but Omahen got Adam Quan to ground out to close out the inning up 7-3.
With 108 pitches under his belt, Omahen went back to work in the eighth, and after two easy outs things went south when Andrew Madsen homered to left. A base hit and hit batsmen followed, but the Cougars, tentative to use a bullpen that has struggled this season, kept Omahen on the mound. Their move would be forced, as a single to left loaded the bases and another hit batter ended Omahen's day up 7-5.
Andrew Larsen entered the game and got the biggest out of his Cougar career, an easy fly out to right to end the frame. That closed the book on Omahen, who turned in a performance even better than his final line indicated: 7.2 innings, 9 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), 2 walks, 6 strikeouts.
Bruce retired CSUSM easily in the ninth, leaving the 7-5 lead and the season in Larsen's hands against UBC's 1-2-3 hitters. He got Quan to chop out to short, came back from a 3-0 count to strike out Andrew Firth, and struck out Keaton Briscoe on three pitches to close out a brilliant appearance for him and the Cougar win.
Omahen picks up his much-deserved seventh win of the year, while Larsen gets his equally-deserved second save.
CSUSM will take on host and top seed Cal Baptist tomorrow at 10:00 AM. CSUSM has last all four of its games with the Lancers this season by a total of five runs, including an 8-7 loss on Thursday. The winner of that game will face off against Concordia in the A.I.I. Championship that afternoon.
