The Cal State San Marcos Baseball team, fresh off a 2011 A.I.I. Conference Championship and a trip to the NAIA National Tournament, will kick off their season Friday afternoon at 2:00 PM against Menlo College. San Marcos will also host a double-header Saturday against Menlo College starting at 11:00 AM.

The Cougars, who were 34-19 a year ago, look to be strong once again this year, having recently defeated routinely ranked Division II opponent UC San Diego in an exhibition last week. CSUSM is returning 6 starters on offense from a team that scored almost 7.5 runs a game last season.

Michael Meccuci led the Cougars with a .396 batting average last year, and will be rejoined by power hitters Austin Coleman and Anthony Renteria, who both have the ability to generate plenty of extra base hits. The 2012 Cougars should be exciting on the base paths as well, as Kyle Secciani, Trent Jemmett, and Jeremy Baum each stole 20 or more bases last season.

CSUSM will have a new look pitching staff this season, following the signings of three top pitchers to professional baseball. Adam Bileckyj (St. Louis Cardinals), Johnny Omahen (Florida Marlins), and Johnny Holtman (Los Angeles Angeles), set a high standard last year on the mound, but newcomers James Dykstra (LSU), Chaz Determan (Sacramento CC), Frank Charlton (Oregon Tech) and Scott Myers (Oklahoma) will look to maintain that level of excellence atop the rotation.

Admission is free, although season tickets with chair-backed seats are available for $150 that reserve your seat for every inning this season. Please click here for more information.

CSUSM Baseball's full season schedule can be found here.