SAN MARCOS, Calif.— Winners of their past six games and ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, the Cal State San Marcos softball team returns home Friday and Sunday for four games against Hope International, Arizona Christian, and A.I.I. conference member La Sierra. The Cougars (14-3) have won 23 consecutive games at the CSUSM softball field, including two games over La Sierra earlier this season.

Schedule
Game 18
Friday, March 1 – 9:00 am
Arizona Christian (0-14) at No. 1 Cal State San Marcos (14-3)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Softball Field
Live Stats

Game 19
Friday, March 1 – 3:00 pm
Hope International (5-3) at No. 1 Cal State San Marcos (14-3)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Softball Field
Live Stats

Game 20
Sunday, March 3 – 9:00 am
Arizona Christian (0-14) at No. 1 Cal State San Marcos (14-3)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Softball Field
Live Stats

Game 21
Sunday, March 3 – 1:00 pm
La Sierra (1-12) at No. 1 Cal State San Marcos (14-3)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Softball Field
Live Stats

Weekend Preview
The Cougars will see some familiar faces this weekend as CSUSM has already faced both Arizona Christian and La Sierra this season. Cal State San Marcos just finished a four game sweep of Arizona Christian on Saturday, and shut out La Sierra twice 8-0 in mid-February. The Cougars will face the Firestorm twice over the weekend and the Golden Eagles once, and have never lost to either program.

CSUSM has also faced Hope International often over the years, going 22-5 (.815) against the Royals lifetime and have won each of their last 10 meetings. Like the Cougars, Hope International boasts a strong pitching staff (1.54 ERA) led by Mea Flores and Liz Gonzalez.

Staying Hot by Walking Lots, Fanning Rarely
Cal State San Marcos has done an excellent job putting the ball in play this year, striking out just 32 times in 538 plate appearances (5.9%). In comparison, the Cougars have drawn 57 walks, taking the free base in 10.6% of their trips to the plate. Putting the ball in play frequently has enabled the Cougars to advance runners 49.8% of the time, and the extra base runners who reached base on balls given the Cougars plenty of opportunities to score.

Despite CSUSM's run of success finishing in the top-5 in each of the past three seasons, the Cougars have never finished a season with more walks than strikeouts. The closest the team has finished was a .824 BB/K ratio (173BB, 210K) in 2012. This season, the Cougars are at an outstanding 1.78 ratio— more than twice the program's previous best total. Leading the way for San Marcos in the category in 2013 is Alex Miller, who has 10 walks and just one strikeout in 66 plate appearances, while also hitting .446 at the plate with 10 doubles and a homerun.

On the opposite end, the Cougar pitching staff has given up just 16 walks on the season compared to 71 strikeouts. NAIA wins leader Cortney Allen (10-1) has tallied 57 strikeouts and 8 walks, good for a 7.13 K/BB ratio.

Hitting in the Clutch
Second baseman Olivia Lucatuorto has knocked in 23 runs in just 17 games this season, thanks largely in part to her ability to hit in crucial moments. The sophomore from Cameron Park, Calif. is 16-for-33 (.485) with runners in scoring position, has accounted for 27.4% of the team's 84 RBI, and has eight of the team's 32 two-out RBI. As a team, the Cougars are hitting .311 with runners in scoring position, and .324 overall.

Reserved Seats Still Available!
Reserved seating for the 2013 Cal State San Marcos baseball and softball home games is now available. Guarantee yourself reserved individual seats with back rests directly behind home plate for all home games for just $100. Interested parties should contact Rachel McConeghy at rmcconeg@csusm.edu, call 760-750-7102, or click here in order to purchase.