SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team will take on Vanguard this weekend in a four-game series in San Marcos and Costa Mesa.

The Schedule
Games 18 & 19
Friday, March 15 – 11:00 a.m.
Vanguard University (12-11) at Cal State San Marcos (15-2)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Baseball Field
Live Stats

Games 20 & 21
Saturday, March 16 – 11:00 a.m.
Cal State San Marcos (15-2) at Vanguard University (12-11)
Costa Mesa, Calif. – VU Baseball Field
Live Stats

CSUSM-Vanguard Preview
The Lions enter this weekend's series 3-3 over their last six, recently falling in two of three home games to No. 11 Concordia. CSUSM is 10-8 all-time against VU, but fell in all three games with the Lions in 2012.  Thomas Mobley leads VU with a .366 batting average, and starter Scott Simmons has gone 5-1 thus far. VU's team ERA is 4.43, while CSUSM's stands at 1.70.

Last Time Out
The Cougars took two of three games in their last series on March 10 and 11 against visiting University of Sioux Falls. CSUSM topped USF 9-1 in game one before taking down USF 6-3 in the first game of the teams' Monday doubleheader. In game two, USF scored nine runs while holding CSUSM scoreless for the first time this season. Shortstop Tyler Bernard went 5-for-10 (.500) with a pair of doubles, a triple and three runs against USF.

King James
James Dykstra matched the single-game school record for strikeouts with 12 in seven innings of work in game one on Sunday, a mark which he set on April 21, 2012 against Fresno Pacific. The outing marked his third-straight start with 11 strikeouts or more. He's 5-0 through five starts in 2013, limiting batters to a .159 average with an ERA of 1.38. The senior out of Rancho Bernardo High School ranks ninth in the NAIA with 43 strikeouts, 10^th in wins (5) and 17^th in opposing batting average. The San Diego Union-Tribune recently featured him in its local colleges section.

Life's a Pitch
The Cougars' pitching staff deserves a large share of the credit in leading the team to wins in 15 of their first 17 games. CSUSM ranks first in the nation in ERA (1.70) and opposing batting average (.176). Four starters, Dykstra (5-0), Kevin Hilton (3-0), Frank Charlton (3-0), are without a loss, and just two pitchers have an ERA higher than 3.00. Just 27 of the 41 runs against the team have been earned and no pitcher is allowing higher than a .250 average to opposing hitters. The Cougars are also yet to surrender a homerun.

Bentson Earns A.I.I. Athlete of the Week
Freshman first baseman Brandon Bentson earned Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Player of the Week for the week of March 4-10, it was announced Monday by the conference. Bentson went 7-for-15 (.467) over the four games, tallying six RBI and a pair of doubles. In a three-game series with Ashford (Iowa), Bentson hit .583 (7-for-12) with five RBI, a pair of doubles and three runs scored. He reached safely in almost two-thirds of his at-bats while slugging .750. In an 8-2 win over AU on March 7, he went 3-for-4 and drove in Tyler Bernard three times.

Extra Base Hits
The Cougars will play just their second and third games on the road on Saturday at Vanguard … Their only other road contest this season was a season-opening 4-1 win at No. 11 Concordia … Catcher Kody Sepulveda is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak … Adam Tapia has hit safely in his last three games … Bernard is batting a team-best .404 on the season … Mike Guadagnini and Kyle Secciani are the only players who have started all 17 contests this year … Reliever Justin Hertzmann has allowed just two hits in four appearances this year.