Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team opened its four-game series against Vanguard with a pair of wins, taking down the Lions 3-0 and 6-2 (7 innings) on Friday afternoon at CSUSM Baseball Field.

The victories move the Cougars to 17-2 overall on the season and 6-0 against teams from the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC).  Vanguard drops to 12-13 overall.

The Cougars and Lions will play the second leg of the series on Saturday at VU Baseball Field in Costa Mesa, Calif. The games will mark just the second and third away contests for CSUSM this season.

Game One

James Dykstra (6-0) delivered his fourth straight game with double-digit strikeouts and Tyler Bernard notched a two-run double in the fifth inning as the Cougars shutout the Lions, 3-0.

Dykstra struck out 10 while surrendering just a pair of hits in eight innings of work. Justin Hertzmann worked a scoreless ninth to secure his second save of the season.

 The Cougars got on the board in the bottom of the first, as leadoff man Kyle Secciani walked before moving to second. Bernard moved Secciani over to third on a groundout to short before Kenny Belzer brought Secciani home with a sacrifice fly to center field.

CSUSM was retired in order its next three at-bats, but tacked on some insurance runs in the fifth.

Dylan Costello drew a walk before Mike Guadagnini came board with a single up the middle. After Secciani moved the runners over with a sac-bunt, Bernard rifled a line drive into the left-center field gap to bring home Guadagnini and Costello and make it 3-0.

Dykstra cruised from there on in, striking out five of the final 11 batters he faced.

Hertzmann allowed a leadoff single in the ninth, but responded by starting a 1-6-3 double play on Bryce Arroyo's chopper to the mound on the next play. Jordan Mould grounded out to third to end the game.

Kamakani Usui (1-4) was credited with the loss, surrendering three earned runs, five hits and five walks in eight innings.

Game Two

Kyle Kuck went 2-for-3 with an RBI and the Cougars used a four-run third inning to top the Lions 6-2 in game two.  

In the first, Bernard came aboard on an error by the VU shortstop, Arroyo, before stealing second base. Belzer followed with a single to left center before Brandon Bentson's slow groundout to the pitcher brought in Bernard to make it 1-0.

Secciani led-off with a double down the line before advancing to third on Bernard's single to right center in the third inning.

Bentson brought him in with a one-out sacrifice fly and Kuck registered an RBI single to make it 3-0.

After Jon Putnam came aboard after being hit by Scott Simmons' (5-2) delivery, Marcus Meraz's high pop-up was dropped by VU left fielder Ian Sakry, allowing Kuck and Putnam to score.

Rich Montanez then knocked in Meraz with a single to right center to put CSUSM up 6-0, his first RBI of the season.
CSUSM starter Mike Scaramella had worked three clean innings for the Cougars, but ran into a little trouble in the fourth.

The Lions started the at-bat with back-to-back singles before Sakry drew a two-out walk. Scaramella ran the count full against Ellis Whitman, but eventually walked the VU designated hitter to force in Jordan Mould and make it 6-1.

Matt Bataska (1-1) came on in relief of Scaramella and struck out John Schwer to end the threat without any further damage done.

Mould tagged Bataska for an RBI single in the top of the fifth to bring the Lions within four, but Frank Charlton and Kuck worked scoreless sixth and seventh innings, respectively, to preserve the win for CSUSM.

VU committed four errors in the game that led to four unearned runs.