Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The 13^th-ranked Cal State San Marcos baseball team took both ends of its regular-season finale twinbill against Arizona Christian, 8-0 and 7-0 (7 innings), on Friday afternoon at CSUSM Baseball Field.

The Cougars took two of three from the Firestorm (28-20) in the teams' series and wrapped up the season at 32-10 overall. Their victory total is the most during the regular season in the program's seven-year history.

“I thought this team did a great job since our first series against Concordia until our series this week. I thought we played, in many ways, as well as we could play,” said CSUSM head coach Dennis Pugh. “I'd love to get to the [NAIA] World Series with this group. We're a bit nicked up right now, but hopefully things will get better by then.”

CSUSM will look ahead to next week's Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Conference Championships, May 1-3, in Victoria, Texas. The winner of the conference postseason tournament will receive an automatic berth into the NAIA Opening Round.

The Cougars last appeared in the NAIA postseason in 2011.

Game One

CSUSM pitchers struck out 13 batters and the Cougars set a school record with four triples, evening the series with Arizona Christian at one apiece with an 8-0 win in game one.

Mike Guadagnini tripled twice, Kyle Secciani doubled twice and the Cougars scored in each of the first four innings to open an early seven-run lead.

Hunter Brown was named the CSUSM starter after James Dykstra was scratched due to a blister on his throwing hand. Despite the short notice, Brown opened the game by striking out the side.

Then, the Cougars put up four runs in their first at-bat to give Brown some breathing room. Secciani notched a one-out double down the left-field line and scored on Kenny Belzer's single through the left side to make it 1-0. Marcus Meraz followed with an RBI single to bring in Brandon Bentson.

John Swilley, appearing as the Cougars' designated hitter for the first time this season, then lined a shot up the middle. Nathan Enriquez tried to make a diving catch on the play, but the ball glanced off his glove and into deep center. Belzer scored from second and Meraz came around from third to make it 4-0.

Guadagnini led off the second with a triple to right center before scoring on Secciani's sacrifice fly. Kody Sepulveda followed suit in the third inning, leading off with another three-bagger before scoring on Swilley's sac fly to make it 6-0.
 
In the fourth, Tyler Bernard added the Cougars' third triple in as many innings, sending a ball to the right-center field fence before scoring on Secciani's second double of the afternoon.

Brown went three innings, striking out five while allowing one hit and two walks. Kyle Kuck (4-0) took over and worked the next four innings. He struck-out six and gave up just two hits.

Guadagnini recorded his second triple of the game down the right field line and scored when Bernard's grounder to short was mishandled by Albert Alvarez in the sixth.

Game Two

In game two, the Cougars mirrored game one's hot start by putting up six runs in their first three at-bats.

Marcus Meraz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the first inning after Bentson and Belzer notched two-out singles and Kuck walked.

Rich Montanez led off the third with an infield single after the ACU third baseman lost his pop fly in the sun. Guadagnini then singled to right, but the ACU left fielder let the ball go under his glove, allowing pinch-runner Jacob Woolsey to score from first.

Guadagnini advanced to third and was brought home on Swilley's single to center to make it 3-0.

In the fourth, Meraz doubled to left and scored on Montanez's single through the left side. Guadagnini then lifted a pop fly to left field that would have scored Jon Putnam on a sacrifice fly, but the left fielder dropped the ball for another error. Putnam scored freely and Woolsey came around from first to make it 6-0.  

Belzer (1-0) made his first start since April 7 and delivered four innings of two-hit ball. Kevin Hilton took over in the fifth and ran into some trouble when the first two batters of the innings reached, but settled down to strike out the next three batters to quell the threat.

Belzer added an RBI double in the sixth inning to round out the scoring for the Cougars.