SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team is making its second appearance in the NAIA Baseball Opening Round and will open the tournament against a San Diego Christian squad that swept the Cougars earlier this season.

The Schedule
Game 46
Thursday, May 9 – 12:00 p.m.
San Diego Christian (37-18) vs. No. 11 Cal State San Marcos (35-10)
Santa Clarita, Calif. – Reese Field
Live Stats
Live Video
Tournament Central

Watch & Follow Live
The Master's College Sports Information Department will be broadcasting all games LIVE via DakStats Webcast and Stretch Internet. While DakStats Webcast will be free, there will be a fee to watch the games. Pay-per-view prices are: $6.95 per game, $6.95 for a day pass, or $17.95 for an all-tournament pass. To access the live broadcast at game time, click here.

Follow on Twitter
Catch photos from the event and game updates straight on your computer or smart phone. Follow @CSUSMcougars and use the hashtag #NAIABaseball when tweeting.

The Santa Clarita Bracket
The Master's College (40-15) is hosting the NAIA Baseball Opening Round and received the No. 1-seed. TMC will face the winner of No. 4-seed Tabor (Kan.) (38-14) and No. 5-seed Concordia (Ore.) (28-26), while No. 2 seed CSUSM will play No. 3-seed San Diego Christian (37-18) in its opening game. The winner of the five-team double elimination Santa Clarita Bracket advances to the 57^th-annual Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.

How'd We Get Here?
The Cougars received an automatic berth to the NAIA Baseball Opening Round by way of winning the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Conference Championship on Friday over LSU Alexandria. CSUSM topped University of Houston-Victoria and LSU Alexandria in the opening two rounds before downing the Generals again, 3-2, in the tournament championship. The title marked CSUSM's second A.I.I. crown in the last three years. Kyle Secciani was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

A.I.I. By The Numbers
The Cougars were propelled by three strong starts by James Dykstra (9-3), Hunter Brown (2-0) and Steve Messner (7-3) at the A.I.I. Championships last week. The Cougar pitching staff combined for a 1.00 ERA while holding opponents to a .167 average and 16 hits. Moreover, the Cougars surrendered just three earned runs while striking out 24. Cougar relievers gave up just one hit and no runs over seven innings of work. At the plate, Dylan Costello and Secciani led the Cougars in average, each going 4-for-9 (.444). Secciani added three RBI, three walks, three sacrifice bunts and went 3-for-3 stealing. Brandon Bentson went 4-for-12 (.333) with three RBI and a team-best five total bases.

Hitting The Mark
The Cougars' win over LSUA in the A.I.I. title game was their 35^th win of the season, a new program record. CSUSM has set single-season program bests in a number of pitching and defensive categories: ERA (2.64), opposing batting average (.213), complete games (7), shutouts (8), fewest runs allowed (143), fewest hits allowed (289) and fielding percentage (.963). Conversely, the Cougars have the lowest single-season marks in: slugging percentage (.412), on-base percentage (.378), runs (268), home runs (14), RBI (240), total bases (585), and thankfully, strikeouts (187).

Rehashing SDCC-CSUSM
San Diego Christian came in to CSUSM Baseball Field and knocked around the Cougars earlier this year. The Hawks snapped a seven-game winning streak by the Cougars in the opening game on March 27 before drubbing CSUSM, 18-1, on March 29. In March 29's second game, SDCC scored three runs in the top of the seventh in its eventual 4-2 victory.  CSUSM is 19-9 all-time vs. SDCC.

NAIA Tournament History
CSUSM is 2-2 all-time in the NAIA Tournament. In 2011, the Cougars went 2-2 in the Riverside Bracket and were eliminated by host Cal Baptist in the semifinals, 4-2. Secciani, the only Cougar field player on this year's team to have played in the NAIA tournament in '11, batted .214 (3-for-14) with three runs, three walks and a stolen base.

How'd They Get Here?
No. 1 The Master's College (40-15)
The Mustangs received an automatic berth into the NAIA Tournament by winning their first-ever Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) championship with an 8-3 win over San Diego Christian. TMC also won the conference's regular-season title and will make its first Opening Round appearance since 2007. Steven Karkenny leads the Mustangs with a .359 average and 11 homeruns while pitcher A.J. Work is 11-4 with a 2.70 ERA. TMC took two of three games from CSUSM on April 19 and 20. The Mustangs are ranked No. 7 in the NAIA Baseball Coaches' Final Top 25 Poll.

No. 2 Cal State San Marcos
See How'd We Get Here.

No. 3 San Diego Christian (37-18)
The Hawks were granted an at-large berth into the NAIA Opening Round by way of a solid regular season and a deep run into the GSAC postseason tournament. SDCC finished third in the GSAC standings through the regular season, but recorded big wins over Arizona Christian and No. 14 Concordia (Calif.) during the conference tournament to qualify for the GSAC title game against TMC. The Hawks took all three games against the Cougars at CSUSM Baseball Field this season.

No. 4 Tabor (Kan.) (38-14)
Tabor received at-large bid No. 15 after a 38-14 season. Out of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), the Blue Jays tied for the conference's regular-season crown along with Sterling College. They boast one of the fastest offenses in the nation, ranking second in the country in stolen bases per game and fourth in total stolen bases. Junior Grant Silva leads the nation in all four stolen base categories on the year. They are also ranked in the top 50 nationally in seven offensive categories, including slugging percentage (.422).

No. 5 Concordia (Ore.) (28-26)
Christian Lichtenthaler's walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10^th inning in the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament, guaranteed the Cavaliers their first conference title since 2004 and an automatic berth into the NAIA Opening Round. It was an unlikely run for Concordia, who finished fifth in the CCC regular season standings with a 14-14 conference mark. However, CU won three of four games in the conference tournament, upsetting No. 2-seed Menlo College in the deciding game, 4-3.

The Cougar (Probable) Lineup
1. SS – Tyler Bernard: Recorded a hit in five of his last seven games.
2. CF – Kyle Secciani: Named A.I.I. Tournament Most Outstanding Player after going 4-for-9 (.444) with three RBI and a run scored. He walked three times, contributed three sacrifice hits and went 3-for-3 stealing.
3. 1B – Brandon Bentson: 4-for-12 (.333) in A.I.I. Tournament. Had key two-run double in semifinal vs. LSU Alexandria.
4. 3B – Kenny Belzer: Scored twice and had seven assists at the A.I.I. Tournament.
5. C – Kody Sepulveda: A.I.I. first-teamer went 3-for-8 (.375) with an RBI vs. LSUA in the A.I.I. semifinals.
6. DH – Kyle Kuck: 1-for-2 with an RBI in win over LSUA in the A.I.I. semi's.
7. RF – Marcus Meraz: 4-for-12 (.333) with an RBI and 10 putouts at the A.I.I. Tournament.
8. LF – Dylan Costello: Recorded a hit in each of the games at the A.I.I. Tournament (4-for-9, .444), scoring twice and adding an RBI in the process.
9. 2B – Mike Guadagnini: Tied for the team lead with 10 assists at the A.I.I. tourney. Drew a pair of walks.

SP. 22 – James Dykstra: 7 IP, 7 H, R, 5 K in win over Houston-Victoria, May 1. Set a school record with his ninth win this season. Holds 1.84 ERA.
SP. 11 – Steve Messner: 6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 6 BB in A.I.I. Championship game vs. LSUA, May 3.
SP. 16 – Hunter Brown: 7 IP, 6 H, 9 K, ER, in 7-2 win over LSUA in A.I.I. semi's, May 2. 2-0 with 0.90 ERA in 11 appearances, six of them starts.

RP. 15 – Frank Charlton: Has not allowed a run in last four appearances and 5.1 innings of work.
RP. 40 – Justin Hertzmann: Worked career-high three innings to preserve the save in win over LSUA in A.I.I. Championship. Has not allowed hit in his last three appearances.