Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team has now won nine games in a row after taking down La Sierra 10-4 and 10-0 on Friday afternoon at CSUSM Baseball Field.

CSUSM (24-14) was able to take advantage of a depleted LSU (2-31) squad. The Golden Eagles' game one starter Jose Oliveras worked the entire nine-inning game, throwing over 130 pitches.

Game two was called due to run-rule - CSUSM was ahead by 10 runs after the first five innings. Both head coaches agreed to play the game under run-rule prior to the first pitch, due to the fact that LSU did not want to open itself to further injuries if the game was out of reach.

Both CSUSM starters, Hunter Brown (5-3) and Kyle Kuck (2-1), earned victories after putting together solid performances. Brandon Bentson went 3-for-6 and drove in four runs on the day, while Terrence Buchanan went 3-for-5 with five runs scored. Ray Patchen had three RBI.

The Golden Eagles and Cougars will wrap up their four-game set with a doubleheader on Sunday at noon at CSUSM Baseball Field.

Game 1
Six standout innings from Brown earned the senior right-hander his first win since March 8, and Rich Montanez went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI, as the Cougars tagged Oliveras (1-8) for 15 hits in the 10-4 win.

Patchen hit a line drive off the pitcher's foot that allowed Tyler Bernard to score in the first inning.

In the top of the third, LSU's Joe Mascarenaz deposited a two-out single into center field. Luis Holguin scored easily from third. Antonio Perez attempted to score from second, but CSUSM center fielder Noah Buchanan gunned down Perez at the plate to keep the score tied at 1-1

N. Buchanan then led off the fourth with a single up the middle before scoring on Bentson's one-out base hit.  Ray Patchen drove in T. Buchanan with a single into center to put CSUSM up 3-1.

Denny Vigo broke the game open with a bases-loaded, two-run double to center that made it 5-1 in the fifth

Dylan Costello then notched a sacrifice fly to right field that was deep enough to score courtesy runner Kyle Hansen, but Vigo was caught between second and third for the second out of the frame. Kory Smith flew out to end the inning, but the three runs in the at-bat gave Brown a 6-1 advantage.

Brown would strike out the side in the sixth, his last work for CSUSM. He finished the day with five strikeouts, three hits and the single run charged against him.
 
Another RBI single from Montanez and a two-out, two-run double by Smith pushed CSUSM's lead to 9-2 in the bottom of the seventh.

Smith has been in a groove since moving into a starting role. Over his last four games, Smith is hitting .563 (9-for-16) with seven RBI and four doubles.

Montanez lifted a ground-rule double to right field in the bottom half of the eighth.

Six Cougar players had multiple hits in game one: Bernard (2-for-5), T. Buchanan (2-for-4), Patchen (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Vigo (2-for-5, 2 RBI), Smith (2-for-4, 2 RBI) and Montanez.

Game 2

The second game lasedt just an hour and 28 minutes, as a six-run third inning and a shutout performance from the Cougar pitching staff ended the contest in run-rule fashion, 10-0, in the fifth inning.

CSUSM was able to load the bases in the first inning and put its first run across when Brooks Noble was hit on the thigh.

Bentson came through with a two-out, two-run single through the right side that made it 3-1 in the second inning.

LSU starter Josh Tobin (0-4) struggled with his control in the third inning, loading the bases with no one out on a walk, an RBI single and a pair of hit batsmen. Matt Arlington got the rally started with an RBI line drive to left.

T. Buchanan was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded before Bentson singled in Arlington to make it 7-0. A wild pitch by Tobin allowed another run across before Patchen scored T. Buchanan with a sacrifice fly. The cutoff throw was mishandled on the play, which allowed Bentson to score from second to put CSUSM up 9-0.

Kuck cruised through the first three innings, retiring the Golden eagles in order. He ran into a little trouble in the fourth, as LSU opened its at-bat with back-to-back singles. However, Bentson snagged a line-drive down the first-base line and doubled up the runner on second base to end the threat.

Kuck didn't walk a batter, allowed two hits and struck-out four. The performance marked his first win since Jan. 31.

Head coach Dennis Pugh used the last part of game two to get his reserve players involved. Zach Tieger led off the fourth with a single before scoring on Hansen's triple to right center.

The Golden Eagles loaded the bases in the top of the fifth, but Justin Hertzmann forced Daniel Rendon to foul-out to end the game.

Bentson was 2-for-2 with three RBI in game two.

The Cougars are batting .382 as a team over its nine-game winning streak, more than .150 percentage points higher than their opponents (.229). The CSUSM pitching staff is boasting a 1.65 ERA during the streak.