SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The defending Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) champion Cal State San Marcos baseball team takes the No. 3-seed into this weekend's A.I.I. Baseball Championship.

The Schedule
Game 46
Friday, May 2 – 1:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. ET)
No. 3-seed Cal State San Marcos (29-16, 8-0 A.I.I.) vs. No. 4-seed Fisher College (35-14, 4-0 A.I.I.)
Lynn, Mass. – Fraser Field
Bracket
Tournament Homepage

Nuts & Bolts
The 2014 A.I.I. Baseball Championships are hosted by Fisher College at Fraser Field in Lynn, Mass. Six teams will play in a double-elimination tournament between Friday, May 2 and Monday, May 5. The champion and runner-up of the 2014 tournament will earn an automatic bid into the NAIA Baseball Opening Round.

Live Stats & Video
Live stats and live video will be available for each game of the tournament. Check the schedule page at CSUSMcougars.com at game time for access.

The Seeds
Top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett (44-9) is the highest nationally ranked team, coming in at No. 6 in the latest NAIA Top 25. No. 2-seed LSU Alexandria (32-21) is in the "receiving votes" category. No. 4 Fisher, No. 5 Lindenwood-Belleville and No. 6 University of Houston-Victoria round out the seeds. The Cougars will face the winner or loser of Lindenwood-Belleville vs. LSU Alexandria on Saturday.

2013 A.I.I. Tournament Recap
The Cougars enter this year's competition as the defending champions after taking home the 2013 title in Victoria, Texas. CSUSM went 3-0 at last season's tournament, taking down LSU Alexandria 3-2 in the title game. Hunter Brown struck out a then-career high nine batters in the semifinal. Brown, Dylan Costello and Brandon Bentson were all-tournament selections. Costello went 4-for-9 (.444) while Bentson went 3-for-12 (.333) with a team-high three RBI.

Cougars' A.I.I. Tournament History
For head coach Dennis Pugh's program, the A.I.I. Baseball Championship has been either hit or miss. The Cougars are 6-4 all-time, but have either won all of their games, or lost all of their games – depending on the season. In the program's debut in 2010, the Cougars were eliminated after back-to-back losses. In 2011, the Cougars outscored their opponents 41-24 on their way to three consecutive wins and their first-ever conference crown. CSUSM was eliminated via consecutive losses in 2012, before winning three straight for the Cougars' second title in 2013.

T. Buck Leading the Charge
The Cougars got a lift when second baseman Terrence Buchanan joined the lineup after starting the year on the disabled list. After missing 2013 because of injury, Buchanan has made his presence felt. He's batting .426 (52-of-122) and has notched a hit in 27 of his 31 games so far. The .426 average would stand as a single-season CSUSM record. Buchanan has also been lethal on the base paths; he's stolen 24-of-25 and is two away from tying Kyle Secciani's single-season school record of 26 (2011). Buchanan put together a 10-game hitting streak earlier in the year and his 16 multiple-hit games are second most on the squad.

14 of 16
The Cougars won 14 of their final 16 games to end the regular season, all in the month of April. The team is batting .356 in April and has outscored its opponents 126-47. Buchanan is batting .509 this month, while Denny Vigo is batting a healthy .381 with nine extra-base hits. On the mound, Cougar hurlers have gone 13-2 with a 2.25 ERA and 101 strikeouts. Matt Bataska is 3-0 with a 0.60 ERA in eight appearances.

Notes
Shortstop Tyler Bernard has started all 45 games this season and his 90 career starts are 10^th-most all-time … Bernard has a team-high 18 multiple hit games … Bentson had a 16-game hitting streak between Mar. 8-Apr. 4, tied for the third-longest streak in program history along with Ryle Parks … The school record is 32 straight games by Kevin Silvett in 2010; Trent Jemmett hit safely in 17 straight in 2011 … Four different players have started in centerfield for CSUSM … The Cougars are 14-6 with Matt Arlington and 10-3 with Noah Buchanan in center … The Cougars have never faced Fisher College, Georgia Gwinnett or Lindenwood-Belleville.