SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team continues its opening week with a three-game series against Menlo College on Saturday and Sunday.

The Schedule
Games 2-4
Saturday, January 24 – 11:00 a.m. (DH)
Sunday, January 25 – 11:00 a.m.
Menlo College (0-0) at Cal State San Marcos (0-1)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Baseball Field
Watch Live (Sunday Only) • Live Stats

Live Coverage of Home Games
For fans that can't make it out to the ballpark for any of CSUSM's 36 home games, you can now watch the action live on your home computer, smartphone or tablet. Just navigate to Ustream.tv/channel/csusmsports at game time for live video and play-by-play of all the action. One can also follow the game with live stats on a brand-new interface.

Reserved Seating
Guarantee yourself reserved individual seats with back rests directly behind home plate for all Cougar baseball and softball games at CSUSM Baseball Field and CSUSM Softball Field. There are 36 home baseball games and 24 home softball games. Reserved seating for each sport is $100 per seat. Interested parties should contact Morod Shah at mshah@csusm.edu, call 760-750-7102, or click here to purchase.

Track The Cougars!
There are now more ways than ever to stay in tune with the CSUSM baseball team. To receive all news regarding the baseball team directly to your inbox, sign up for Cougar Update. Every pregame story, postgame story, and news posted to CSUSMcougars.com will be sent directly to you. Also, fans can sign up for text message updates to receive scores right after the games, and CSUSM Athletics' weekly email digest, Cougar Tracks.   

Menlo College Preview
All-time record vs. Menlo: 3-3
Conference: Cal Pac
Last series: W, 8-4; W, 4-1; L, 11-12 (Feb. 3-4, 2012).  The Cougars dominated in the first two games and were close to recording a three-game sweep but gave up six runs in both the seventh and ninth innings in the series finale. CSUSM outscored Menlo 23-17.
Menlo Breakdown: The Oaks finished 2014 with a 29-28 record and made their fourth consecutive appearance in the NAIA West Tournament.  

Who's Back?
The Cougars welcome back 15 players from last year's squad, including three all-A.I.I. conference selections in Kyle Montiel, Brandon Bentson and Justin Hertzmann.  Montiel, a senior LHP from Carlsbad, finished with a 6-2 record with a 2.70 ERA, striking out 44 batters over 63.1 innings.  Bentson, a junior first baseman from San Diego, started 46-of-47 games last season and led the team with 35 RBIs and six sacrifice flies. Hertzmann, a relief pitcher from Rancho Palos Verdes, snagged a team-best four saves on a 3.93 ERA.

2014 at a Glance
CSUSM's 2014 season wrapped up with 30-18 record, hitting the 30-win mark for the third time in its eight-year program history.  The Cougars fell in the semifinals of the Association of Independent Institution (A.I.I.) conference tournament to Houston-Victoria, 2-3.  The highlight game of the season came one day earlier when CSUSM edged-out top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College, 5-4 on a walk-off single by Ray Patchen in the second game of the A.I.I. tournament. 

Other Key Notes
    • Recorded a 13-2 record for the month of April to end the 2014 regular season
     • Bentson finished with the longest hitting streak of 2014 with 16 games.
     • Bentson and Ray Patchen tie for the longest consecutive games at 16 on reaching base safely

The Coaching Staff 
Head Coach Dennis Pugh enters his ninth season at the helm since building the program from the ground up starting in 2007. He holds a 193-124-2 (.608) all-time record and has led the Cougars to the postseason for five consecutive years. Pitching coach Pat Hause, who guided Cougar pitchers to the 22nd-lowest ERA in the nation in 2014 (3.25), is back for his nine year, as well. Art Warren and Mark Wilson are back for their fifth and fourth seasons, respectively. Rick Lepire is the lone newcomer to this year's staff.

Who We Are
CSUSM is an NAIA Division I institution which competes in the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Conference. CSUSM was accepted into NCAA Division II Candidacy Year One and the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the summer and is currently going through a three-year transition phase in order to gain full NCAA DII status for the 2017-18 season. The 2014-15 season will be the school's final year in the NAIA.

CSUSM Athletics Social Media
The Cougars are now more "social" than ever… Navigate to the CSUSM Athletics Social Media Directory to connect with your favorite teams, coaches and administrators. Keep track of the CSUSM men's basketball team on Facebook and Twitter.