The Cal State San Marcos softball team put together a solid 2015 campaign. Ranked for every week of the regular season, the Cougars reached as high as No. 8 in the NAIA Top 25 and went on to make their sixth consecutive appearance in the NAIA National Championship.

The Cougars opened the year at No. 12 before travelling to La Verne for their first doubleheader on January 25. After a 5-3 loss in the season opener, a three-run homerun from Melyssa Bellamy and two-run doubles from Olivia Lucatuorto and Robyn Alvara led the Cougars to an 8-0 (5 inn.) run-rule victory in game two.

Naomi Amu was named Female Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Athlete of the Week on Jan. 26 for her 3-for-6, four RBI performance vs. La Verne.

Lucatuorto's grand slam highlighted the Cougars' 7-3 and 9-0 sweep of La Sierra the following Sunday, Feb. 1, as the Cougars improved to 19-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles. Amu finished with three hits and three RBI on the day, while Ashley Dagenais and Katie Wilkinson put together crafty pitching performances.

CSUSM would host two future CCAA opponents, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Dominguez Hills, on the opening weekend at home, Feb.  7-8. CSUSB was able to steal both ends of the Saturday doubleheader as the Cougars moved to 3-3 on the season.

However, the Cougars bounced back with a sweep of CSUDH the following day. Alvara's two-run dinger provided the difference in a 4-2 game-one victory before Amu's grand slam and a three-run sixth-inning led to a 7-4 Cougar win in game two.

Bellamy was named the A.I.I. Female Athlete of the Week on Feb. 9 for her 6-for-12, three RBI weekend.

The pair of victories catapulted the Cougars to a 14-game winning streak over the 15 days, their fourth-longest such streak in program history.

Next up came the Desert Stinger Classic in Las Vegas (Feb. 13-15), a 32-team competition hosted by Montana State Billings that consisted of 31 NCAA Division II teams from the West Region and Cal State San Marcos.

The Cougars swept the event, winning three of their five games in run-rule fashion, including an 11-0 victory over Black Hills State (S.D.) and a 16-3 (6 inn.) win over Simon Fraser (B.C.). They took home the overall tournament title and Amu was named the Most Valuable Player after leading all players in home runs (4), RBI (16) and total bases (24) while batting .688 (11-for-16). Wilkinson was also an all-tournament selection, posting a 3-0 record and a 1.28 ERA in 14 innings.

Once again, Amu was named A.I.I. Female Athlete of the Week.

Head coach Laurie Nevarez's squad started a 10-game home stand in exciting fashion with a doubleheader on Feb. 17 against Hope International. CSUSM run-ruled the Royals 10-1 (5 inn.) and 8-0 (5 inn.) on walk-off homeruns from Lucatuorto and Brogan Hoenisch, respectively, but the day belonged to Dagenais. The sophomore right hander delivered a five-inning no-hitter in game two, the ninth no-hitter in CSUSM history.

Another walk-off RBI from Lucatuorto and a grand slam from Bellamy helped the Cougars sweep Adelphi on Feb. 20 before CSUSM downed San Diego Christian 3-0 and 5-3 on a big day from Hoenisch (Feb. 21).

The Cougars won their 14^th straight game thanks to a three-run walk-off homerun by Bellamy (video) on Feb. 27 vs. Vanguard, but the Lions responded with a 7-3 win in game two. Still, CSUSM was off to a 17-4 start to the 2015 campaign.

Amu was named the February CSUSM Female Student-Athlete of the Month after hitting .429 with nine home runs, 29 RBI and 50 total bases while slugging 1.020 with an on-base percentage of .556.

Sandwiched between a rainout and two forfeit wins over La Sierra, the Cougars split with Biola on Mar 5.

A mid-season lull seemed to surround the Cougars throughout the month of March, as the Cougars would go 2-4 over its next six games. However, CSUSM seemed to right the ship with a 5-4 game-two victory at No. 3 Concordia on Mar. 31. Alvara's three-run homer in the top of the sixth provided the difference.

Dagenais and Wilkinson combined to no-hit Hope International in game one of another sweep of the Royals on April 1. It was the third career no-hitter that Dagenais had been a part of, the second for Wilkinson, and the 10^th for the Cougar program.

The Cougars then made easy work of Antelope Valley and San Diego Christian on April 11 and 14, respectively, outscoring both teams a combined 37-15 in the process.

CSUSM honored its five seniors prior to their April 25 doubleheader against Antelope Valley: Amu, Lucatuorto, Wilkinson, Genna Main and Sarah Quiambao. The crew combined to go 11-for-21 (.524) with three home runs and nine RBI, helping the Cougars to 9-1 and 8-0 run-rule victories and a 33-12 overall record at the end of the regular season.

Prior to the A.I.I. Championship, the Cougars were named the top seed for the tournament and five players were named to the All-Conference squad. Amu, Dagenais, Bellamy and Caylyn Rodriguez were named First Team, while Alvara was a Second Team honoree. In addition, Nevarez was selected as the Co-A.I.I. Coach of the Year.

Devin Vanderhoff's two-run homerun wasn't enough in the tournament opener against No. 4-seed Ashford, as the Saints sent the Cougars to the loser's bracket, 5-2.

The following day, the Cougars survived a scare from No. 6-seed Kentucky Christian, but were eventually eliminated by No. 3-seed Houston-Victoria in the nightcap. Vanderhoff and Lucauorto were named All-A.I.I. Tournament following the competition.

Lucatuorto was named Capital One Academic All-District® on May 7.

The same day, the Cougars were relieved with the news that they had received an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championship as a No. 2-seed in the Concordia (Calif.) Bracket.

They opened their final appearance in the NAIA National Championship on May 11 against No. 3-seed Dickinson State (S.D.). The Cougars mustered just one hit in the game – an RBI single from Amu in the top of the first inning – as the Blue Hawks beat CSUSM, 9-1, in six innings.

That set up an elimination game against host and top-seed Concordia the following day. CUI leapt out to a 6-1 advantage, but a three-run rally by CSUSM in the top of the sixth within striking distance. The Cougars were able to load the bases to put the tying run on second base, but the Eagles escaped and ended the Cougars' season, 7-4.

Lucatuorto and Hoenisch were named NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athletes following the season for boasting GPA's of over 3.5. Lucatuorto will graduate as CSUSM's only two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete.

Amu was named NAIA First Team All-America on May 29, the fifth First Team selection in program history. 

The Cougars will exit the NAIA with a 329-142-1 (.698) overall mark in the program's first nine seasons. CSUSM twice made the national semifinals, appeared in six straight NAIA National Championships and won two A.I.I. Conference Championships (2010, 2012).