SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos softball team kicks off the 2016 campaign this week with road doubleheaders at Vanguard and Cal Baptist.

The Schedule
Games 1 & 2
Friday, January 29 – 1 p.m.
Cal State San Marcos (0-0) at Vanguard (0-0)
Costa Mesa, Calif. – VU Softball Field
Live Stats | Live Video

Games 3 & 4
Saturday, January 30 – 12 p.m.
CSUSM at Cal Baptist (0-0)
Riverside, Calif. – John C. Funk Stadium
Live Stats | Live Video (Probable)

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New Season, New Surroundings
The Cougars enter their first season of NCAA Division II competition and California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play in 2016 after playing its first nine seasons in the NAIA. CSUSM went 329-142-1 (.698) and made six consecutive postseason appearances during its time in the NAIA.

The Nevarez File
Head coach Laurie Nevarez enters her third season at the helm of the Cougars in 2016. Hired in 2014, Nevarez has put together a 73-25-1 (.742) record in her first two years while mentoring 13 all-conference selections. Over her 12-year head coaching career, Nevarez has put together a 392-141-2 (.735) overall record. Prior to her time at CSUSM, Nevarez coached NCAA Division III Redlands for 10 seasons.

CSUSM Picked to Take 7^th in CCAA
The Cougars were picked to finish seventh in the 2016 CCAA Preseason Coaches' Poll, the conference office announced Thursday. CSUSM received 45 points in the poll and was picked to finish higher than Cal State East Bay (43), Cal State Dominguez Hills (34), Stanislaus State (17) and San Francisco State (16). Sonoma State was picked to win with 91 points and four first-place votes.

Who's Back?
Caylyn Rodriguez, Sr., CF: CSUSM's centerfielder for the past three seasons, Rodriguez is a career .343 hitter. She set a career high with a .424 average in 2015, in which she led the team in hits (61) and doubles (16).
Melyssa Bellamy, Sr., SS: The Cougar shortstop hit .369 in an injury-shortened 2015 and returns to the left side of the infield, where she's posted a .942 fielding percentage over the past three seasons. Her .571 slugging percentage was second highest among every day players last season.
Robyn Alvara, Sr., OF: The right-fielder tallied 47 hits, 35 RBI and five home runs in her first season in Cougar blue in 2015.
Ashley Dagenais, Jr., P: The right-hander went 14-9 with a 3.41 during her sophomore season and struck out 65 batters for the second year in a row.
Brogan Hoenisch, Sr., 1B: Hoenisch started all 48 games for the Cougars at first base in 2015 while hitting .277 with 23 RBI and 14 extra-base hits.
Tayler Ybarra, Sr., C: Career .238 batter with 22 RBI and eight extra-base hits over her three seasons.
Karla Bernal, So., INF: 31 GP, .211 BA, 9 R, 12 H
Lindsay Cerulle, So., OF: 39 GP, 30 GS, .247 BA, 25 R, 21 H, 7 SB
Holly Fauria, Jr., OF: .371 BA, 30 H, .400 SLG, Career .381 BA
Breanna Stiles, Sr., OF: .091 BA, 2 R, H in 2015.
Sara Langdon, So., OF: 1.000 BA (1-1), 7 R
Amanda Meek, So., INF: .286 BA, 4 2B, HR, 12 RBI

New Faces
Abby Allen, Fr., INF: Team MVP for Crean Lutheran HS, helped the Saints to league titles in 2014 and 2015.
Amanda Horbasch, Jr., P: CCCAA All-State in 2015 while playing for Cosumnes River College. Named Big 8 Conference Pitcher of the Year and Big 8 Conference First Team.
Rylee Johnson, Fr., INF: Was on the Poway High School CIF Championship team.
Amanda Lejano, Fr., INF: Helped Cerritos High School to Suburban League titles four consecutive years, 2012-15.

Vanguard Preview
All-time vs. VU: 23-11 (.676)

Last Time Out: W, 6-3 & L, 5-7 (Apr. 2, 2015); The Cougars and Lions split a doubleheader midway through the 2015 season in Costa Mesa. Brogan Hoenisch went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the game-one victory. In game two, the Cougars trailed by as many as six, but were able to put the tying run on base in the top of the seventh before falling 7-5.

VU Breakdown: The Lions are coming off a 37-22 2015 campaign, in which they went 37-22 at home. Friday will be the first competition for VU in 2016.

Cal Baptist Preview
All-time vs. CBU: 5-13 (.278)

Last Time Out: W, 6-0 (Feb. 18, 2012); Katie Wilkinson pitched 4.1 innings of scoreless softball before Jordan Lamoureux and Cortney Allen came in to preserve the shutout victory. Kimberle Smith and Alyssa Dronenburg hit homers in the victory.

CBU Breakdown: The Lancers are coming of back-to-back NCAA DII West Region appearances and had two players, Kayla Hatch and Tayler Castro, named Preseason All-PacWest on Thursday. Since becoming full-time NCAA DII members in 2014, the Lancers have put together an 88-24 overall record over the last two seasons.

New Territory
After nine seasons of competition in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the Cougars enter their first season of NCAA Division II competition in 2015-16. CSUSM is currently in the second year of a three-year transition to full NCAA Division II membership. As a part of the transition, the Cougars will be ineligible for postseason play in 2016 and 2017.

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