SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team will take the field for the first time in 2016 on Tuesday, Feb. 2 when the Cougars host Biola at 2 p.m.
 
The Schedule
Game 1
Tuesday, February 2 – 2 p.m.
Biola (3-1) at Cal State San Marcos (0-0)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Baseball Field
Live Stats | Live Video
 
Game 2
Wednesday, February 3 – 2 p.m.
San Diego Christian (0-0) at Cal State San Marcos (0-0)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Baseball Field
Live Stats | Live Video
 
Games 3 & 4
Friday, February 5 – 11 a.m.
La Sierra (1-3-1) at Cal State San Marcos (0-0)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Baseball Field
Live Stats | Live Video
 
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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 made three postseason appearances during its time in the NAIA.
 
The Pugh File
Head coach Dennis Pugh enters his tenth season at the helm of the Cougars in 2016. Pugh has accumulated a 254-143-2 on field record while grooming 29 all-conference selections. Prior to his time at CSUSM, Pugh spent 27 years as the head baseball coach at Mission Bay High School in Pacific Beach.
 
Cougars Tabbed 10th in CCAA Preseason Poll
CSUSM was picked to finish 10th alongside San Francisco State in the 2016 CCAA Preseason Coaches' Poll, the conference office announced Thursday.  CSUSM received 32 points in the poll and was picked to finish higher than Cal State San Bernardino (17). Defending West Region Champion Cal Poly Pomona was unanimously selected to win the CCAA regular season title with 121 points. UC San Diego received 105 points, followed by Chico State (90), Cal State Monterey Bay (88), Sonoma State (83), Stanislaus State (54), Cal State East Bay (53) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (52).

Who's Back?
Brandon Bentson, Sr., 1B: CSUSM's first baseman for the past three seasons, Bentson is a career 361 hitter, ranking him second in the CSUSM record books.
Emilio Esquibel, R-Sr., RHP: His 12 wins in 2015 broke the CSUSM single season record.  Esquibel tallied a season-best 50 strikeouts in 97 innings.
Manny Barragan, Sr., RHP: He started in 13 games in 2015, finishing with a 5-2 record and 4.32 ERA. Barragan relinquished only one home run while striking out 39 batters.
Jon Putnam, R-Sr., 3B/C: He saw action in 37 games with 29 starts, 26 coming behind the plate and three as the designated hitter. Putnam finished the season batting .303 with 20 RBIs, nine walks and seven doubles.
L.A. Gamo, Sr., OF: He served as the Cougars primary leadoff batter, finishing with a .460 on base percentage. Gamo broke CSUSM's single season record with 38 walks.
Clinton Perez, Sr., OF/LHP: The outfielder earned a starting position halfway through the 2015, finishing with a .382 batting average. Perez tallied eight doubles, two triples and a home run in 68 at bats.
Jordan Kunz, Sr., LHP: The southpaw made 32 relief appearances, finishing with a 2-1 record and a 3.08 ERA.  Kunz registered 39 strikeouts in 26.1 innings while limiting opponents to a .204 batting average.
Cameron MacKenzie, Sr., RHP: MacKenzie made 31 appearances in relief before getting his first start in the A.I.I. Conference Championship semifinals where he snagged a win over top-seed and host Georgia Gwinnett.
Tyler Place, So., SS: The Cougar shortstop hit .380 in his freshman campaign and broke CSUSM's single season record with eight triples in 2015.
Austin Ott, So., OF/2B/RHP: The second baseman tallied a .310 batting average with 57 hits, 42 RBIs and 12 doubles in his first season in Cougar blue in 2015.
Hayden Weir, R-Jr., RHP: 18 APP, 21.2 IP, 2 CSO, 15 SO, 3 BB
Ross Lemmel, Jr., UT: 29 GP, .278 BA, 2 2B, 4 R, 3 RBI
Jack Garcia, So., UT: 33 GP, .273 BA, 2 BB
Elliott Stepanof, R-So., RHP: 3-2, 16 APP, 5 GS, 5.02 ERA, 18 SO
 
Returning After Redshirt Season
Shane Coleman, R-Jr., LHP: Transfer from Grossmont College, Named All-PCAC team his sophomore year.
Domenic Antonacci, R-Fr., INF: 2014 Valley League Defensive Player of the Year at Valley Center High School.
Jake Trybulski, R-So., 3B: 2014 stats – 15 GP, 2 GS, .222 BA, 3B
Zach Wickham, R-Jr., RHP: Transfer from Palomar College where he struck out 14 batters in 32 innings his freshman season.
Matt Winkenweder, R-Jr., C: 2014 stats – 1 APP, 9.00 ERA, Faced three batters
Riley Manquen, R-So., UT: 2014 stats – 12 GP, 2 R

New Faces
Hudson Bilodeau, Jr., C: Batted .297 last season at Arizona Western Community College.
Nico Maida, Jr., 2B: Appeared in 20 games with 10 starts at second base for Long Beach State last season.
Taylor Ahearn, Jr., OF/RHP: Played two seasons for Siena College (NY) before returning to his home state of California.
Alex Wall, So., RHP: Registered a team-best four wins on the mound for University of Sioux Falls last season.
Colin Dvorak, So., OF: Batted .336 with 21 RBIs and 25 runs last season for L.A. Harbor College.
Mark Van Skike, Fr., INF: A 2015 All-Century League team selection for Villa Park High School.
Tyler Ankrom, Fr., UT: Member of the 2015 USA Baseball National High School Invitational Championship Team.
Kevin Britt, Fr., 1B: Two-time All-Central League selection for Junipero Serra High School.
Marc Vela, R-Fr., RHP: Attended University of Hawaii the last two years but did not play after lettering three seasons at San Dieguito Academy.
Brady Smith, R-Fr., RHP: Did not play last season. Was a two-time All-Ambassador League selection at Woodcrest Christian High School.
 
 
Biola Preview
All-time vs. BU: 12-13
 
Last Time Out: W, 7-1 & W, 8-7 (April 22, 2015). The Cougars collected a doubleheader sweep at Biola towards the end of the 2015 season.  Emilio Esquibel tossed a one-run complete game in the twinbill opener and Ray Patchen crushed a three-run homer in the final frame of game two. Brandon Bentson went 7-for-9 with a double and Tyler Place went 4-for-6 with three triples.
 
BU Breakdown: Biola registered a 10-9 victory over Bethesda in its season opener on Jan. 26. Last weekend, the Eagles snagged a three-game series win against Antelope Valley by taking the first two games 4-1 and 6-1 before falling 4-0 in the series finale.
 
San Diego Christian Preview
All-time vs. SDCC: 24-14
 
Last Time Out: W, 11-6 (April 21, 2015). Back-to-back bases loaded hits by Brandon Bentson and Ray Patchen in the bottom of the seventh broke open a tight game.  Jordan Kunz picked up the win in relief, striking out a pair of batters, allowing one hit and no runs over two innings.
 
SDCC Breakdown: Wednesday's game will be the regular season opener for the Hawks after playing a pair of exhibition games at UC San Diego. SDCC is coming off an 11-41 2015 campaign.
 
La Sierra Preview
All-time vs. LSU: 34-1
 
Last Time Out: W, 19-4 & W, 12-1 (April 17. 2015). The Cougars scored 31 runs on 29 hits including home runs by Austin Ott and Dylan Costello in the doubleheader sweep over the Golden Eagles. Both games lasted only 4.5 innings due to the 10-run rule decided by both coaches prior to the first pitch. 
 
LSU Breakdown: The Golden Eagles dropped a 7-2 decision at Vanguard in their season opener on Jan. 18.  LSU picked up a win, a tie and a loss on Jan. 22-23 against Hope International, who added baseball this season. The Golden Eagles collected a 6-5 victory in the doubleheader opener but had to settle for 7-7 draw after the game was halted due to darkness. The following day, HIU recorded the first victory (13-1) in the program's history.
 
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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