SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team hits the road to face the Biola Eagles before a four-game split series with the Concordia (Calif.) Eagles on Friday and Saturday.
 
The Schedule
Game 5
Tuesday, February 9 – 2 p.m.
CSUSM (3-1) at Biola (3-5)
La Mirada, Calif. – Eagles Field
Live Stats | Live Video
 
Game 6 & 7
Friday, February 12 – 11 a.m.
CSUSM at Concordia (Calif.) (1-3)
Irvine, Calif. – Eagles Field
Live Stats | Live Video
 
Games 8 & 9
Saturday, February 13 – 11 a.m.
Concordia (Calif.) at CSUSM
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.
 
Opening Week Recap
The Cougars opened the season with an exciting 6-5 victory over Biola on Tuesday, Feb. 2 before dropping a 9-8 heartbreaker to San Diego Christian the next day.  CSUSM closed the week with a dominating doubleheader sweep, 9-0 and 19-1, over visiting La Sierra. Shortstop Tyler Place could not have started his sophomore season out any better than he is now. The middle-infielder is hitting .647 (11-for-17) with five stolen bases and two doubles in four games.
 

Biola Preview
All-time vs. BU: 13-13
 
Last Time Out: W, 6-5 (February 2, 2016). Junior Taylor Ahearn hit a two-out walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give CSUSM its fifth season opener victory in program history last week. Sophomore Austin Ott led the Cougars at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a run while classmate Tyler Place went 2-for-4 with a RBI and run.
 
BU Breakdown: After falling to CSUSM last Tuesday, the Eagles dropped a three game series to Vanguard by scores of 6-2, 17-1 and 7-2. A positive note for Biola was these three losses did not count against its 2016 Golden State Athletic Conference record. Sam Thorne leads the Eagle offense, batting .346 with a double and two walks.
 
Concordia (Calif.) Preview
All-time vs. CUI: 6-13
 
Last Time Out: L, 2-5 (April 15, 2015). Despite taking the lead twice early, the Cougars fell to Concordia after giving up three runs in the final three frames. The loss was CSUSM ace Emilio Esquibel's only one of the season.
 
CUI Breakdown: The Eagles dropped a four-game series (1-3) last weekend to Cal Poly Pomona, who ranked No. 10 in the Collegiate Baseball preseason ranking. Concordia fell 8-9 and 0-3 in the two contests in Pomona before registering a 4-3 victory in the Eagles' home opener. An 12-3 decision prevented Concordia from exiting the series even with the Broncos. 
 
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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