IRVINE, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team collected two victories in the Cougars first games away from home in 2017. The Cougars' bats came alive against Concordia Irvine in game one with a 14-8 victory before a nail-biting game two ended with CSUSM snagging a 2-1 win.
 
Sophomore catcher Isaias Torres went 4-for-7 on the day with two doubles. He drove in five runs while scoring once. Junior shortstop Tyler Place tallied three hits including a double to raise his total to 10 in 2017.
 
The Cougars will attempt to get in two games at CSUSM Baseball Field on Friday, Feb. 17 beginning at 10 a.m.
 
GAME 1: CSUSM 14 – CUI 8
The Cougars jumped out first in the opening frame on sophomore designated hitter J.T. Sole's sac fly that scored leadoff hitter and freshman center fielder Griffin Teisher. The Eagles quickly responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning and a two-run homer in the next inning.
 
The Cougars added another run in the fifth inning before exploding with seven runs that included four doubles in the sixth. Place got the ball rolling with a leadoff double and Sole followed with a walk. Junior first baseman Andy Garretson hit a 2-RBI double to left center to even the score at 4-4. After Rodriguez reached first on a walk, Dvorak drilled a double to left center to score Garretson and Rodriguez, making it a 6-4 ballgame. Dvorak plated on Torres' double through the left side. The final run of the inning was scored when senior left fielder Ross Lemmel was granted first after being hit by pitch, advanced 90 feet on a pass ball, reached third on a wild pitch and touched home on a CUI error.
 
In the seventh, CSUSM notched an additional run before the Eagles put four runs on the board. CUI's four hits were highlighted by Dane Vande Guchte's 2-RBI double to cut CSUSM's lead to 10-8.
 
The Cougars responded with four runs of their own in the ninth with Dvorak and Lemmel each recording RBI singles while Torres and junior second baseman Nico Maida sending the ball deep for sac flies to close the game at 14-8.
 
The win went to junior reliever Brady Smith after 2.1 innings of action.
 
GAME 2: CSUSM 2 – CUI 1
The Cougars found themselves trailing 1-0 after the first inning was complete. CUI's Bailey Collins hit a two-out RBI double to center.
 
After back-to-back two-out walks in the fourth, Torres hit a game-winning 2-RBI double to the right center gap to put CSUSM up 2-1.
 
Senior Taylor Ahearn tossed a complete seven-inning game to earn his third win the season. He relinquished only one run on five hits while striking out six in the contest.