SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team collected a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series split against Sonoma State on Sunday afternoon as both teams recorded a win in the doubleheader. The Cougars dropped game one 8-7 before nabbing a 4-3 win in the nightcap.
 
Senior Tyler Place led the way with his fourth home run of the season as he joined three other Cougars with three hits on the day. Brandon Bachman (3-1) earned the win in game two after going seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits and striking out six.
 
The Cougars return north next weekend to take on the Pioneers of Cal State East Bay in a four-game series beginning on Friday, March 23.
 
GAME 1: SSU 8 – CSUSM 7
CSUSM opened the day with three runs in the first inning. Junior Cabot Van Til led off with a double to left center and stole third. Place followed with an RBI single down the right line and advanced to third on junior Marcus Wilhite's single through the right side. Senior Aidan Stinnett brought Place home on a sacrifice fly while Wilhite scored on junior Austin Ott's single that got past a diving SSU third baseman.
 
CSUSM added another run in the second after junior Joseph Bahna drew a leadoff walk and scored on Wilhite's shallow single to right center.
 
SSU put a run up on the board in the fourth and four more in the top of the fifth that included a two-run homer by Joshua Medina to take a 5-4 lead.
 
The Cougars evened the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth on Van Til's RBI single up the middle.
 
CSUSM retook the lead at 7-5 in the sixth on Ott's 2-RBI line drive over second base into center.
 
A two-run homer by Jake Sahagian once again evened the game, but three consecutive SSU singles gave the lead back to the Seawolves at 8-7.
 
SSU's Nicolas Vega (3-0) earned his second win of the series after 2.1 innings of work in relief while Grant St. Martin collected the save.
 
CSUSM starter Mike Lopez tallied a season-best 10 strikeouts for a no decision.
 
GAME 2: CSUSM 4 – SSU 3
Place's three-run homer in the third inning proved to be the game-winning hit for CSUSM.
 
Sonoma State struck first on Sahagian's RBI double in the top of the third. The Cougars answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame. Junior Adam Tanoue singled up the middle, stole second and moved to third on Näshéa Diggs' bunt single. Wilhite picked up another RBI on the day with a single through the left side. Place cleared the bases with a blast over the right center field wall to give CSUSM a 4-1 lead.
 
The Seawolves threatened in the eighth on pinch hitter Joshua Montelongo's 2-RBI double to right but freshman Garrett Apker got out of the jam by forcing a groundout.
Ott earned his first collegiate save by retiring the side in the ninth that included two strikeouts.