SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team prevented a shutout with two runs in the bottom of the ninth, falling to Chico State in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series finale on Sunday.
 
Juniors Austin Ott and Näshéa Diggs each had two of CSUSM's seven hits.
 
The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Tyler Stofiel's RBI single, scoring Alex DeVito who drew a walk to begin the frame.  
 
 A two-run homer by Kyle Blakeman put Chico State up 3-0 after five innings.
 
The Wildcats would extend their lead to 7-0 with a pair of runs in both the seventh and eighth innings.
 
CSUSM was finally able to get some consistent offense as three of the Cougars' seven hits came in the final frame. Junior Joseph Bahna hit a one-out single through the right alley. He took second on a pitch and moved another 90 feet on freshman Michael Lopez's deep fly out to right field. Digg's single followed the same path as Bahna's as CSUSM got its first run of the day. Junior Cabot Van Til singled on a shot to left field as Diggs slid home, beating out the throw at the plate.
 
Chico State's Christian Stiegele got the win after throwing seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out five. Junior Brandon Bachman took the loss after 6.2 innings on the hill, allowing five runs on nine hits.
 
CSUSM's final three CCAA series are split-venue series, beginning with Cal State L.A. next week. The Cougars will travel to Los Angeles for single games on Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21 before hosting the Golden Eagles in a doubleheader on Sunday, April 22.