SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Coming off its first series win of the season, the Cal State San Marcos baseball team (4-3) will end non-conference play by facing Concordia University Irvine (4-4) on Friday and Saturday. The series opener will take place in Irvine on Friday at 4 p.m. before the series wraps up on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. in San Marcos.
 
LAST WEEK

• CSUSM defeated Montana State Billings in a four-game series by taking the first three contests.
• The Cougars earned a 9-6 win over the Yellowjackets in the series opener on Thursday before winning 10-3 in the second game on Friday.
• CSUSM earned the series win with a 15-9 victory in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader before falling 5-1 in the series finale.
• This was the first-ever meeting between the Cougars and Yellowjackets.

COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• The Cougars have gotten on base via the walk a conference-leading 39 times in the first seven game.
• CSUSM has been hit by a pitch 18 times already, leading the CCAA.
• The Cougars have laid down 10 sacrifice bunts so far, the second most in Division II and most in the CCAA.
• CSUSM's pitching staff is mowing down the opposition at a pace of 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings to rank second in the CCAA.
• The Cougars have tallied a league-leading 14 doubles.
• CSUSM's 49 runs are the second most in the conference.
• With a fielding percentage of .981, the Cougars rank 19th nationally and second in the CCAA.
• CSUSM has tallied a team batting average of .286 through seven games, ranking third in the conference. The Cougars also rank third in on-base percentage at .434.
• Emilio Luna has the team's best batting average at .417 and ranks 11th in the CCAA. His .611 on-base percentage ranks third in the league.
• Pat MacDonald Jr. has yet to allow a run to score in 9.0 innings and two starts.
• Luke Reece has gotten on base with a walk a conference-leading nine times.
• Reece and McGrew are the lone Cougars to have reached base in all seven games this season.

 

GAMES 8-10 | CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY IRVINE
Date	Friday, Feb. 17 - Saturday, Feb. 18
Times	Feb. 17 - 4 p.m. (Irvine) Feb. 18 - 11 a.m. (DH) (San Marcos)
Locations	Irvine, Calif. - Feb. 17 San Marcos, Calif. - Feb. 18
Venues	Eagles Field - Feb. 17 CSUSM Baseball Field - Feb. 18
Records	CSUSM (4-3) CUI (4-4)
Live Stats	Stretch - Feb. 17 SideArm Stats - Feb. 18
Live Video	Stretch - Feb. 17 CCAA Network ($) - Feb. 18

COUGARS FACE THE GOLDEN EAGLES

• CUI is coming off a series win against Cal State Dominguez Hills after taking three of four games.
• The Golden Eagles fell in three of four games against Regis in the first series of the season.
• CSUSM is 15-20 in the all-time series against CUI. The Cougars are 7-7 when facing the Golden Eagles at home and are 8-13 when facing them on the road.
• Last year, CSUSM fell 7-0 to CUI at home before earning a 15-3 win against the Golden Eagles in Irvine.
• Michael Dixon has been CUI's top hitter in the team's first eight games with a .387 batting average while Calvin Schonebaum is close behind at .385.
• Riley O'Sullivan has been the Golden Eagles' ace to this point with no runs allowed in 15.1 innings while tallying a team-leading 14 strikeouts.
• As a team, CUI is hitting .272 while its ERA stands at 4.68.
• The Golden Eagles have racked up 15 stolen bases so far to rank 17th nationally.
• CUI finished last season with a 26-23-1 record and were 19-13 in PacWest play to finish third.
• CUI was picked to finish third in the PacWest this season while Dixon was the lone Golden Eagle selected for the 2023 Preseason All-PacWest Team.

2023 SQUAD

• CSUSM has 18 returners for the 2023 season, including 2022 All-CCAA second-team recipients Ethan Rivera and Luke Reece.
• The Cougars will have 12 newcomers this season with six freshmen and six transfers.
• CSUSM's pitching staff is made up of 16 in total with 11 right handers and five lefties.
• Athletically, the Cougars are made up of two redshirt juniors, 16 redshirt sophomores, two true sophomores, four redshirt freshmen and six true freshmen.
• CSUSM was picked to finish 11th in the 2023 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Cougars' 50-game schedule includes 28 home contests and 22 road games.

THE GARCIA FILE

• Head Coach Jose Garcia was announced as the new leader of the CSUSM baseball program on Aug. 1, 2022.
• Garcia came to CSUSM from fellow CCAA member Chico State where he was the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Wildcats.
• Joining Chico's staff as a student assistant in Fall 2012, Garcia helped the Wildcats notch 286 victories, seven postseason appearances, two CCAA Championships, one NCAA West Region Championship and one College World Series appearance in 10 years with the program.
• Serving as Chico's primary hitting and infield coach, Garcia coached the Wildcats' offense to a conference-record .344 team batting average while assisting the team to a 34-15 overall record in 2022 despite only returning seven players from the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
• In 2017, Garcia helped Chico to another CCAA record with a win-loss total of 34-4 in conference play while also helping the team to an NCAA Division II-best .983 fielding percentage.
• Garcia is a graduate of Chico State and earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in coaching. He later earned his master's degree in School and Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Positive Coaching from the University of Missouri in 2017.