LOS ANGELES ­– Behind 22 hits, the Cal State San Marcos baseball team (7-12, 1-8 CCAA) avoided the series sweep against Cal State LA (8-10, 3-6 CCAA) with a 20-10 victory in the series finale on Sunday at Reeder Field.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Luke Reece – 3-for-4 | 5 RBIs | 1 R | 1 3B | 1 2B | 1 BB
Sean McGrew – 4-for-6 | 3 R | 2 RBIs | 3 2B
Niko Diaz – 4-for-5 | 3 R | 1 RBI | 1 BB
Emilio Luna – 3-for-6 | 3 RBIs | 2 R
Ethan Rivera – 2-for-6 | 3 RBIs | 1 HR | 1 R
Anthony Pacino – 2-for-3 | 2 R | 2 BB | 1 2B
Nick Schnopp – 2-for-4 | 2 R | 1 BB | 1 SB
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• CSUSM took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first with an RBI double by Diaz and a sacrifice fly by Reece.
• CSUSM went up 3-0 in the top of the second. After Adams walked and advanced to second on a passed ball, he scored on an error by the second baseman.
• The Cougars increased their lead to 5-0 in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by McGrew and an RBI single by Reece.
• CSUSM took a 9-0 lead in the top of the sixth. After a leadoff double by McGrew and a single by Diaz, Reece hit a two-run triple down the right field line before a two-run homer to left center by Rivera.
• LA finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run homer to right by Andrew Tovar to make it 9-2.
• The Cougars plated three more runs in the top of the seventh. After Pacino doubled down the left field line to lead off the inning, he scored on a throwing error by the shortstop as Luna singled. With Luna on third and Diaz on first after a single, they both scored as Reece hit into a fielder's choice while another error on the shortstop occurred to make it 12-2.
• The Golden Eagles got those runs back in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI double to right by Victorian and a two-run homer by Pacheco to cut the deficit to 12-5.
• In the top of the eighth, CSUSM had a seven-run inning on four hits and two LA errors with a two-run single by Luna, an RBI single by McGrew, an RBI groundout by Rivera and a two-run single by Morrell.
• LA scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth with two bases-loaded walks and three RBI singles to cut CSUSM's lead to 19-10.
• The Cougars scored their final run of the game in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Luna that scored Demetrius Freeman from second to make it 20-10.

 
QUICK HITS

• CSUSM starter Josh Kim (3-1) earned the win in 6.0 innings of work while striking out one and allowing just runs on three hits and a walk.
• LA starter Zechariah Jarrad (1-1) took the loss after allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits and four walks while striking out two in 3.2 innings.
• The Cougars' 20 runs were the 10th most in program history.
• McGrew's three doubles tied for the most in a single game in program history. The feat has been done seven times before.
• CSUSM's 22 hits tied for the seventh most in team history.
• For the series, Diaz led the Cougars with an .833 batting average, 10 hits, a 1.000 slugging percentage and an .889 on-base percentage.
• This was Rivera's team-leading sixth game with multiple RBIs.
• Reece extended his reached-base streak to 18 games as he came a home run shy of the cycle.

 
UP NEXT
CSUSM will have its upcoming bye weekend before its scheduled series against Stanislaus State that begins Friday, March 31 at 3 p.m. at CSUSM Baseball Field.