SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team (13-20, 7-16 CCAA) will head to Rohnert Park for a four-game series against Sonoma State (14-18, 8-16) beginning on Friday at 2 p.m. The series will continue with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. before concluding on Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
LAST WEEK

• CSUSM was finally able to conclude its rescheduled series against Cal State Dominguez Hills last Tuesday as it fell 3-5, splitting the season series.
• The Cougars then posted another series split this past weekend against Cal Poly Pomona.
• CSUSM fell by scores of 4-2 and 7-4 in the first and last games of the series but swept the Saturday doubleheader by scores of 5-4 and 8-7 with two walk-off victories.
• It was the Cougars' first-ever series split against the Broncos since the beginning of the all-time series in 2016.

 
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• Luke Reece continues to lead the CCAA in doubles per game at .43, ranking 26th nationally.
• Reece ranks third in the conference in batting average (.381), fourth in on-base percentage (.491) and fourth in walks per game (.71).
• Niko Diaz leads the CCAA and ranks 15th nationally in sacrifice bunts with eight and is the 12th toughest to strike in the conference at 9.4 at-bats between strikeouts.
• Pat MacDonald Jr. has the seventh-best WHIP in the CCAA at 1.22 and ranks ninth in walks allowed per nine innings at 2.25.
• As a team, CSUSM has laid down 26 sacrifice bunts this season, ranking second in the conference and 33rd nationally.
• The Cougars have the CCAA's sixth-best on-base percentage (.379).

 

GAMES 34-37 | SONOMA STATE
Dates	Friday, April 21 - Sunday, April 23
Times	Friday, April 21 - 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22 - 11 a.m. (DH) Sunday, April 23 - 11 a.m.
Locations	Rohnert Park, Calif.
Venue	Seawolf Diamond
Records	CSUSM (13-20, 7-16 CCAA) SSU (14-18, 8-16 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network

COUGARS VISIT THE SEAWOLVES

• Sonoma comes into the weekend off a series split with Cal State LA, falling 7-6 and 13-2 in the first two games before earning 9-0 and 11-6 victories in the final two games.
• SSU also faced Cal State East Bay on Tuesday to finish its rescheduled series and saw the Seawolves fall 4-0.
• Sonoma is currently 10th in the CCAA standings with an 8-16 CCAA record while its 14-18 overall.
• The Seawolves' 0.94 stolen bases per game rank third in the CCAA.
• SSU ranks last in the CCAA for batting average (.245), on-base percentage (.350), slugging (.359) and scoring (5.0).
• Christopher Wright is the Seawolves' top batter at .300 while Tanner Fonoti is the top pitcher with a 3.37 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 4-2 record in eight starts.
• The Cougars are 8-14 in the all-time series against the Seawolves.
• This will be CSUSM's first visit to Rohnert Park since 2017 as the 2019 series was held in Santa Rosa due to rain.

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.