SAN MARCOS, Calif. – After winning Cal State San Marcos' first NCAA Division II West Regional Championship, the Cougar softball team (32-19) now has its eyes on bringing home the national title. Along with seven other regional champions, CSUSM will head to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to compete in the the NCAA Division II World Series at Jim Frost Stadium. The eighth-seeded Cougars will make their debut in the World Series opener against top-seeded University of Texas at Tyler at 8 a.m. PDT.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Cougars came from behind to win their first NCAA Division II West Regional Championship with a 4-3 victory over top-seeded No. 11 Concordia University Irvine (48-13) in last Friday's West Super Regional at Golden Eagle Field.
- With two on and no outs in the bottom of the sixth, Bianca Gutierrez scored from third on a wild pitch to the backstop before an errant throw to the plate allowed Klarissa Munoz to score the tying run. Madison Waymire then proceeded to put a 0-2 pitch over the left center wall to give CSUSM its first lead of the day at 4-3.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Head Coach Stef Ewing is two wins away from her 100th victory as a head coach, all achieved at CSUSM.
- The Cougars are 5-0 in the national tournament this season.
- CSUSM has outscored the opposition 38-5 in its five NCAA Tournament games this season. Other notable statistics:
- .355-to-.149 BA
- 50-to-17 hits
- 12-to-1 extra base hits
- .496-to-.158 slugging percentage
- .427-to-.236 on-base percentage
- The Cougars are the eighth team in the CCAA to win the Region Championship despite not clinching the conference's regular-season or tournament title.
- CSUSM's .355 postseason batting average is the highest in the nation.
- The Cougars also lead the nation with the following statistics in regionals: 0.64 ERA, four double plays, 7.60 scoring average and 38 total runs.
- Mackenzie Kestler has now reached base in 17 consecutive games and has the longest-active hitting streak on the team at seven games.
- Seeded sixth during regionals, the Cougars were the lowest-seeded team to advance to the final site. The other final seven teams consists of four top-seeded regional teams, two No. 2 seeds and one No. 3 seed.
- CSUSM's 22 double plays this season ranks 14th in Division II.
- The CSUSM pitching staff is boasting a 2.26 ERA, ranking 30th in the nation.
UT TYLER BREAKDOWN
- UT Tyler is make its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II World Series after claiming the South Central Regional title with 6-5 and 6-2 wins over No. 9 West Texas A&M.
- The Patriots also have a 5-0 record in the national tournament.
- UT Tyler are on a 36-game win streak dating back to a March 10 road loss to (RV) Nova Southeastern by a score of 3-1.
- The Patriots brought home their third consecutive Lone Start Conference Regular-Season Championship.
- UT Tyler began its NCAA Division II transition in 2018-19 and were postseason eligible last season.
- The Patriots also claimed the 2023 LSC Postseason Tournament Title with a 4-3 win over No. 22 Oklahoma Christian.
- In last season's NCAA Division II World Series, the Patriots dropped a 5-1 decision to eighth-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills in their opener before rebounding with wins over fourth-seeded Southern Indiana (12-5) and third-seeded Auburn-Montgomery (4-3). UT Tyler made its exit after falling 9-3 to eventual champion Rogers State.
- Courtney Plocheck leads the Patriot offense with a .404 batting average 15 doubles and 61 RBIs.
- JT Smith is a threat on the bases with 43 stolen bases and 82 runs scored while tallying UT Tyler's second-highest batting average at .388. She also has a team-best 12 home runs.
- Tatum Goff is UT Tyler's ace in the circle with a 39-0 record and 14 shutouts in 237.1 innings and a 1.39 ERA.
DONNELLY REPEATS AS D2CCA & NFCA ALL-WEST REGION SELECTIONS
- So far this postseason, Donnelly has been awarded D2CCA and NFCA All-West Region second-team honors as well as All-CCAA second-team honors.
- This year, Donnelly is leading CSUSM with a .357 batting average, a 1.084 OPS, 50 hits, 11 doubles, eight home runs, 36 RBIs, 85 total bases, a .607 slugging percentage, and a .477 on-base percentage.
- In 2022, Donnelly took home D2CCA and NFCA first-team honors as a freshman.
SIX COUGARS EARN ALL-CCAA HONORS
CSUSM DIVISION II POSTSEASON HISTORY
- The CSUSM softball team made program history on May 19 by defeating Concordia University Irvine in back-to-back games to be crowned the NCAA West Region Champion.
- Softball's regional title is the first by a team in school history since moving to NCAA Division II in 2017-18.
- Three other CSUSM programs have made it to the final site of the NCAA tournament with women's cross country making the school's first appearance in its inaugural postseason eligibility season in 2017 with an eighth- place finish. Returning the national championships this season, the women's golf team brought home the NCAA Division II National Runner-Up trophy in 2019. In the fall of 2019, CSUSM's men's cross country team made its program's debut at the national championships with a 12th-place finish.
COUGAR OUTLOOK
- CSUSM has 17 returners for the 2023 season, including 2022 All-CCAA honorees Paige Donnelly (first team), Savannah Coyle (first team), Bianca Gutierrez (first team) and Jayline Sloss (second team).
- The Cougars will have seven newcomers this season with six freshmen and one transfer.
- Athletically, the Cougars are made up of 13 redshirt sophomores, five true sophomores and six true freshmen.
- CSUSM was picked to repeat as conference champions in the 2023 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
THE EWING FILE
- 2022 CCAA Coach of the Year Stef Ewing enters her fifth season in charge of the Cougar softball season.
- The Cougars finished the 2022 historic season surpassing all expectations by winning the program's first CCAA Regular-Season Championship with a 28-8 conference record while going 45-14 overall and hosting the NCAA West and Super West Regional as the top seed.
- In her four seasons, she has coached two NFCA All-American third team selections, seven All-CCAA honorees (three first team selections), a CCAA Newcomer of the Year and CCAA Freshman of the Year.
- Ewing captured her first win as a collegiate head coach on Feb. 17, 2019 as the Cougars recorded a walk-off 5-4 victory over Concordia Portland at CSUSM Softball Field.
- Ewing has complied a 98-76 (.550) in her five seasons at CSUSM.
- She previously served as the assistant coach at New Mexico State where she helped the Aggies to three WAC Regular Season Conference Championships and two WAC Conference Tournament Championships.
