Cal State San Marcos Athletics

SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team split its Friday doubleheader against No. 12 Cal State Monterey Bay, falling 22-11 in the opener before earning an 8-6 win in the nightcap at Dennis A. Pugh Field.
 
GAME 1: CSUSM 11 - CSUMB 22
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Jake Larson – 2-for-3 | 4 RBIs | 1 2B | 2 SF
Zech Samayoa – 3-for-5 | 4 R | 2 RBIs | 2 HR | 1 2B | 1 BB
Michael Ryan – 0-for-1 | 2 RBIs | 2 BB | 1 R
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Otters started the game with a 4-0 lead after back-to-back RBI singles by James Starkus and Jason Del Villar, an RBI double by Andrew Lehman and a sacrifice fly by Conner Smith.
• The Cougars cut the deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the second with a sac fly to right by Jake Larson and a bases-loaded walk by Canon King.
• CSUSM trimmed the deficit further in the bottom of the third with a long solo shot to left by Zech Samayoa to make it 4-3.
• Monterey Bay increased its lead to 7-3 in the top of the fourth with a two-run single up the middle by Xander Sielken and a sac fly to right by Starkus.
• The Otters scored six more runs in the top of the fifth with a sac fly to right by Nick Maestas, a two-run double by Bobby Benavidez, a wild pitch that scored Benavidez and a two-run homer to left by Del Villar to go up 13-3.
• Another solo shot by Samayoa made it a 13-4 game in the bottom of the fifth.
• CSUMB made it a 12-run game in the top of the sixth with a two-run homer by Maestas before Benavidez followed with a solo shot to right to make it 16-4.
• The Cougars responded with a four-run inning in the bottom of the seventh on a bases-loaded walk by Michael Ryan, a two-run double to right by Larson and an RBI single through the left side by Daniel Troncale to cut the Otter lead to 16-8.
• The Otters took a 19-8 lead in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Maestas and a two-run double by Sielken.
• A sac fly to center by Mikey Gray, a bases-loaded walk by Ryan and a sac fly to center by Larson cut CSUSM's deficit to 19-11 in the bottom of the eighth.
• CSUMB plated the game's final three runs in the top of the ninth on a sac fly by Melo Rivera, an RBI single by Maestas and a CSUSM error that allowed Casey Hinojosa to score to make it 22-11.

 
QUICK HITS

• Otter starter Drew Aguiar (3-1) earned the win after striking out two while allowing four earned runs on six hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch in 5.0 innings.
• Cougar starter PJ Wendler (6-2) took the loss after allowing 10 runs (eight earned) on six hits, four walks and three hit-by-pitches while striking out two in 4.0 innings.
• Samayoa's two homers gave him 13 for the year, tying for the third most in a single season at CSUSM while marking his team-best 11th multi-hit and multi-RBI game of the year.
• Canon King extended his team-best reached-base streak to 20 games.
• The Cougars had a season-high three sac flies.

 
GAME 2: CSUSM 8 - CSUMB 6 (7 INN.)
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Canon King – 3-for-4 | 3 RBIs | 2 R | 1 HR
Christopher Tampoya – 1-for-2 | 2 RBIs | 1 SF
Victor Castaneda – 2-for-3 | 2 R | 1 2B
Leighton Helfrick – 2-for-3 | 1 R | 1 SAC
Jake Larson – 2-for-2 | 1 R | 1 SAC
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• CSUSM went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first on an RBI single up the middle by Christopher Tampoya.
• The Cougars took a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the second on an Otter throwing error that scored Victor Castaneda, a wild pitch that scored Jake Larson, a two-run homer to center by Canon King, a wild pitch that scored Leighton Helfrick and a sac fly to left by Tampoya.
• CSUMB cut the deficit to 7-2 in the top of the third with an RBI single through the right side by James Starkus and a CSUSM throwing error that allowed Xander Sielken to score.
• An RBI single through the right side by King put the Cougars up 8-3 in the bottom of the fifth.
• Down by five in the top of the seventh, the Otters tried to rally with a two-run homer to left center by Jason Del Villar and a two-out RBI double by Noah Zertuche, but a strikeout by Cougar reliever Zach Romero ended the game.

 
QUICK HITS

• CSUSM starter Jack Clark (4-1) picked up the win after striking out three while allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks in 6.0 innings.
• CSUMB starter Hayden Hall (6-2) took the loss after surrendering four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk in an inning.
• King improved his team-best reached-base streak to 21 games while tallying his 10th multi-RBI performance and 10th homer of the season.
• Helfrick extended his hitting streak to nine games while recording his 11th multi-hit game of the season, tying for the team lead.
• This was CSUSM's first win over a ranked opponent this season, with nine of the last 10 ranked wins coming against CSUMB.

 
UP NEXT
Due to the increased risk of rain on Sunday, CSUSM and CSUMB will now play an 11 a.m. doubleheader on Saturday consisting of two nine-inning games to wrap up the series.