Cal State San Marcos Athletics

SEASIDE, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team (33-19) saw its 2026 season come to a close with a pair of losses to Northwest Nazarene (39-16) and No. 12 Cal State Monterey Bay (37-16) in the NCAA Division II West Regional at the Otter Sports Complex on Thursday. The fourth-seeded Cougars fell 8-4 to the fifth-seeded Nighthawks in the first game before falling 10-7 to the top-seeded Otters in the second game.
 
GAME 1: CSUSM 4 – NNU 8
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Canon King – 2-for-4 | 1 RBI | 1 R | 1 BB
Victor Castaneda – 2-for-2 | 1 RBI | 1 R | 1 2B | 1 SF
Christopher Tampoya – 2-for-4
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After four scoreless innings, the Nighthawks loaded the bases and took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth as Adrian Arechiga scored after NNU grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
• In the top of the sixth, NNU took a 2-0 lead on an RBI fielder's choice by Arechiga.
• The Nighthawks extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the seventh on an RBI single through the right side by Kaleb Karpstein.
• NNU plated another after hitting into a 4-6-3 double play as pinch runner Cooper Nixon scored to make it 4-0 in the top of the eighth.
• The Cougars broke up the shutout in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI groundout by Zech Samayoa and a sacrifice fly to left by Stephen Espinoza to cut the deficit to 4-2.
• The Nighthawks upped their lead to 8-2 in the top of the ninth on a sac fly to right by Arechiga, a two-run blast to left center by Caleb Boswell.
• CSUSM made it 8-4 in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by Canon King and a sac fly by Victor Castaneda, but a groundout to third immediately after ended the game.

 
QUICK HITS

• NNU starter Dillon Eden (8-1) earned the win after striking out four while allowing two earned runs on five hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch in 7.2 innings.
• CSUSM starter Jack Clark (7-2) took the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits, four walks and a hit-by-pitch while striking out five in 6.0 innings.
• This was the first-ever meeting between the Cougars and Nighthawks.
• The Cougars allowed eight walks, tying their season high.
• Christopher Tampoya extended his team-best reached-base streak to 25 games.

 
GAME 2: CSUSM 7 - CSUMB 10
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Michael Weber – 2-for-4 | 2 RBIs | 2 R | 1 2B
Canon King – 1-for-4 | 2 RBIs | 1 R | 1 HR
Max Shor – 1-for-3 | 2 RBIs | 1 SF
Zech Samayoa – 1-for-4 | 1 RBI | 1 R | 1 HR
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• A solo shot to left center by Zech Samayoa gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
• The Otters tied the game in the bottom of the first as Bobby Benavidez hit a leadoff homer.
• CSUSM went back up 3-1 in the top of the second with an RBI single up the middle by Michael Weber and an RBI single to right by Max Shor.
• A four-run top of the fourth put the Cougars up 7-1 on an RBI double down the left field line by Michael Weber, a sac fly to center by Max Shor and a two-run homer to left center by Canon King.
• CSUMB gained a run back in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff homer from Conner Smith to make it 7-2.
• In the bottom of the fifth, the Otters tied the game at 7-all with a five-run inning on a sac fly by Smith, a two-run double by Noah Zertuche and a two-run homer down the left field line by Nick Maestas.
• Monterey Bay went up 10-7 in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single up the middle by Smith, an RBI double down the right field line by Zertuche and a sac fly to center by Maestas.
• The Cougars were unable to answer in the eighth and ninth innings, seeing their season come to an end.

 
QUICK HITS

• Otter reliever Kyle Giovanni (3-0) earned the win after striking out seven and allowing just one walk in 5.1 innings.
• Cougar reliever Zach Romero (4-3) took the loss after allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out two in 3.0 innings.
• Samayoa's 23rd homer of the year tied him for the third-most in a single season in CCAA history.
• King's homer was his 14th of the season.
• Tampoya ended the year with an active 26-game reached-base streak.
• This was the sixth meeting of the season between the Cougars and Otters.
• This was CSUSM's second all-time NCAA Division II West Regional appearance, all in the last three years.