SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – The CSUSB baseball team opened its season with two wins on Saturday afternoon, defeating Central Washington in both games of the Opening Day doubleheader. The Yotes pulled off a similar feat early on last season, winning both of their first two games against Central Washington as well.
Game 1: CSUSB 8, CWU 5
The Yotes fired on all cylinders in the opening game of the 2023 campaign, featuring strong starting pitching while finding barrel at the plate. Junior right-hander
Luke Hempel made his first career start for CSUSB, striking out an impressive 10 batters while only allowing four hits and one earned run in 5.0 innings. Despite allowing a home run on the very first pitch of the game, Hempel bounced back to strike out four of the next seven batters and would maintain that dominance for the rest of his outing. The Glendale native also picked up his first career win wearing the Blue & Black.
After a rocky eighth inning that brought the Wildcats back into the game,
Oscar Rauda came in and closed the door to earn his first save of the season.
Seven different Yote batters collected a hit in game one of the doubleheader, with
Daryl Ruiz being the only to collect multiple. Ruiz,
Giovanni Del Negro, and
Jake Borst all homered in the season opener, each one a solo shot in the middle innings.
Riley Parker and
Derek Bogh both delivered clutch RBI singles in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving CSUSB much-need insurance runs.
Game 2: CSUSB 7, CWU 5 (7 innings)
Game two featured a nearly identical recipe to game one, with the Yotes thriving off strong starting pitching and timely hitting. Junior transfer
Dylan O'Connor was masterful in his start on the mound, striking out eight batters while allowing just one earned run on three hits in 5.0 innings. O'Connor did not allow any hits his first time through the lineup, before the Wildcats got to him in the fourth inning.
Both squads recorded six hits in the game, with
Daryl Ruiz and
Deshawn Johnson combining for four of CSUSB's. Johnson also scored three runs in the game, something he had only done three times last season.
The Yotes carried a 4-1 lead headed into the sixth inning. After a hit and a walk to put two runners on, CWU's DH Brady Hinkle hit a clutch three-run home run to left field to tie the game at 4-4. Despite a pitching change, the very next batter hit a solo home run to right field to give CWU a 5-4 lead.
Both teams would make little noise in the next two halves, bringing the game to the bottom of the seventh inning with the Yotes down a run.
Matt Gonzales led off the inning with a single to center field. The very next pitch, Johnson was hit by a pitch, putting two runners on base. After a infield fly put one out on the board,
Daryl Ruiz walked up to the plate. On the very first pitch of the at-bat, Ruiz roped a ball to deep right center field off the scoreboard for a three-run walk-off home run. Ruiz finished the day 4-for-7 with two home runs and 6 RBI.
Up Next
The Yotes will return to action tomorrow, February 5
th, for an 11:00 AM game at Fiscalini Field. You can purchase tickets
here or catch the action on the CCAA Network at
ccaanetwork.com.
