SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – The CSUSB baseball team split their doubleheader on Saturday, improving to 22-8 on the season and 13-7 in conference. With a 2-1 lead in the series, they'll look for the series win with a win on Sunday.
Game 1: CSUSB 26, SSU 6
In the first game of the doubleheader, CSUSB scored their most runs in 26 years – plating 26 runs against the Seawolves to pass the 25-run mark set in 1997. The only other game in which the Yotes scored more runs was May 18, 1991, when they scored 31 runs in their win over University of Redlands in their last year competing at the NCAA Division III level. Their 26 runs scored on Saturday is the most in the school's NCAA Division II era (1992-present).
The already-hot bats became scorching hot in the second game of the series, collecting 22 hits en route to the 26-6 win. A staggering seven players collected multiple hits, led by redshirt junior
AJ Barraza who went 4-for-6 in the game. Through the first two games in the series, CSUSB outscored Sonoma State 42-10.
The performance of the day came from third baseman
Danny Garcia, who hit both a three-run home run and a grand slam in the game, driving in 7 RBI. Garcia's production has become a core piece of CSUSB's success, batting .344 on the season with seven home runs and 27 runs driven in.
Benny Olguin picked up the win out of the pen, improving his perfect record to 4-0 on the season. Olguin threw 3.0 innings after starter
Josh Sandoval only allowed one earned run in 3.0 innings.
Chris Hernandez and
Dylan Silver closed out the game for the Yotes, neither allowing an earned run.
Game 2: CSUSB 2, SSU 5 (7 innings)
Sonoma State got on the board first with a two-run double down the right field line in the top of the third inning, giving them their first lead of the series. However, the Yotes quickly responded with back-to-back home runs from
Derek Bogh and
Matt Gonzales, both to left field. Gonzales' home run was both the first of his season and his collegiate career.
In the top of the fourth, Sonoma State responded with a solo home run to once again give them a 3-2 lead. Then with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the fifth inning, the Yotes turned a triple play to get out of the jam. However, after the umpires reviewed the play, and changed their ruling from a catch by Shedlock to a "trap". That allowed a run to score and advanced each runner one base. The Seawolves then cashed in again, taking a 5-2 lead. The Yote bats were unable to complete a comeback in the final innings, falling by a final score of 5-2.
Up Next
The Yotes will conclude their series against Sonoma State tomorrow, April 2
nd, in their Light It Up Blue game, intended to call awareness to those on the autism spectrum in recognition of World Autism Awareness Day. Admission if FREE, so bring your friends and family to Fiscalini Field and wear blue. You can also catch the action on the CCAA Network at
ccaanetwork.com.
To see the full CSUSB baseball schedule, click
HERE.
