SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – The CSUSB baseball team defeated Cal State LA on Monday afternoon, improving to 24-8 on the season and 2-0 in the drawn-out series. The Yotes also sit in second place in the CCAA standings with a 15-7 record, just a few games back of Cal State Monterey Bay at 16-4.
CSUSB's series against the Golden Eagles this season has certainly been unorthodox. The series was originally scheduled for February 23-27
th in the traditional 9-9-7-9 inning format, but after the first game was called in the seventh inning due to weather, the remaining three games were rescheduled throughout the rest of the season. The second game, which had been moved to March 21
st, was then postponed again due to weather. So, Monday afternoon's matchup was originally supposed to be their third game of the series, making it the 7-inning game of the doubleheader. As a result, the two teams entered the game knowing they were only playing seven innings.
Pitching controlled the game, as the Yotes only won by a score of 2-1. The CSUSB pitching staff held the CSULA hitters, not allowing a single earned run in the game.
Andres Quinones delivered a strong start allowing just three hits with three strikeouts in three innings.
Conner Batzer and
John Pfeffer pitched scoreless frames in the middle innings, with Batzer earning his second win of the season. Senior closer
Oscar Rauda slammed the door shut with a 1-2-3 inning, earning his sixth save of the season and the 19
th of his career. He is now just two shy of tying the CSUSB all-time saves record and three shy of breaking it.
The top of the lineup continued to produce for CSUSB, with each of the first five hitters collecting at least one hit. The two runs came off an RBI single from
Giovanni Del Negro and a fielder's choice from
Garrett Macias, both in the fifth inning. The Yotes also collected three doubles off the bats of
Daryl Ruiz,
Jason Shedlock, and
Derek Bogh.
Up Next
The Yotes will head to Cal State East Bay for their series opener on Thursday, April 6
th, at 3:00 PM. You can catch the action on the CCAA Network at
ccaanetwork.com.
To see the full CSUSB baseball schedule, click HERE.
