HAYWARD, Calif. – The CSUSB baseball team won both games of the doubleheader on Friday, defeating the Pioneers by scores of 5-4 and 5-0. With the two wins, the No. 7 ranked Yotes improve to 26-9 on the season and 17-8 in CCAA play. CSUSB currently sits 3.5 games back in the standings behind No. 19 Cal State Monterey Bay, who is currently on an 11-game winning streak and 19-4 in conference. Despite sitting in second place in the CCAA standings, the Yotes' .735 overall win percentage is still the best in the entire west region.
Game 1: CSUSB 5, CSUEB 4
Three separate Yotes collected three hits in game one of the doubleheader, that being
Daryl Ruiz,
Giovanni Del Negro, and
Danny Garcia. Each of those three are among the top hitters in the lineup, ranking top four in batting average this season. The team gathered 17 hits in the game, tied for third most in a single game this season. Ruiz,
AJ Barraza, and
Jason Shedlock also collected extra base hits in the win. Despite leaving 12 runners on base, the Yotes were able to drive in the deciding run on a
Jeremy Giesegh RBI single in the top of the ninth inning to make the score 5-4.
Josh Sandoval started the game for CSUSB on the mound. In his last three appearances, Sandoval has been the "opener", throwing a few innings to start the game before handing the ball to
Benny Olguin – who subsequently eats up most of the middle innings. With this formula, Sandoval has only allowed two earned runs in 7.2 innings while Olguin has gone a perfect 3-0, collecting the win in each game.
After taking a one run lead in the ninth, closer
Oscar Rauda slammed the door shut to pick up his seventh save of the season. Rauda now has 20 saves in his CSUSB career, just one short of tying the all-time program record. The Ontario, CA native also has a mind-blowing 0.75 ERA on the season, having allowed just one earned run in 12.0 innings. He also has 16 strikeouts to just three walks allowed with a .175 batting average against.
Game 2: CSUSB 5, CSUEB 0
Dylan O'Connor was lights out in the second game of the doubleheader, throwing a complete game shutout for the second time this season. The Tacoma, WA native threw all 7.0 innings, striking out nine while only allowing one walk and three hits. O'Connor improves to 5-3 on the season and ranks second on the team in WHIP at 1.01 with an impressive .195 batting average against. He also leads the Yotes in strikeouts by a wide margin, fanning 61 on the season with the next closest being
Luke Hempel at 39.
The bats continued their steady production as seven different Yotes teamed up for 11 hits in the seven-inning game. Ruiz, Garcia, and
Riley Parker all doubled, while Del Negro and Garcia each collected 2 RBI in the win.
Up Next
The Yotes and Pioneers conclude their four-game series on Saturday, April 8
th, with first pitch set for 12:00 PM. You can catch the action on the CCAA Network at
ccaanetwork.com.
To see the full CSUSB baseball schedule, click HERE.
