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Large Turnout for Baseball’s
Official Home Opener |
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A large, vocal, and stuffed (thanks to catering by Mr. Taco) crowd of Cougar fans cheered the team on in its official home opener Friday – a 15-7 loss to San Diego Christian. The young San Marcos squad is now 0-5 in its inaugural season. Starting pitcher David Julio gave the Cougars 4 innings of work, but got roughed up, allowing 11 runs. He took the loss. Hawks’ starter Lance Janke gave his team six quality innings of four-run ball to pick up the win. Early on, the large crowd at San Marcos High had plenty to cheer about. After S.D. Christian got on the board in the top of the first, the Cougars came roaring back thanks to a two-run homer by slugger Scott Shapiro, giving the home team a 2-1 lead. It would not be long-lived. The Hawks methodically pushed 7 runs across in the second, posting five straight singles after making the first out. After another out, cleanup hitter Brandon Rauch smoked yet another single, and Texas A&M transfer Aaron Vasquez blasted a home run over the right field fence. Janke was able to settle down and keep the Cougars in check for the majority of the day. Once he got his breaking ball working, Jake began getting ahead of Cougar hitters and finishing them off with the off-speed stuff. After Julio posted scoreless third and fourth innings, he was knocked out in the fifth and relieved by Auggie Richardson. Richardson was promptly greeted with a run-scoring double by Chris Denhart, followed by a sac fly by Danny Gonzales, making the score 11-2. In the bottom half of the inning, the Cougars threatened but were only able to push across two runs, courtesy of Adam Ricciardulli and Chuck Baird RBI’s. The Hawks would tack on another run in the seventh, then be shut down by pitchers Travis Zabel and Lance McCormick in the final two innings. Quality relief work by Hawks pitchers Garrett Russell and Chris Priesendorfer kept the game at 15-4 going into the ninth, but the Cougars wouldn’t go quietly. Freshman lefty Matt Jenkins drilled a three-run homer to right center before the Cougars bowed out, making the final score 15-7. Though the scoreboard didn’t favor the Cougars, the fans certainly did. It was standing-room-only throughout the game, with students and members of the San Marcos community showing their support for the new CSUSM team. While the squad is in the “building” stage right now, there will be brighter days ahead once the freshman-heavy roster makes the adjustment to college ball. Admission to home games is always free, and all fans are encouraged to come out and support the team throughout its inaugural year! |