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Baseball Suffers Tough Loss
at PLNU Spring Classic |
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Cougar baseball got off to an early lead but couldn't quite hold on, as the squad lost 9-6 to Dakota Wesleyan on Wednesday. It was CSUSM's first loss at the PLNU Spring Classic event. The Cougar bullpen that has been so good in recent games suffered one real bad inning in Wednesday's contest, and that was enough to hand the team a loss. Dakota Wesleyan quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead, scoring twice off Cougar starter Russell Zabel. The second run scored on an error; which unfortunately would not be the last time that happened on the afternoon. But the Cougars would battle back, and Zabel would settle down. CSUSM got one of the runs back quickly in the bottom of the first, as Austin Way singled in Tristan Gale, who had stolen second to get into scoring position. The Cougar bats would stay hot for the 2nd and 3rd. In the second, CSUSM plated three runs to take its first lead. After Spencer Pardon led off the inning with a base hit, Ricardo Moran ripped a double down the left field line to score the run. Moran, who was recently made the team's starting shortstop by Coach Dennis Pugh, has been on fire recently, going 7-for-11 so far at the PLNU Spring Classic. Juan Perez would follow him up with a single, and a pair of errors allowed two more runs to cross the plate. Moran would knock in two more runs in the third, singling up the middle to score Pardon and Terry Moritz. After Dakota Wesleyan pushed one run across in the third, Zabel would hold them scoreless for the final two innings of his start. On the day, he pitched 5 quality innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) while striking out 2. He exited the game with a 6-3 lead. But that lead would not hold up. Reliever Gerald Casanada was brought in, but gave up back-to-back singles and was pulled in favor of McClinton Heil. A sacrifice bunt followed, and a single scored the first run of the inning. After a walk to load the bases, Heil was pulled in favor of lefty Eric Julienne. Julienne induced a fielder's choice - but an error by the Cougar second baseman prevented the team from getting an out. That was immediately followed by a 2 RBI double by Scott Moerike to give Dakota Wesleyan the 7-6 lead, and a sac fly and single would make it 9-6 before Julienne escaped the inning. A total of 6 runs crossed the plate in the 6th. Only 3 were earned. Despite a great effort by Cougar reliever Chris Skaalen to hold the opponent scoreless for the final two innings, CSUSM couldn't battle back. Dakota Wesleyan's Phil Johnson and David Anderson combined to throw 4 2/3 innings of 1-hit relief. The Cougars' best chance was their last; they loaded the bases with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, and the team's best hitter, Scott Shapiro, came to the plate. But Shapiro grounded out to end the game, dropping the Cougars' record to 6-12 in their inaugural season. CSUSM has one more game left at the PLNU Spring Classic, which will be played Thursday at 11 AM. |