Baseball Blasts Central Christian in Double-Header
March 17, 2007

Complete Box Scores »» Game 1    Game 2

Central Christian College came to San Marcos all the way from Kansas, but the Cougars proved to be unkind hosts, sweeping them in a double-header Saturday.

CSUSM came out swinging in game one, winning 17-6 in 7 innings. After spotting Central Christian a run in the top of the first, the Cougars exploded for their best offensive inning of the season in the bottom of the frame.

Things started slow with a leadoff groundout a routine ball to the shortstop, but an error allowed the runner to reach. CSUSM would capitalize in a big way, as Scott Shapiro knocked in the first run with a single. Austin Way followed that up with an RBI base hit of his own to make the score 2-0.

Then Central Christian starter Greg Daugherty began to struggle. It started with hitting Terry Moritz with a pitch to load the bases. After a pop-out, Ian Chatfield was hit by a pitch to push across a run, and Jason Hinton walked to plate another. The next run came across when Ricardo Moran was hit by a pitch. Tristan Gale then delivered a two-RBI double, knocking Daugherty out of the game. But the Cougars weren't done, as Shapiro walked, and Way delivered his second hit of the inning - this time a double that scored two more.

When the dust settled, the Cougars led 10-1.

CSUSM made it 13-1 in the 3rd, as Gale and Way were knocked in by a Moritz groundout and Spencer Pardon single.

Cougar starter Chris Skaalen pitched three solid innings, but hit the wall in the fourth. He was greeted with a double and a single, and after a few wild pitches and a walk, a Jacob Morales double made the game 13-6 and chased Skaalen from the game. Reliever Jeff Stephenson was able to escape the inning without further damage, and pitched a scoreless 5th to pick up the eventual win.

The Cougar bullpen in general was very effective, as Stephenson gave way to Eric Julienne, who didn't allow a hit in his one inning of work. He has not allowed an earned run in his last 9 1/3 innings of work. Grant Harrell then pitched a perfect 7th to close out the game.

Game two wasn't quite as flashy, but CSUSM picked up the win nonetheless by a 6-2 score. Yet again the Cougars got off to a huge start, this time scoring 6 in the first inning off Central Christian starter Sean Faulkner.

Speedy Jason Hinton got the ball rolling with a leadoff single, and was drove him by a one-out Tristan Gale triple. Shapiro was hit by a pitch for the third time on the day, and Austin Way doubled home another run. Adam Ricciardulli then plated two with a single. After an out, Cory Ventura drove in another with a double, and Mitch McNamara capped off the scoring with a base hit.

While the 6-run first was great, it would be all the offense CSUSM would generate in the 7-inning game. Fortunately, it was more than enough for the rapidly-improving Cougar pitching staff.

Starter Travis Zabel was the star of the game, as he gave the team 5 quality innings of work. Central Christian managed to push home just two runs off Zabel; and both were unearned.

The Cougar bullpen continued to shine as well, shutting down the opposing lineup to close out the game. Lance McCormick struck out two in pitching a scoreless sixth, while David Julio allowed the first two batters to reach base before striking out the side to end the contest.

Overall, it was a very successful day for Cougar baseball. The young squad's record is now 9-14 on the year, and they appear to be settling in to playing at San Marcos High. The team will hope to carry that over to Mission Bay High on Tuesday though, where they'll take on Westmont.