Baseball Stomps Westmont; Picks Up 10th Win of Year
Cougars on three-game win streak
March 20, 2007

Complete Box Score

It was by no means a thing of beauty, but Cougar baseball will take the win.

CSUSM defeated Westmont on Wednesday by the gaudy score of 18-4. Austin Way and Tristan Gale tallied four RBI each, while seven Cougar pitchers combined to largely limit the Westmont lineup.

Things got off to a rocky start for both teams. Cougar starter Jeff Stephenson clearly didn't look right from the first pitch, and lasted just one inning. He allowed a pair of runs in that frame, but the second did come in on an error.

CSUSM bounced back for 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. A leadoff walk to Jason Hinton, which is never a good idea for opposing pitchers, resulted in a run courtesy of a Tristan Gale groundout.

The second run would come in to score when Austin Way hit into a fielder's choice. He was balked to second, and after he stole third and Adam Ricciardulli walked, Coach Dennis Pugh called for the delayed double steal. It worked perfectly, as the catcher ignored the runner heading home and threw to second - where the ball was promptly booted into center, allowing Ricciardulli to reach third. Spencer Pardon would drive him in with a single.

Defensive miscues would continue to be the theme for the rest of the day. Luckily for the Cougars, Westmont's defensive struggles eclipsed their own by a huge margin. On five occassions did Westmont either pick off a Cougar runner or have one dead-to-rights on a steal attempt; and four of those times they failed to record an out.

4-2 would be as close as the game would get. The Cougar bullpen did a great job, combining to throw 8 innings of 2-run ball. Eventual winner Ian Thompson relieved Stephenson to hold Westmont scoreless for 1.1 innings. He was relieved by Scott Shapiro, who threw a ton of pitches in escaping multiple jams in his 1.2 innings of work.

Things calmed down (at least when Westmont was at the plate) when Eric Julienne entered the game. His two perfect innings of work were about the only two quick half innings of the day, and Julienne easily continued his streak (now 11.2 innings) of not allowing an earned run.

Grant Harrell, Lance McCormick, and David Julio pitched an inning each to close out the game. Though McCormick was touched up for two runs in the 8th, it was still a fantastic performance from a Cougar bullpen that has been very effective lately.

At the plate, Westmont's 8 errors certainly aided the Cougars in putting runs on the board, but the CSUSM lineup needed little additional help on Tuesday.

With the game out-of-hand relatively early on, CSUSM played an astonishing 26 players (including pitchers), who tallied a total of 18 hits.

The highlight of the day occurred in the 5th. Earlier, a player improperly entered the game when Shapiro was moved from DH to pitcher, eliminating the Cougars' DH position and forcing pitchers to bat for themselves. Well, with one out and two-on in the fifth, it was Eric Julienne's turn to hit. Coach Dennis Pugh called for the reliever to bunt in his first at-bat of the year, and Julienne responded with an absolutely perfect bunt down the third base line. The opposing pitcher had to hurry, and ended up throwing it away, allowing a run to score and igniting the fans and Cougar bench.

Another highlight came in the 7th. With the game 14-2, the Cougars loaded the bases. Terry Moritz, who was tied for the team lead in home runs entering the game, entered the game for the first time. From his first swing, it was clear that Moritz had one thing on his mind - and with the count 3-2, he connected and crushed a grand slam over the left field fence.

Many other Cougars had very solid days. Austin Way was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and 4 RBI; Chuck Baird was 2-for-3 with 4 runs scored; and Scott Shapiro was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI. Even Mark Leslie, who is usually used strictly as a pinch runner, delivered a booming triple in his one shot to swing the bat. Similarly, Jimmy Branham doubled in his one at-bat, knocking in Leslie.

It will take a little longer than expected for the Cougars to take the field again, as Sunday's game against La Sierra has been cancelled. CSUSM will be at Cal State San Bernardino on March 30 and 31, and back at home against Biola on April 2nd.