Late Rally Comes Up Just Short as Baseball Loses to Master's
April 5, 2007

Complete Box Score

In the squad's seventh game in its last seven days, Cougar baseball got down early and was nearly able to come back, but fell just short, losing 6-5 to the Master's College.

Second baseman Austin Way's big day at the plate and reliever Eric Julienne's dominance on the mound kept CSUSM in the game throughout the day. Way went 3-for-3 with a walk, coming up just a triple short of the cycle. His two-run homer in the 4th brought the Cougars to within two runs of Master's, and he scored three runs in the game.

While Way got CSUSM back in the game, it was Julienne's job to keep his team in the game by not allowing the opponent to extend its lead - and he did just that, pitching three scoreless innings of one-hit ball, striking out an impressive six.

But it wasn't enough, as the Master's plated five runs in the second, then one more in the fifth, which proved to be the difference. All runs were scored off starter Travis Zabel, who really had only bad inning which otherwise derailed a pretty effective start. After an Adam Ricciardulli RBI single gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the second, Zabel was greeted with a pair of singles in the bottom of the inning, then a one-out RBI double. A hit-by-pitch and walk later, and the bases were loaded for Steve Shaver, who knocked home a pair with a base hit. A sac fly scored the final run of the inning, and when all was said and done, the Cougars were in a 5-1 hole.

The squad would chip away, however, and by the fourth have it to a 5-3 game thanks to Way's two-run shot. But a leadoff home run by Graham Miller in the bottom of the fifth pushed the lead to 6-3. Zabel would record two outs in the inning before giving way to Grant Harrell, who struck out the only batter he faced. Julienne entered in the following inning, effectively ending the opposition's hopes of scoring more runs.

But that last Master's run would prove crucial, as CSUSM staged a ninth inning rally to pull within one. Austin Way led off the inning with a double, and Terry Moritz blasted a home run for the second straight day to make it a 6-5 game. Ricciardulli then drew a walk, and was bunted over to second. With the tying run in scoring position with one out, things were looking promising for the Cougars; but Master's reliever Graham Miller struck out the final two hitters to close out the game.

The loss drops CSUSM to 13-18 on the season. Next up on the schedule is San Diego Christian, and the Cougars will be looking to avenge some early losses when they meet on April 10th.