 |
|
Revenge Best Served Cold:
Cougar Baseball Bashes SDCC 17-7 |
|
It's been over two months since the Cougars were soundly defeated in their home opener by San Diego Christian; and when the teams took the field on Tuesday, it was clear just how much this Cougar squad has grown. Perhaps the best evidence of that was the scoreboard - which showed a lopsided 17-7 victory for CSUSM. Despite the ten run margin, Tuesday's game was close until the end. San Diego Christian jumped out to a 4-1 lead after two innings, scoring in the first before making an out, then plating three in the second with a rally that was keyed by a hit-by-pitch, error, and passed ball. CSUSM's run came on a Matt Jenkins second-inning RBI double. Cougar starter Scott Shapiro, coming off a three-hit complete game shutout, allowed 6 runs (3 earned) in 4.2 innings of work. He left the game with the Cougars down 6-5. While Shapiro contributed on the mound, his biggest impact came at the plate, where he went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. His third inning solo-home run was his 8th on the year, which at the time put him in sole possession of the team lead. A third inning RBI single by Ricardo Moran brought the Cougars to within one, and a Terry Moritz fifth-inning home run (his 7th) gave CSUSM its first lead. The lead would be short-lived, however, as San Diego Christian scored a pair of fifth inning runs to re-take the lead and drive Shapiro from the contest. With the game hanging in the balance, the Cougar bullpen came through with yet another clutch performance. Grant Harrell was brought in first in relief of Shapiro, and he stranded two runners in scoring position to escape the fifth. CSUSM tied the game back up the following inning, with Jenkins drilling his second double and eventually scoring on a wild pitch. Harrell would retire the side in order in the bottom of the inning. Thanks to his performance, Harrell not only ended up with the win, but lowered his ERA to 3.86 on the season. The Cougars would finally grab the lead and hold onto it in the 7th. Austin Way led off the inning with a solo home run, his 6th on the season. Moritz was up next, and the catcher crushed a ball over the right-centerfield fence to join Shapiro for the team home run lead. The blasts gave the Cougars an 8-6 cushion - which they would need, as San Diego Christian rallied for a run off reliever Eric Julienne in the bottom of the inning. In fact, the damage could have been much worse; but with runners at the corners at two outs, Moritz threw out a potential base stealer to end the inning. From that point on, however, CSUSM would remove any doubt about the outcome of the game. A walk and back-to-back errors would get the rally started and score the first run, and an Austin Way single plated two more. Later in the inning, Jason Kutzler added a two-RBI single of his own, to push the lead to 13-7. But the Cougars weren't done. Reliever Lance Janke was brought in to pitch, and while he shut down the Cougars when these teams played earlier in the season, he would have no such success on Tuesday. Singles by Shane Sullenger, Tristan Gale, and Shapiro loaded the bases to begin the 8th, and a wild pitch plated the first run. Way then came up with yet another big hit, slicing a double down the rightfield line. Kutzler capped off the inning's scoring with another RBI base hit, making the score 17-7. David Julio pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the game, and secure the convincing victory. Julio is still yet to allow an earned run as a reliever this season. CSUSM will be back at home tomorrow to take on Vanguard. |