More Great Pitching Carries Baseball to Another Win
April 17, 2007

Complete Box Score

One game after Chris Skaalen’s complete game 3-hitter against Bethany, another great pitching performance earned the Cougars a 5-2 win over Chapman on Tuesday.

Scott Shapiro, who has hit his stride on the mound as of late, gave the Cougars 9 full innings of work, allowing 2 runs on just 4 hits. He walked 6 and struck out 5 in earning his second win on the season.

Equally impressive as the performance itself was the fact that it came against a Chapman team that was 27-4 entering the game. They came into the game with a team batting average over .340; yet Shapiro shut them down for all 9 innings.

At the plate, CSUSM got 4 of its 5 runs in the first couple innings off Chapman starter Matt Luzar, who lasted just 1.2 innings. In the first, Ricardo Moran did exactly what leadoff hitters are supposed to do: singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout, and came around to score on an infield single.

The Cougars would push the lead to 4-0 in the second, as Adam Ricciardulli led off the inning with a double down the right-field line. He came in to score on a Matt Castro single, who himself was knocked in by Shane Sullenger. A costly error put two runners in scoring position for Terry Moritz, who drove in the final run of the inning with a base hit.

That knocked Luzar out of the game, and from that point on, three Chapman pitchers combined to limit the Cougars to just 2 hits and an unearned run over 7.1 innings. The run came in the 5th, as Terry Moritz reached second on a dropped fly ball and was singled home by Austin Way.

Despite the Chapman bullpen keeping them in the game, the early run support proved enough for Shapiro on Tuesday. He scattered the 4 hits and 6 walks, and as usual, was able to come up with big outs when he was in a jam. The Cougar defense did its part too, not committing an error for the second straight game.

Only a Patrick Ohail 6th inning two-run home run kept Shapiro from recording his second shutout in three starts; but it had little effect on the Cougar starter, as he did not allow a hit from that point on.

CSUSM is now 17-19 on the year, and as close as its been all season to the .500 mark. They’ve won 7 of their last 9 games, and have a 10-day break before a hectic final stretch of the season.