|
Box Score
It was an impressive Monday at
Mission Bay High for Cal State San Marcos Baseball, as the Cougars
rolled to an 11-3 win over Patten College, their third straight over
the Lions.
Cougar starter Sean Landais threw a 1-2-3 first, with help from
catcher Dane Ponciano gunning down a base stealer, and speedy Jason
Hinton got the CSUSM offense started with a leadoff double. Coach
Dennis Pugh’s team played fundamental baseball to get him in, with
Ricardo Moran laying down a perfect sacrifice bunt, and Austin Way
delivering a deep sac fly to right.
But Landais’ control betrayed him with two outs in the second, and
he surrendered the lead. A pair of walks and a single loaded the
bases, and Brent Korporaal found a hole up the middle and delivered
a two-RBI base hit.
Morgan Wynne re-tied the game in quick fashion, crushing a solo shot
over the leftfield bleachers with one out in the second, his first
on the season. Johnny Omahen gave CSUSM the lead later in the
inning, drilling his second homer of the year over the 335 sign in
left center.
With CSUSM holding a 3-2 lead, the third inning went by scoreless;
though the Cougars nearly scored, loading the bases with two out for
Wynne, who hit a rocket that was snared by the Patten second
baseman. Landais got through the fourth easily, aided by Hinton
covering serious ground on a ball to the gap and making a diving
catch, and Morgan Wynne making a nice pick on a hard-hit grounder.
CSUSM added the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Austin Coleman led
off with a single, got to third on wild pitches, and was singled
home by Ricardo Moran. With one out, the Cougars put two runners in
scoring position, Patten pulled starter Jonathan Deck, turning to
reliever Larry Collins to get out of the jam. But on an 0-2 count
with two outs in the inning, Terry Moritz blew the game wide open,
crushing a grand slam to left. It’s his third homer of the year, and
it gave CSUSM a comfortable 8-2 lead.
Meanwhile, Landais had settled down on the mound and was quietly
pitching a very good game. He had good command of his curveball, and
used it well with his fastball while remaining “effectively wild.”
Landais’ final line: 5 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 3 BB, 4 K.
The Cougars made it 10-2 in the fifth with a Ricardo Moran RBI
groundout, and a Dane Ponciano RBI double. Ponciano’s ball was hit
hard enough to be a home run, but the wind blew it back. The Patten
outfielders, however, assumed it was a home run, and didn’t move an
inch until it banged off the wall. Next up was Terry Moritz, and the
Patten pitcher’s first fastball sailed about 3 feet behind him. The
pitcher was tossed from the game, as was a good portion of Patten’s
coaching staff in the subsequent argument.
Cougar reliever Lance McCormick threw a pair of innings of effective
relief, allowing just one run and keeping the game at 10-3 through
the top of the seventh. CSUSM got the run back in the bottom of the
inning, on a Mike Pena RBI.
Reliever Grant Harrell pitched an easy eighth, thanks to a nifty
double-play turned by Louie Russo, and another fantastic diving
catch by Hinton in center, robbing Joey Johnson of an RBI double.
David Julio then worked a scoreless ninth to preserve the 11-3
victory.
Now 6-7 on the season, Cougar baseball will have a chance to reach
.500 at Cal Baptist on Wednesday.
|
