Baseball’s Comeback Bid Falls Short; Loses 11-8 to Chapman
3/14/08

Box Score*

Pitching and defense were in short supply at Chapman on Friday, as the Cougars were on the wrong end of an 11-8 slugfest.  CSUSM’s five errors led to three unearned runs, which proved to be the difference.

The Cougars did pound out 16 hits, and led 4-3 after their half of the third inning.  A three-run second inning started with Jared Suwyn and Austin Coleman drawing walks, and Mike Pena delivering an RBI single.  After a couple of outs, Ricardo Moran continued his hot hitting with a big two-RBI base hit.  Johnny Omahen drove in Tristan Gale the following inning, giving CSUSM the one-run lead.

But it wouldn’t last, as Chapman posted six runs in the third.  CSUSM went through four pitchers in the first three innings, with all surrendering runs.  Finally, Lance McCormick, the fifth pitcher, pitched an easy fourth inning – but not before Chapman held a commanding 9-4 lead.

With the game on the verge of getting out-of-hand, reliever Mike Raedel was brought in to start the fifth.  He came through big, not only eating up innings, but pitching so effectively that it allowed his Cougars to claw back into the game.  Raedel threw four complete innings, scattering five hits while allowing just two unearned runs. 

The CSUSM lineup responded late in the game, pulling within a few runs.  With the score 11-4 in the eighth, Omahen led off with a single, and pinch-hitter Jackson Chapelone smashed a two-run homer to right to make it 11-6.  Chapelone struck again in the ninth, doubling in Pena, then scoring on a wild pitch.  The Cougars brought the tying run to the plate, but a fly-out ended the game.

The loss drops CSUSM to 8-11-1 on the season.  It will be a busy spring break for the squad, starting with a home game this Sunday at San Marcos High against La Sierra.

*UPDATE 3/16:  The original scoring of this game did not account for Jeff Stephenson entering to pitch in the seventh inning.  The seventh and eighth were originally credited to Mike Raedel.  This has been updated and is reflected in the box score and season stats.