SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 6 Cal State San Marcos softball team (35-7, 24-6 CCAA) opened its final home series of the regular season with a doubleheader split against Cal State Monterey Bay (30-16, 15-15 CCAA), shutting out the Otters in game one 6-0 before falling in five innings by a score of 10-1 on Friday.
GAME 1: CSUSM 6 – CSUMB 0
TOP PERFORMERS
Savannah Coyle – 2-for-2 | 1 BB | 1 2B | 7.0 IP | 0 R | 3 H | 6 K
Bianca Gutierrez – 2-for-4 | 1 R
Morgan Salgado – 2-for-2 | 1 RBI | 1 BB
Ryann Steiner – 1-for-2 | 2 RBIs | 1 SF
Gianna Lombardi – 1-for-3 | 1 2B
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cougars took a 3-0 lead in the third inning. After Gutierrez and Coyle got on with singles, Donnelly drove in the first run on a single up the middle. An infield single by Salgado loaded the bases, and Lombardi moved everyone 60 feet on an Otter error that plated Coyle. The Cougars’ final run came on Steiner’s RBI single through the left side that scored Donnelly, but the inning ended with a play at the plate.
CSUSM doubled its lead in the fifth after Coyle led off with a double before being relieved by Klarissa Munoz as a pinch runner. After Munoz advanced to third on a wild pitch, Donnelly drew a walk before Munoz scored on Salgado’s single up the middle. Mayca Brown, pinch running for Donnelly, scored on Kestler’s single to left. Kestler later scored on Steiner’s sacrifice fly to right to make it 6-0 CSUSM.
Coyle had six strikeouts after five innings and entered the seventh with only one hit allowed. Despite giving up two singles, Coyle ended the game with a flyout and pop up before fielding the final out.
QUICK HITS
CSUSM starter Coyle (15-2) picked up the win after tossing a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and walking none while fanning six batters.
CSUMB ace Jensen Main (18-8) went four innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks.
Gutierrez tallied her team-leading 18th multi-hit game of the season and her 16th game with two hits.
GAME 2: CSUSM 1 – CSUMB 10 (5 inn.)
TOP PERFORMERS
Savannah Coyle – 2-for-3
Paige Donnelly – 1-for-1 | 1 RBI
Nikki Andelin – 1-for-3 | 1 R
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUMB took advantage of two Cougar errors, putting up three runs on three hits in the opening frame.
The Cougars answered with a run in the bottom of the first on Donnelly’s RBI single up the middle that scored Andelin after she reached on a fielder’s choice.
Both teams put up zeros in the second and third innings before the Otters put up a six spot in the fourth inning by collecting five hits while the Cougars committed three errors.
CSUMB added an insurance run in the top of the fifth on Ally Alcayaga’s two-out RBI triple.
QUICK HITS
CSUSM starter Jayline Sloss (13-2) picked up her second loss of the season after going 3.1 innings and allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits while recording three strikeouts.
CSUMB’s Jensen Main (19-8) started her second game of the day and picked up the win after going 5.0 innings while allowing one run on seven hits and two walks.
Bianca Gutierrez’s single in the first extended her reached-base streak to a team-leading 11 games and raised her hitting streak to six games.
This was CSUSM’s first time being run-ruled this season. The Cougars have run-ruled their opponents six times this season.
UP NEXT
The No. 6 Cougars will play their final regular-season home doubleheader on Saturday, April 23 at 11 a.m. Prior to the game, CSUSM will honor its three seniors – Nikki Andelin, Kayla Mack and Jamie Ponce.
