Cougars Open 2019 With Doubleheader Sweep of MSU Denver
SAN MARCOS, Calif. – On the opening day of the 2019 season, Cal State San Marcos baseball swept its doubleheader against MSU Denver and took the series win with scores of 6-0 and 7-3 on Friday at CSUSM Baseball Field.
GAME 1: CSUSM 6 – MSU Denver 0
TOP PERFORMERS
Mike Lopez – 8 IP | 12 K | 4 H | 0 R | 90 pitches
Grant Buck – 1 HR | 2 RBI | 1-for-3
Cabot Van Til – 2-for-5 | 1 2B | 1 RBI | 1 R
Austin Ott – 2-for-2 | 1 RBI | 1 SF | 1 BB
Näshéa Diggs – 1-for-2 | 1 RBI | 1 2B | 2 HBP
HOW IT HAPPENED •CSUSM earned a dominant performance from starter Mike Lopez who threw eight scoreless innings and struck out 12.
•With bases loaded in the bottom of the second, Domenic Antonacci scored as Diggs was hit by a pitch to put the Cougars up 1-0.
•The Cougars went up 3-0 in the bottom of the third as Buck hit a two-run blast to deep center.
•After Diggs doubled with one out, Van Til hit a two-out knock to center to put the Cougars up 4-0.
•CSUSM took a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a leadoff double and stolen base from Van Til and a sacrifice fly by Ott.
•The Cougars scored their final run in the bottom of the eighth. After Diggs was hit by a pitch with two outs, Griffin Teisher hit an RBI double to right center.
•Troy Lamparello came on in the top of the ninth and put the game away with two strikeouts.
QUICK HITS •Lopez’s 12 strikeouts tied the CSUSM single-game record.
•This was the Cougars’ first season-opening victory since defeating San Diego Christian in 2017.
.@CSUSMbaseball’s Mike Lopez talks about how it was a team effort in today’s win #BleedBlue4Decade2 #goCCAA #NCAAd2 #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/5ty2CmAonB
– CSUSM Baseball (@CSUSMBaseball) February 2, 2019
GAME 2: CSUSM 7 – MSU Denver 3
TOP PERFORMERS
Austin Ott – 2-for-3 | 1 R
Näshéa Diggs – 2-for-3 | 1 RBI | 1 2B
Joseph Bahna – 1-for-2 | 2 R | 1 BB
Griffin Teisher – 2 RBI
Anthony Rodriguez – 1-fo-3 | 1 RBI
Taylor Greene – 2.1 IP | 3 K | 2 H
Garrett Apker – 1.0 IP | 2 K | 1 H
HOW IT HAPPENED •After two scoreless innings, MSU Denver took a 1-0 lead in the third after Ty Lightley hit an RBI triple that scored Draven Adame.
•The Roadrunners took a 3-0 lead in the fourth as Jake Kistaitis hit a two-run jack to right center.
•CSUSM brought the deficit down to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth as Diggs hit an RBI double down the left field line to score Bahna.
•The Cougars broke it wide open in the bottom of the sixth with a six-run inning thanks to two runs scored on wild pitches, an RBI single from Rodriguez and a two-run single to center by Teisher. Another run was scored after a foul out into the MSU Denver dugout.
•Apker came on to close it out for the Cougars and struck out two before a fly out to right ended the game.
QUICK HITS •This marks the first time since 2009 that CSUSM has opened the season with a doubleheader sweep.
•This is the third consecutive season in which the Cougars have won their opening series.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will play its series finale against MSU Denver on Sunday at 11 a.m. The game will be played on Point Loma High School’s home field at Dana Middle School in Point Loma.
