SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – No. 2 seed Cal State San Marcos erased an early deficit with a pair of game-changing home runs Friday afternoon, defeating top-seeded Cal State Monterey Bay 8-4 in an elimination game at the CCAA Baseball Tournament at Fiscalini Field.
With the win, the Cougars stay alive in the tournament and advance to Friday evening’s elimination matchup against the loser of Game 5 between Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino. Monterey Bay, meanwhile, now awaits the NCAA Division II regional selections, which will be announced Sunday evening.
For the second straight day, Monterey Bay struck first after a quiet opening two innings. Zertuche opened the bottom of the third with a single before Hockett launched a two-run homer down the left field line to give the Otters a 2-0 lead. Monterey Bay added another run later in the inning after Benavidez singled and eventually came around to score on a Cal State San Marcos throwing error, extending the advantage to 3-0.
San Marcos responded quickly in the fourth.
After Espinoza worked a leadoff walk, Larson cut the deficit to one with a two-run homer to left field. Monterey Bay answered immediately in the bottom half when Smith connected on a solo shot to left, restoring the Otters’ two-run cushion at 4-2.
The decisive swing came an inning later.
Shor opened the fifth with a walk before consecutive singles from King and Embleton loaded the bases for Samayoa. The Cougar designated hitter delivered the biggest hit of the morning, crushing a grand slam to left-center field to suddenly push San Marcos in front 6-4. The rally chased Monterey Bay starter Flores, who was charged with six earned runs over 4.1 innings.
From there, the Cougars’ bullpen took control.
Starter Clark settled in after the rocky third inning, working six innings to earn the victory while allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits. Pernetti was dominant in relief, tossing three scoreless innings with three strikeouts to collect the save and shut down any Monterey Bay comeback hopes.
San Marcos added insurance in the seventh inning after Espinoza walked and Tampoya was hit by a pitch. Pinch hitter Callahan singled to load the bases before Weber delivered a two-run single through the right side, stretching the lead to 8-4 and ultimately claiming the win.