SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — An
Ian Manzo Colorado Springs/S.J. Delta College) strike out of Nick Bero officially sent Cal State Monterey Bay to a week of R & R on a high note after concluding the regular season with a 14–8 win over Cal State San Bernardino Sunday at Fiscalini Field.
The win lifts CSUMB to 31–19 overall and 29–15 in CCAA play. The Otters can be no worse than the No. 2 seed heading into the CCAA Tournament. They'll get a week off to contemplate the post season while most of the CCAA contenders complete rain make–up dates next week.
Otter bats rapped 16 hits Sunday, their fourth most in a game this season, with eight different players joining the hit parade.
Connor Caspersen (Amador Valley HS/Mission College),
Kyle Dean (Rancho Bernardo HS) and
Nick Sheehan (Bullard HS/Fresno CC) led the way with three hits apiece.
Despite the plethora of runs, CSUMB didn't put the game away until late. San Bernardino rallied from an early deficit to take a 7–5 lead after five innings. The Otters responded to the challenge by scoring five runs—all with two outs— in the sixth.
TJ Dove's (Yuba CC) 2–run triple provided the big blow.
In addition to Dove's three–bagger, Dean doubled and hit his second home run of the season. Sheehan also doubled.
Michael Scolaro (L.A. Pierce College) pitched 2 2/3 strong innings of relief, striking out four, to improve to 3–0.
THE GAME WAS OVER WHEN OVER WHEN… Kyle Dean led off the eighth inning with a homer to center field. That extended the Otter lead back to three runs. San Bernardino never brought the tying run as far as a the on deck circle again
.
31 FLAVORS OF WIN… With a nod to Baskin Robins, the Otters have enjoyed 31 victories in 2019, the fifth most in CSUMB Baseball history.
DOUBLE (FIGURE) THE FUN… Sunday's 13–run outburst marked the 10th time this season the Otters have scored in double figures.
SPREADING THE WEALTH… Apologies to regular readers for not catching this yesterday, but
Reed Oster's first homer of the season in Game 2 Saturday made him the 12th different Otter to homer in 2019. That breaks the school record of 11 different home run hitters set by the 2015 squad.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE ROAD… Sunday's win at San Bernardino lifted CSUMB's record on the road to 17–7 (.708). Over the past two seasons, the Otters are 37–12 (.755) in road games.
LEADERS OF THE RAFT… Kyle Dean (3x5, 2B, HR [2], 2 R, 3 RBI);
Nick Sheehan (3x4, 2B, BB, 3 R, RBI);
Connor Caspersen (3x4, R, 3 RBI);
TJ Dove (1x4, BB, 3B, SF, R, 3 RBI).
THE LAST WORD… "San Bernardino played with a lot of passion and really tested our resolve throughout the series. Each time the Coyotes put pressure on us, we were able to respond. We've put ourselves in a good position heading into the conference tournament and I think our resume should be strong enough to get us into the national tournament. The regular season is full of highs and lows and the teams that can maintain some sort of consistency ultimately get a chance to play in the postseason. We've been able to do just that and now it's time to prepare for our second season. I'm proud of this group and we are looking forward to playing the best teams in the CCAA and, ultimately, the best teams in the region. " —
CSUMB Head Coach Walt White
THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters will take some time off to prepare for the CCAA Championship Tournament May 8–12 at Banner Island Ball Park.
GO OTTERS!
