Baseball Wins One, Loses One, Has Two Rained Out on Road Trip

April 13, 2007

It was a frustrating weekend for Cougar baseball, as the squad traveled up the coast to play four games, only to have half of them rained out.

In the doubleheader against Bethany U. that was played, CSUSM blew a late lead to lose a 6-5 heartbreaker in game one before being lifted to a win by starting pitcher Chris Skaalen in game two.

Game one, scheduled for 7 innings, was tightly contested from start to finish, with the Cougars unfortunately coming out on the losing end in extras. CSUSM had a chance to score some early runs with the bases loaded and one out in the first, but Bethany starter Austin Horick got slugger Terry Moritz to hit into an inning-ending 5-2-3 double-play.

The Cougars’ defense answered right back, turning a double-play of their own in the bottom of the inning to help start Travis Zabel out. Zabel was good on the day, allowing 3 earned runs in 4 innings of work.

Those 3 runs would come in the 2nd, as a walk and hit-by-pitch came back to bite Zabel when he gave up a pair of two-out singles.

The Cougars struck right back though, as Moritz would have his revenge. With two on and two out, Moritz crushed a three-run homer.

Then in the 5th, CSUSM would once again use the long-ball, this time to take the lead. Austin Way stepped to the plate with a runner on and two outs, and the lefty drilled his seventh home run of the season to give the Cougars a 5-3 lead.

But the bullpen, which has been very good in the second half of the season, would be unable to hold it. Relievers Grant Harrell and Eric Julienne tossed perfect frames in the 5th and 6th, but normally-reliable closer David Julio was touched up for two runs in the 7th, tying the game and forcing extra innings. Julio was one out away from recording the save, but a clutch double by Frankie Paletta brought in the tying run.

With the Cougar offense unable to get anything going off of Horick, Bethany took advantage, scoring the game-winning run in the 8th. A single and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Guillaume Fullum, who hit a fly ball deep enough to score the runner and end the game.

Reeling from the heartbreaking loss, the Cougars were picked up in game two by Chris Skaalen, who turned in his best start of the season. The hard-thrower was making his first start in nearly a month, and he came through with a big-time effort.

Skaalen went all 7 innings, making him the second Cougar pitcher this year to turn in a complete game (Scott Shapiro). He took a no-hitter into the 6th, when a leadoff single broke it up. Skaalen finished the game allowing just three hits and one run, earning him his first win of the season.

The Cougar lineup also came through, giving Skaalen four runs of early support. In the first, CSUSM had the bases loaded with nobody out, but could only manage a run on an Austin Way fielder’s choice. But the Cougars wouldn’t miss another opportunity in the second, as a two-out RBI single by Ricardo Moran and two-RBI double by Terry Moritz made the game 4-0.

That would be all Skaalen would need, as the righty methodically sat down Bethany’s lineup inning after inning. He recorded 5 strikeouts while walking just 2, and got help from a Cougar defense that didn’t make an error behind him.

The split makes CSUSM’s record 16-19 on the season, and with 7 games remaining a .500 record (or better) is certainly a possibility. The team will travel to take on Chapman on Tuesday.