CSUSM men’s baseball narrowly avoided being swept by Cal State East Bay in a three-game series on April 23 and 24 in Hayward, CA.

The Cougars lost to the Pioneers 7-3 in game one. Pioneer Brandon Wise’ single and Rudy Navarro’s three-run home run in the fifth inning put the Pioneers ahead 4-0. In the sixth inning, Clinton Perez, Brandon Bentson and Tyler Place put three runs on the board. The Cougars only trailed 4-3, but after the sixth inning they were unable to cross home plate again.

The Cougars once again had a slow start to game two as the Pioneers led the way with four runs by the end of the second inning.

Three runs by the Pioneers in the sixth inning put them ahead 8-2.

The Cougar bats were silent until the ninth inning when they scored two more runs. After Dvorak’s unearned run, CSUSM did not score again and they fell to the Pioneers 8-4.

After struggling on Saturday, the Cougars were down 4-1 as they opened the ninth inning of game three. Bentson and Perez singled and Ott scored, unearned. With these three runs, the Cougars still trailed 4-3.

With Bentson and Perez on base, Dvorak hit a three-run home run, finally giving the Cougars the much needed runs to secure a 6-4 win to close out the series.

The Cougars return home with a 21-20 record. They only have two remaining series versus Cal State Monterey Bay and UCSD.

Catch them at 12 p.m and 2 p.m. on April 30 as they attempt to better their 14-9 record at home against Monterey Bay.