CSUSM hosted Stanislaus State this past weekend in a California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference game (CCAA).  The Cougars were able to take two out of the three games against the Warriors to improve their overall record to 15-19 and conference record to 5-17.

The Cougars took game one of the series after beating the Warriors by a score of 7-2.  Senior, Taylor Ahearn picked up the win for CSUSM as he recorded two strikeouts in one and one third innings.  

Junior, Isaias Torres was one of four Cougars that notched two hits in the contest as he also tallied a run batted in (RBI). “Staying confident and trusting my ability to put a good swing on a pitch has been my key to success this season.  I focus on [the] pitchers’ tendencies, so I can have any sort of advantage when I step up to the plate,” said Torres.

Coming off a short rest, Taylor Ahearn took the mound again Sunday morning in game one of the double header.  This time collecting another win on the weekend, throwing a complete game shutout over the visiting Warriors.  Ahearn struck out six and didn’t allow a walk the entire game.

Freshman, Griffin Teisher capitalized when the bases were loaded in the home half of the sixth as he hit the first ever inside the park grand slam in CSUSM baseball history.  The homer gave the Cougars a 6-0 lead over Stanislaus State. “I was excited to be able to help the team out, by adding four runs to our lead,” said Teisher.

“That’s one of those plays you love to watch unfold. It came in a big situation and he just kept things simple with his hands, and went with a good pitch that was away. Being the third base coach, I knew I was sending him as soon as it went to the fence,” said Head Coach Guiliano.

Ahearn after the grand slam threw 3 more shutout innings providing the Cougars with a 10-0 win.  “He was able to locate three pitches. When he has his stuff going, he can control and manage a game. This weekend he demonstrated that,” said Guiliano.

Game two consisted of another solid offensive outing for the cougars as they finished the day with 16 hits and 7 runs.  Unfortunately it wasn’t enough as CSUSM dropped the last game of the series by the score of 7-10.

The game started early as Stanislaus State jumped on the Cougars 3-0 in the top half of the first.  Following the offensive outburst from the Warriors, the Cougars were able to tack on three runs in the bottom half of the inning. The game was tied three times, before Gino Franceschett of the Warriors broke the 7-7 tie in the sixth with an RBI single up the middle.

Stanislaus state added two more runs in the ninth to solidify their victory 10-7 over the cougars.

CSUSM captured their first CCAA Conference series victory of 2017 and will continue to build off the momentum heading into Thursday’s home game against Cal State Dominguez Hills at 3:00 p.m.