SAN MARCOS, Calif. – A big weekend awaits the first-place Cal State San Marcos baseball team (19-13, 18-9 CCAA) as it heads to third-place Cal Poly Pomona (19-14, 15-9 CCAA) for a four-game series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. at Scolinos Field. The series will continue with a rescheduled noon doubleheader on Saturday and will finish up at noon on Sunday.
 
LAST WEEK

• CSUSM split its four-game series against Sonoma State at home.
• After rain altered the series schedule, the Cougars swept Saturday's doubleheader by scores of 11-9 and 23-7 before the Seawolves took both games of Sunday's doubleheader by scores of 18-2 and 7-6.
• Jillian Albayati made national headlines after making her CSUSM baseball pitching debut on Sunday immediately after playing in a game for CSUSM softball. Albayati became the first NCAA Division II student-athlete to play in a baseball and softball game on the same day and was the second to do so in collegiate sports history.

 
COUGAR FACTS

• CSUSM is still on top of the CCAA standings with a .720 winning percentage and is a half-game ahead of second-place Cal State Monterey Bay.
• The Cougars remained at No. 5 in this week's NCBWA Division II West Region poll.
• CSUSM is tied for turning the sixth-most double plays per game in Division II at .97 and has the 13th-most total double plays at 31.
• Cougar batters have been hit by 80 pitches this season, ranking 10th nationally and leading the league while breaking the previous school record of 70 set in 2011.
• Laying down 32 sacrifice bunts this season, CSUSM ranks 11th nationally and leads the conference.
• The Cougars have the 19th-best slugging percentage in the nation at .519 and lead the CCAA.
• CSUSM also has the league's top on-base percentage at .431 and ranks 32nd nationally.
• Scoring 8.7 runs per game, the Cougars lead the conference and rank 31st in the nation.
• CSUSM is tied for the league lead in stolen bases at 37.
• Hitting 1.25 stolen bases per game, the Cougars ranks second in the CCAA and 30th in Division II.
• CSUSM is also hitting a league-leading 2.16 doubles per game to rank 34th nationally.
• The Cougars have the second-best team batting average in the CCAA at .324 and are 30th nationally.
• Garrett Teunissen ranks third in the nation and first in the CCAA with 10 sac bunts this season. He also ranks ninth in the nation and second in the conference with six sac flies.
• Teunissen has a conference-leading .411 batting average and a league-leading 14 stolen bases this season.
• Phoenix Sommay has been hit by a pitch 15 times this year, leading the CCAA and ranking 20th nationally.
• Sommay has the top on-base percentage in the conference at .503 and ranks third in batting average at .393.
• Luke Reece's 39 RBIs for the year rank second in the CCAA while his eight homers and 38 runs rank third.
• Roman Connolly has the conference's sixth-best ERA (3.13) and strike-to-walk ratio (3.38) while ranking fourth for walks allowed per nine innings (1.93).
• Preston Kelly has a CCAA-best five saves this season and ranks 30th nationally.

COUGARS AGAINST BRONCOS

• CPP is coming off a 17-4 midweek loss to No. 5 Point Loma on Tuesday after sweeping Stanislaus State in a four-game series this past weekend.
• The Broncos have won three consecutive CCAA series.
• CPP was just behind CSUSM in this week's NCBWA Division II West Region poll at No. 6.
• CPP has the 24th-best fielding percentage and ranks second in the CCAA.
• The Broncos have the third-best team ERA in the league at 5.27 while having the second-best WHIP at 1.48.
• CPP ranks sixth in the CCAA with a team batting average of .300.
• Scoring 6.6 runs per game, the Broncos rank seventh in the conference.
• Jack Sanders leads CPP's offense with a .351 batting average and a 1.050 OPS.
• Johnny Papas leads the conference in walks per game, drawing an average of 0.97.
• Caleb Reyes has the third-best ERA and WHIP in the CCAA at 2.38 and 1.03, respectively.
• The Cougars and Broncos split last year's series in San Marcos. It was CSUSM's first time winning back-to-back games against CPP as the Cougars swept the Saturday doubleheader.
• CSUSM has never won at CPP and is 0-12 all-time dating back to 2016.
• Just one win by the Cougars would give them 19 conference wins for the year, tying the record set in 2019.
• Two wins by the Cougars would guarantee they finish with a CCAA record better than .500 for the very first time and would set a new conference win record for the program.
• Three wins would give the Cougars their fifth series win of the season and the first ever against the Broncos.
• Four wins would be the second sweep by CSUSM this year, both on the road.

COUGAR OUTLOOK

• CSUSM will field a roster of 36 this season with nine returners and 27 newcomers.
• The Cougars' pitching staff is made up of 16 arms, including 12 right-handers and four southpaws.
• CSUSM will have 22 position players to choose from, including two two-way players.
• Of the Cougars' roster of 36, all but seven are upperclassmen.
• Returners Luke Reece and Preston Kelly each earned All-CCAA honors last season as Reece was named to the second team while Kelly was an honorable mention.
• CSUSM was selected to finish ninth in the 2024 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

THE GARCIA FILE

• Head Coach Jose Garcia enters his second season in San Marcos after taking over the CSUSM baseball program on Aug. 1, 2022.
• The Cougars ended the 2023 season with an overall record of 20-25 and finished ninth in CCAA play at 14-21.
• Garcia came to CSUSM from fellow CCAA member Chico State where he was the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Wildcats.
• Joining Chico's staff as a student assistant in Fall 2012, Garcia helped the Wildcats notch 286 victories, seven postseason appearances, two CCAA Championships, one NCAA West Region Championship and one College World Series appearance in 10 years with the program.
• Serving as Chico's primary hitting and infield coach, Garcia coached the Wildcats' offense to a conference-record .344 team batting average while assisting the team to a 34-15 overall record in 2022 despite only returning seven players from the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
• In 2017, Garcia helped Chico to another CCAA record with a win-loss total of 34-4 in conference play while also helping the team to an NCAA Division II-best .983 fielding percentage.
• Garcia is a graduate of Chico State and earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in coaching. He later earned his master's degree in School and Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Positive Coaching from the University of Missouri in 2017.