SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team will return to San Marcos this weekend for its next-to-last home series of the season against Cal State East Bay beginning on Friday at 2 p.m. The series will continue with a noon doubleheader on Saturday before wrapping up on Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
Prior to Saturday's doubleheader, CSUSM Baseball Field will officially become Dennis A. Pugh Baseball Field in a naming ceremony honoring the baseball program's founding coach at 11:30 a.m.
 
LAST WEEKEND

• CSUSM won its series at Sonoma State this past weekend, taking three out of four games.
• After the Cougars fell 9-6 in the first game, CSUSM followed that up with 4-2, 4-0 and 10-1 victories.

 
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• CSUSM enters the weekend seventh in the CCAA standings at 11-11 and is one game behind Cal State San Bernardino at 15-13 (.536).
• The Cougars continue to lead the conference in sacrifice bunts at 30 and rank 11th nationally. Cameron Mahaffy and Garrett Teunissen rank second in the league with five each.
• CSUSM has been hit by a league-high 58 pitches this season as Phoenix Sommay is second in the category with 13.
• Cougar batters have drawn the third-most walks in the CCAA this season with 137 while also having the third-best on-base percentage in the conference at .386.
• CSUSM's pitching staff has the third-best ERA in the conference at 4.94 and ranks 59th nationally. Jordan Townley and Spencer Anderson are sixth and ninth in the CCAA at 3.56 and 3.88, respectively.
• The Cougars are allowing the third-fewest hits per nine innings in the CCAA at 9.61 while throwing the third-most strikeouts per nine innings at 8.4. Townley's 7.74 hits per nine innings rank fourth.
• The Cougars are turning 0.77 double plays per game, ranking fourth in the CCAA and 37th nationally.
• With 35 stolen bases this season, CSUSM ranks fourth in the league.
• The Cougars are slugging .421 and have 31 home runs for the season, ranking fifth in the CCAA in both categories.
• Ethan Rivera is the second-toughest to strikeout in the conference at 15.5 at-bats between strikeouts.
• Rivera's 15 career sacrifice flies rank 11th among active Division II players.
• Nolan Long's five saves for the year rank second in the CCAA and 30th nationally.

COUGARS AGAINST THE PIONEERS

• Cal State East Bay is coming off a series loss to Cal State LA at home this past weekend – its second consecutive series loss after falling at Cal State Dominguez Hills the week prior.
• The Pioneers sit eighth in the CCAA standings at 11-13 (.458), just behind the Cougars.
• CSUEB ranks eighth in the conference in both team batting average (.278) and ERA (5.66).
• The Pioneers rank second in the league in both double plays (31) and stolen bases (42).
• Max Gonzales and Gabe Tanner rank first and fourth in the CCAA for ERA at 2.01 and 3.09, respectively. Gonzales also has the league's best WHIP at 0.93.
• Aidan Morton ranks third in the conference with a .400 batting average.
• The Pioneers won last year's rain-shortened series in San Marcos, taking two out of three games.
• CSUSM's lone series win against CSUEB came in 2019 in San Marcos as the Cougars took three out of four games.
• The Cougars are 6-5 when playing the Pioneers at home, but CSUEB owns the all-time series lead at 15-10.

2025 OUTLOOK

• CSUSM was picked to finish third in the 2025 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Cougars' roster of 39 includes 19 transfers, 14 returners and six freshmen.
• CSUSM has 18 pitchers in its arsenal, with 15 right-handers and three southpaws.
• The Cougars have 22 position players, including one two-way player.
• All but seven Cougars are upperclassmen.

THE GARCIA FILE

• Head Coach Jose Garcia enters his third season in San Marcos after taking over the CSUSM baseball program on Aug. 1, 2022.
• Garcia was the 2024 CCAA Coach of the Year in just his second season as a head coach. The Cougars finished second in the CCAA standings and made their first-ever appearances in the NCAA West Regional and CCAA Tournament. CSUSM's 27-21 overall record and 26-13 conference record were the program's best since joining NCAA Division II in 2016.
• 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.
• Garcia has a career record of 63-61 (.508).