SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos baseball team (6-8, 0-4 CCAA) will begin a four-game series against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday at CSUSM Baseball Field.

Due to rain in the forecast this weekend, the series schedule has been adjusted. On Friday, a doubleheader will now be played beginning at 11 a.m. and a single game will take place Saturday at 2 p.m.. Sunday's scheduled 12 p.m. contest is currently unaltered.

Live video will not be available for Friday's doubleheader due to the forecasted weather conditions. The remainder of the series will be streamed if favorable conditions are present.

LAST WEEK

• CSUSM began CCAA play by getting swept by then-No. 5 Cal State San Bernardino on the road.
• CSUSM fell 10-5 in the first game, 11-10 in the second game, 11-2 in the third game and 7-2 in the series finale.
• Starting all four games, Luke Reece led the team with a .375 average, six hits, four runs and three doubles.
• Demetrius Freeman homered twice in his five at-bats for the series.
• Daniel Neria led the Cougars with five strikeouts for the weekend as he pitched 2.1 innings of relief while only allowing an unearned run and a walk.

 
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• Luke Reece extended his reached-base streak to a team-leading 13 games.
• As a pitching staff, CSUSM has the second-best strikeouts per nine innings average in the CCAA at 8.9.
• The Cougars' 10 home runs and 0.71 home runs per game rank third in the conference.
• CSUSM's 2.06 strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.06 ranks fifth in the league.
• At .46 doubles per game, Reece ranks fourth in the CCAA while his on-base percentage of .509 ranks eight.
• Reece and teammate Anthony Pacino have walked 12 times each this season – fifth most in the CCAA.
• Reece is the eighth-toughest player in the CCAA to strikeout with a strikeout every 11 at-bats. Teammate Niko Diaz is right behind him at every 10 at-bats.
• Diaz has laid down the second-most sacrifice bunts in the league with three.
• Emilio Luna is tied for the conference lead in getting hit by a pitch with seven.
• Nolan Long's 10.12 strikeouts per nine innings rank seventh in the CCAA while Pat MacDonald's 3.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 11th.
• MacDonald's 3.20 ERA ranks 12th in the conference.

COUGARS AGAINST THE TOROS

• The Toros come into the weekend tied for first in the CCAA standings at 4-0.
• CSUDH swept Cal State LA in a four-game series last weekend at home.
• The Toros won the first game 7-4, the second game 16-7, the third game 8-2 and the finale 9-2.
• The all-time series between CSUSM and CSUDH is knotted up at 14-all.
• The Cougars are 6-4 when playing the Toros at home.
• Dominguez Hills has won the past five games in the series and swept last season's four-game series in Carson.
• CSUDH's 2.26 walks allowed per nine innings lead the nation.
• The Toros' 3 shutouts rank third nationally and are tied for the most in the CCAA.
• With a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.86, CSUDH ranks third in the nation.
• Getting 2.79 doubles per game, the Toros rank eighth nationally.
• CSUDH has the best fielding percentage in the CCAA at .970.
• The Toros' .422 on-base percentage leads the conference.
• Dominguez Hills has the third-best ERA in the CCAA at 4.06 while sporting the fifth-best batting average at .294.
• Eric Smelko has the nation's fourth-best batting average at .569 and averages the second-most hits per game at 2.36.
• With an ERA of 1.06, Zach Geiss leads the Toros.

2023 SQUAD

• CSUSM has 18 returners for the 2023 season, including 2022 All-CCAA second-team recipients Ethan Rivera and Luke Reece.
• The Cougars will have 12 newcomers this season with six freshmen and six transfers.
• CSUSM's pitching staff is made up of 16 in total with 11 right handers and five lefties.
• Athletically, the Cougars are made up of two redshirt juniors, 16 redshirt sophomores, two true sophomores, four redshirt freshmen and six true freshmen.
• CSUSM was picked to finish 11th in the 2023 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Cougars' 50-game schedule includes 28 home contests and 22 road games.

THE GARCIA FILE

• Head Coach Jose Garcia was announced as the new leader of the CSUSM baseball program on Aug. 1, 2022.
• 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.