The CSUSB Coyotes baseball team took two out of three games in the opening series of the season against the Azusa Pacific Cougars.
The Coyotes won the single game on Friday night, and split the doubleheader on Saturday. They dropped the first game of the doubleheader but were able to bounce back and win the final game of the series.
The Coyotes won the Friday night game which was held at Azusa Pacific by a final score of 12-4, with the Yotes scoring all 12 of their runs in the top of the fourth inning. That big inning was highlighted by a three-run home run by Jacob Mejia. Starting pitcher Matthew Romero worked three innings of one-run ball, while Ivan Rodriguez went 4 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, but was much more effective than what his line shows. Riley Ricken, in his first collegiate appearance, recorded the final five outs of the game, four of which were via the strikeout.
The first half of the doubleheader, which was back at home for the Yotes, was a much different game as the Yotes fell to the Cougars 2-1. Carter Herrera, who started on the mound for the Yotes, fired six strong innings while only giving up the two runs. Unfortunately, that was enough to hand Herrera and the Yotes the loss. Conner Batzer threw the final three innings for the Yotes without allowing a run, which kept them in the game. They had their chances to win the game, but they couldn’t come up with a big hit when they needed it. The Coyotes left the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the bottom of the 9th, even after the first two batters had been retired.
The final game of the series was a back-and-forth thriller, as the Coyotes were able to pull out a 13-12 win. The Cougars quickly got out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Yotes answered back with one of their own in the bottom half. Starting pitcher Dylan O’Connor then held the Cougars scoreless over the next two innings as the Yotes evened the score in the second inning. Going into the fourth, the score was tied at two, with the biggest highlight being that the Yotes had left the bases loaded in the first three innings. Relief Pitcher JoJo Duran gave up the third run to the Cougars in the top of the fourth, but this time the Yotes responded with a six-run inning. The bright spot of the inning was once again a three-run home run hit by Jacob Mejia. “I thought I got all of it which is why I stayed back to admire it. Looking back on the video I should’ve been running out of the box because it was way too close to staying in the yard,” said Mejia. Heading into the top of the sixth, with the Yotes still in front 8-3, the Cougars pushed across three runs. Again though, the Yotes responded with three more of their own to put the score at 11-6. The Cougars managed to score four more in the top of the seventh to make it a one run game. They were then able to score two more in the top of the eighth to give them the lead 12-11 after holding the Yotes scoreless in the seventh. To cap off the riveting game, Tyler Vanneste launched a go-ahead, two-run homer to dead center in the bottom of the eighth to give the Yotes the lead once again, 13-12. “I wasn’t sure it was going to go out. I know I got all barrel on it but it was late at night and getting cold and the ball wasn’t carrying nearly as well,” as stated by Vanneste about his clutch homer. Tank Rodriguez was then able to earn the save and close out the win for the Yotes with a strikeout, while stranding the tying and go-ahead runs on base. Roberto Bueno, who was nursing a hamstring injury had this to say about the final game, “That’s one of the most fun games I’ve been a part of. Tank was electric out there to close out the win.”