No. 19 CSUSM Resumes Conference Action at CSUDH
SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 19 Cal State San Marcos softball team (18-11, 6-6 CCAA) will return to its conference schedule this week, traveling to Cal State Dominguez Hill (18-10, 11-7 CCAA) for a four-game series. With rain on the horizon this weekend, the Cougars will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Thursday and a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Friday.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Cougars went 4-2 last week against non-conference opponents.
- CSUSM split its doubleheader at then-No. 20 Concordia University Irvine, taking game one 13-3 before falling 3-0 in the nightcap.
- The Cougars then headed to Turlock for the Tournament of Champions, opening the tournament with a 4-0 shutout over then-No. 16 Northwest Nazarene before following it with a 7-1 win against Hawaii Hilo on Thursday.
- After a day off, the Cougars dropped a late-night 1-0 game on Saturday to then-No. 14 Western Washington before bouncing back with an 8-0 six-inning, run-ruled victory over Simon Fraser in their tournament finale.
- Jayline Sloss and Paige Donnelly were named to the Tournament of Champions All-Tournament team.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The Cougars stay steady at No. 19 for the second consecutive week in the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.
- CSUSM is one of four teams from the West Region featured in the Top 25 – No. 13 Western Washington, No. 17 Concordia University Irvine, No. 22 Northwest Nazarene and .
- In their first 29 games of the season, the Cougars have already tallied 17 double plays and are averaging 0.59 per game, ranking them third in Division II in both categories.
- CSUSM is tallying a CCAA-best 5.07 runs per game.
- CSUSM ranks second in the CCAA with 239 hits this season.
- The Cougars have the highest on-base percentage in the CCAA at .369.
- The CSUSM pitching staff has moved into the top spot in the CCAA with a 1.99 ERA.
- The Cougars are boasting a 2.31 strikeout-to-walk ratio, the third highest in the CCAA.
- CSUSM ranks second in the CCAA with 28 sacrifice bunts and nine sacrifice flies.
- Madison Waymire is has a CCAA-best 38 hits this season.
- Waymire's .90 runs per game rank second in the conference.
- Jayline Sloss has the conference's lowest ERA at 0.88 while Savannah Coyle ranks fifth with a 2.13 ERA.
- Sloss ranks third in the CCAA with 4.94 hits allowed per seven innings.
- Savannah Coyle's conference-high three saves rank sixth in Division II.
- Aneesa Arredondo is averaging the second-highest in the CCAA with 0.24 sacrifice bunts per game, ranking 45th in the nation.
- Jillian Albayati's three sacrifice flies lead the CCAA and rank 40th in Division II.
GAMES 30-33 | CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS | |
Dates | Thursday, March 28 - Friday, March 29 |
Times | Thursday, March 28 - 1 p.m. (DH) Friday, March 29 - 12 p.m. (DH) |
Location | Carson, Calif. |
Venue | Toro Diamond |
Records | CSUSM (18-11, 6-6 CCAA) CSUDH (18-10, 11-7 CCAA) |
Live Stats | SideArm Stats |
Live Video ($) | CCAA Network |
MIDWEEK GAME VS. NO. 22 CUI
- The Toros went 4-0 last weekend at the Tournament of Champions (TOC) with wins over Central Washington (5-1), Saint Martin's (3-2), Simon Fraser (2-1) and Western Oregon (1-0).
- CSUDH is third in the CCAA with an 11-7 conference record.
- The Toros opened conference play with series sweeps over Chico State and Stanislaus State before recording two wins in the shortened series at Sonoma State.
- CSUDH then lost four straight against Cal State San Bernardino before dropping a 3-1 series at Cal State East Bay the weekend before TOC.
- The Toros are the CCAA leaders in batting average (.304), slugging percentage (.457), home runs (22) and home runs per game (0.79).
- CSUDH's defense is the top in the conference with a 0.977 fielding percentage, ranking eighth in the nation.
- The Toros have only drawn 52 walks this season, the third lowest in the CCAA.
- CSUDH is laying down the second-fewest sacrifice bunts with 12 this season.
- Mariah Ramirez is leading the CCAA with 22 pitching appearances this season (15th in DII) and 10 home runs (19th in DII).
- CSUDH was picked to finish fourth in the 2024 CCAA Softball Preseason Coaches Poll.
COUGAR OUTLOOK
- CSUSM has 14 returners for the 2024 season, including 2023 All-CCAA second-team honorees Savannah Coyle, Madison Waymire, Jillian Albayati, Paige Donnelly and Gianna Lombardi.
- The Cougars have nine newcomers this season with six freshmen and three transfers.
- Athletically, the Cougars are made up of six redshirt juniors, six true juniors, one redshirt sophomore, four sophomores and six true freshmen.
- CSUSM was picked to finish second in the 2023 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
- The Cougars' 51-game schedule includes 26 home contests, 23 road games and two neutral games.
THE EWING FILE
- 2022 CCAA Coach of the Year Stef Ewing enters her sixth season in charge of the Cougar softball season and has a 117-89 (.568) overall record as a head coach.
- Ewing and Assistant Coach A.J. Robinson were named the 2023 NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
- In 2023, the Cougars won the school's first West Regional team title and punched their ticket to the NCAA Division II National Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- In her five seasons, she has coached two NFCA All-American third-team selections, 13 All-CCAA honorees (four first-team selections), a CCAA Newcomer of the Year and CCAA Freshman of the Year.
- Ewing captured her first win as a collegiate head coach on Feb. 17, 2019, as the Cougars recorded a walk-off 5-4 victory over Concordia Portland at CSUSM Softball Field.
- The 2024 squad's first win of the season was Ewing's 100th as a coach, a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Chaminade at the CUI Kickoff Classic on Feb. 2.
- She previously served as the assistant coach at New Mexico State where she helped the Aggies to three WAC Regular-Season Conference Championships and two WAC Conference Tournament Championships.
Players Mentioned
Players Mentioned
Latest Top News
- Donnelly, Sloss Named to D2 CCA All-West Region TeamPaige Donnelly and Jayline Sloss of the Cal State San Marcos softball team were named to the 2024 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2 CCA) All-West Region Softball First Team on Monday.
- CSUSM Selected for First NCAA Division II West Regional AppearanceThe Cal State San Marcos baseball team will be making its first-ever NCAA Division II West Regional appearance as the Cougars were selected as the No. 5 seed by the NCAA Selection Committee on Sunday night.
- Cougars See Three NCAA Provisionals, School Record at Franson Last ChanceThe Cal State San Marcos men's track & field team completed its regular-season schedule with three NCAA provisionals and a new school record on Friday and Saturday at Azusa Pacific's Franson Last Chance.
- CSUSM Finishes Tied for 16th at Super RegionalsThe Cal State San Marcos men's golf tied for 16th with a 33-over 885 at the NCAA Division II West / South Central Super Regional on Saturday in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
- Two NCAA Provisionals, School Record Highlight CSUSM's Finals Regular-Season MeetThe Cal State San Marcos women's track & field team recorded two NCAA provisionals along with a school record and four total top-10 program marks to conclude the regular season at Azusa Pacific's Franson Last Chance on Friday and Saturday.
- Cougars’ Postseason Run Comes to EndThe Cal State San Marcos softball team (37-22) saw its third consecutive postseason run come to an end with a pair of losses to host and top-seed Western Washington (46-8) on Saturday afternoon at Viking Field. The Cougar dropped a 7-1 decision in the first game, forcing an 'if-necessary' game that resulted in a 2-1 heartbreaker.