SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – The CSUSB baseball team dominated Game 4 of the NCAA Division II West Regional on Saturday, defeating Azusa Pacific by a score of 11-2. With the win, the Yotes advance to their first NCAA Super Regional in program history.
Â
Luke Hempel turned in a stellar performance on the mound, allowing just one earned run in 6.0 innings while throwing 79 pitches against the Cougars. Over his last 13.0 innings, all of which have been in the postseason, Hempel has allowed just two earned runs while striking out 10 and walking just two.
Benny Olguin dominated in relief, allowing just one hit in 3.0 innings to pick up his first save of the season.
Â
This season, CSUSB batted an incredible .341 at Fiscalini Field with 58 home runs while scoring 295 runs in 31 games. This means on average, the Yotes plate over nine runs per game against their opponents on their home turf.
Â
Saturday was no different, with the team scoring 11 runs on 15 hits. The Yotes' first three batters -
Jason Shedlock,
DeShawn Johnson, and
Daryl Ruiz – each collected three hits in the game. Johnson led the team with two home runs, including a big 3-run bomb in the fourth inning to give CSUSB a 6-0 lead. Ruiz and
Riley Parker also went deep in the game, each hitting solo home runs.
Â
Â
Up Next
With #1 seed Cal State Monterey Bay pulling off an incredible comeback against #5 seed Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday, the Otters have maintained hosting privilege heading into the Super Regionals. This means the Yotes will travel back up to Seaside, CA for the Supers with the first game taking place on Friday, May 26
th. More information - such as times and links – will become available in the coming days.
Â
