CSUMB baseball continues comeback streak, advances to Super Regionals

By Kevin Gilmore

The Cal State Monterey Bay baseball team will swim into uncharted waters this weekend after advancing to the NCAA Division II Super Regional round following a 13–12 victory over Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday at the Otter Sports Complex.
 
There were heroes aplenty for the Otters, who had to overcome a seven-run deficit midway through the game just to give themselves a chance for a miracle rally. Back-to-back home runs by Drew Williams (kinesiology) and JJ Engman (kinesiology) got CSUMB to within one run in the eighth inning, with the score 9–8. But Pomona responded with three more runs in the ninth.
 
Trailing 12–9 with just two outs left, singles by CCAA Player of the Year Brady Miguel (business) and CCAA Batting Champion Nico Hartojo (computer science) set the table for Williams to tie the game with a two-run double. With the bases loaded, Cole Murchison (HCOM) drew a walk to score the winning run and start the Otter celebration.
 
Ranked No. 6 nationally in the latest Collegiate Baseball Magazine poll, CSUMB (39–16 overall) will host No. 10 Cal State San Bernardino (41–17) in a best 2-of-3 series May 26-27 for the right to advance to the College World Series.
 
The Otters have tied the program record for most wins in a season already in 2023 and will have the chance to break the record in their first-ever trip to the Super Regional. The journey won’t be an easy one, however, as the Coyotes have been nipping at CSUMB’s heels all season. San Bernardino finished second to the Otters for the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season title and lost to the Otters in the CCAA Tournament Championship game.

Tickets for the NCAA Baseball Super Regional may be purchased in advance, starting May 23, online at the Otter Athletics website. For those who can’t make it to the Otter Sports Complex, the games will be streamed live on the CCAA Network.