The Sioux Falls baseball team (3-6) opened its spring break trip with a 9-1 loss at Cal State San Marcos (14-1) on Sunday afternoon at CSUSM Baseball Field.
Sophomore Eric Brothers (1-1) was tagged with the loss. The California native allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits with four walks and a strikeout in five innings pitched.
CSUSM senior righty and LSU transfer James Dykstra (5-0) worked seven innings and limited USF to three hits while striking out nearly half (12-of-25) of the batters he faced.
After a scoreless first inning, USF went 1-2-3 in the top of the second and the homestanding Cougars opened the scoring in the second inning when the USF shortstop's throw sailed over the first baseman's head off a ground ball.
CSUSM tacked on sacrifice flies in the third and fourth innings to move in front 3-0.
Sioux Falls broke up the shut out in the fifth frame, as Jeremy Varner drew a lead-off walk and advanced to second with Corey Vasquez's base knock to right field. With Noah Coleman at the plate, one of Dykstra's offerings rolled to the backstop and Varner darted home to make it 3-1. That would be it for the South Dakota-based Cougars, though, as Dykstra sandwiched two strikeouts looking around Dylan Dwyer's fly out to center.
CSUSM extended its lead back to three with an RBI single in the bottom half of the fifth.
On a 1-2 count, Kody Sepulveda notched a two-run single up the middle off of Cougar reliever Andrew Christensen to make it 6-1 CSUSM in the sixth.
The CSUSM Cougars' three-run seventh inning capped the scoring. They would retire USF in order in the ninth and Varner popped out to third to end the ball game.
Keith Cutler, Noah Durkin, Varner and Vasquez accounted for USF's four hits in the contest.
Junior Austin Goodenow provided 1.2 innings of hitless relief for USF. The submariner induced the Cougars into three fly outs and one ground while giving up just one base on balls.
CSUSM and USF will play a doubleheader on Monday at noon (PT) at CSUSM Baseball Field to wrap-up the three-game set
