BOX SCORE Box Score
SEASIDE, Calif. - Pinch hitter
Chris Blanton (Burlingame, Calif./Burlingame HS) hit a walk-off double to lead the Cal State Monterey Bay baseball team to a 7-6 extra innings victory over Central Washington in the series opener on Friday.
With this 14-inning marathon win, the Otters improved to 4-2 while the Wildcats continue to search for their first victory of 2012.
The Otters rallied in the bottom of the 14th after Wildcats took a 6-5 advantage in their half.
Jason Merjano (San Ramon, Calif./Franklin HS) led off with a triple and tied the game on a RBI single by
Tommy George (Elk Grove, Calif./Elk Grove HS). After recording his second stolen base of the season, George came home on the double by Blanton that ended the marathon contest.
“Both teams competed all day and it took some mental toughness to grind out this win,” said CSUMB Head Coach
Walt White. “We didn't execute particularly well early in the game, but we executed when it mattered. Merjano, George, and Blanton came up big at the end of the game. I'm proud of the way our whole team stayed together and competed, and I know we are a good team. We need to continue to improve and play better baseball as we go."
Each team had chances to score in the tenth with runners in scoring position and less than two out, but neither team scored. The Wildcats advanced a runner to third with two out in the 11th, and the Otters did the same in the 12th, but each team worked its way out of trouble to preserve the stalemate.
CSUMB tied the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning when Merjano drove in
Jared DeCastro (Torrance, Calif/L.A. Harbor College) to force extra innings.
Before the ninth, CSUMB and CWU traded leads four times by scoring only one or two runs in an inning.
Junior
Jake Paolinetti (Santa Clara, Calif/San Jose City College) earned the win, improving to 1-0, after allowing one run in four innings of relief.
The Otters return to the field on Saturday, Feb. 11 for a doubleheader against the Wildcats beginning at 11 a.m.
