Victories, losses, canceled games, long miles of travel and one stretched 12 inning game has defined the coyote baseball team this year and made it a roller coaster of a season.

Csusb’s men’s baseball is quickly wrapping up, forcing the coyotes to win five of the remaining nine anticipated games left in the season to improve on their 500 record going into this past weekend.

“There are three major aspects to this game; pitching, hitting and fielding,” said Assistant Coach Kyle Davis. “Our team is extremely talented and when we put all three together we have endured success. At the plate, it has been a matter of taking control of our at bats, being able to hit deep in counts and putting the ball off the ground which creates opportunity. Playing this way makes us very tough to beat,” said Davis.

According to several players, the team was in high spirits and rearing to get started with a promising season after last year’s ending with 29 wins and 17 losses.

However, the team started off slow against their first two competitors Cal Baptist and Dixie State walking away with a 1-2 loss from both games of each series.

On top of the cold wet weather that hit Southern California in late February, the coyotes had to face a cancelled game against CSU Stanislaus leaving the series in a 1-1 toss-up.

The coyotes split yet another series at home against CSU Dominguez Hills as well as away at San Francisco State.

However, the San Francisco State game was a change up from the usual 9 inning games we see.

The game was stretched all the way to 12 innings and unfortunately ended with the Coyotes losing 4-3 in the final top of the inning.

“The San Francisco game was a pretty memorable game,” said infielder Erik Ornelas. “We played well and maintained consistency throughout the first half of the game, but the one-out single that scored a run in the last inning is what defeated us,” said Ornelas.

With many losses under their belts it calls the team into question about their capability as athletes to come together as a team and truly bat it out to a winning successful season.

What will it take for these players to maximize their talents and prove to other collegiate athletes that they are a successful group of men willing to step up to the plate and truly bring it?

Nevertheless, spirits began to be uplifted after 2 wins against their rivals CSU Los Angeles and winning a 3-1 series against CSU East Bay.

Coyotes surprisingly split the series from the 10th ranked NCAA Division II team, and fourth ranked in our conference, Chico State.

The much needed boost from this game will hopefully spiral the coyotes into the success they need to send a message to all the teams in the conference that they are a force to be reckoned with and despite challenges they will always try to overcome.

The next couple games that the coyotes face are going to be a challenge considering they only have one series at home against CSU Monterey Bay and face Sonoma as well as UCSD away.

Players will need to set their sights high and enhance their talents to the fullest in order to achieve an overall winning season for 2011.