By Taylor Glaze |Staff Writer|

The Coyote softball team finished their season with a sweep of the Cal State San Marcos Cougars (CSUSM), to earn them more than 30 wins for only the fourth time in the last 18 years.

“It felt great. To beat a team in the CCAA 4 straight times is a huge accomplishment,” said head coach Jim Maier.

“We started the season strong, then fell off course in the month of March, but rebounded this last month by winning 14 of our last 18 games. We won 23 CCAA conference games,” said Maier.

Those 23 games were a part of history as this was the first time that team has won over 20 games two years in a row.

Game one, on April 22, was a battle with the Coyotes winning by just one run in extra innings  4-3.

CSUSM was first to score in the second, but CSUSB followed shortly after.

The Cougars scored again in the fourth, putting them ahead by one going into the fifth.

CSUSB took the lead when they got two RBI’s off a home run hit by catcher Jessica Brown.

The game intensified when the Cougars scored and tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth inning.

The game remained tied through the seventh inning, causing the game to head into extra innings until Brown hit a double down the right field line, securing all four of the games RBI’s and a Coyote victory in the series opener.

The second game started off with a sacrifice fly by Amanda Herrera that earned her an RBI.

A sacrifice fly is used to advance a runner and is typically hit when there are fewer than two out. The ball is hit far enough fair or foul for a runner on third to tag up and score.

CSUSB held the Cougars to one run in the third, before scoring nine runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. A three-run home run from Hererra and another from Taylor Ancona accounted for six of the runs.Brown hit a single to center field in the fourth, achieving two more RBI’s for the Coyotes.

Brown hit a single to center field in the fourth, achieving two more RBI’s for the Coyotes.

The Cougars tried coming back, scoring two runs in the fifth, but that was not enough to stay in the game. The game ended 12-3, abiding by the mercy rule, giving the Coyotes their second win of the series.

Game one of the second day, April 23, the Coyotes were the first to score in the third inning. Monica Maddox singled through the left side and Hererra hit a single to shortstop, putting the score at 2-0.

Neither team scored in the fourth or fifth, but both battled for the win in the sixth inning.

CSUSM scored three runs, putting them ahead by one until Kaylee Gemmell hit a single to right field, allowing Arianna Hernandez to score on an error. Melissa Roberts also got an unearned RBI from a sacrifice fly ball to left field.

The Coyotes took the win, 4-3.

The final game, both teams’ bats were strong. The Coyotes won 13-10, sweeping their last series of the season.

San Marcos scored one run in the first, three in the fourth, four in the sixth and two in the seventh inning.

San Bernardino scored three in the second, one in the third, two in the fourth, five in the fifth and two in the sixth inning.

Coach Maier continued to attribute this season’s success to, “hard work, dedication, and loyalty. We had a very young team loaded with freshmen and sophomores. The future is very bright for Coyote softball.”

“We will make the CCAA tournament for the first time in many years, win at least 40 plus games and make our way into the regional tournament. Coyote softball will win in all aspects of the program,” finished Maier.