Cuesta Baseball closed its Spring Break Tournament with a win over Merced, 6-3.  The Cougars, who had previously lost to #3 Fresno City and #7 Cypress, bounced back with a victory over the Blue Devils.  After two scoreless innings, Merced jumped ahead on Catcher Alex Trujillo's solo home run.  In the 5th, Trujillo drove in another run and later scored on his own to boost Merced lead, 3-0.  However, in the 6th inning, Cuesta Starter Lukas Ward (pict-L) finally got some run support as the Cougars posted four runs on five hits to take the lead.  After the stretch, Ward handed his lead, 4-3, to Reliever Victor Heredia.  Heredia held the Blue Devils to only one hit and no runs over the last two innings as he saved Cortez's winning decision.  At other end of Cuesta's Battery, Catcher Jack Gradel (pict-R) led the Cougars' offense.  He joined Shortstop Justin Lemaster and Outfielder Max Hunter with a team-high two hits, while he also drove in three runs and scored once.  The win improved the Cougars overall record to 14-12.

Cuesta returns to its Western State Conference schedule with three games against the circuit next week.  The Cougars travel to Woodland Hills to face Los Angeles Pierce on Tuesday (2 PM) and Thursday (2 PM) and split their road trips by hosting the Brahmas in SLO on Wednesday (2 PM).