Baseball has a full dance card this week with five games scheduled between Tuesday and Saturday.  Cuesta is currently ranked #10 in the CCCAA Southern Regional Baseball Poll but is scheduled to only play Northern Regional teams this week.  The Cougars host #19 Reedley on Tuesday (2 PM) and then play a three-game set against their NorCal equivalent, #10 Sequoias.  Cuesta travels to play the Giants in Visalia on Thursday (2 PM) and then hosts them for a two-game set on Friday (2 PM) and Saturday (1 PM).  

The Cuesta Nine spent last weekend in Costa Mesa with a three-game series against #1 Orange Coast.  The Pirates swept the series but edged the Cougars by only eight total runs on the weekend.  In Thursday's opener Cuesta scored first and built a 5-1 lead, but the Bucs compiled a seven-hit, seven-run bottom of the 5th to take the lead.  The Cougars managed only one more run in the contest and fell, 11-6.  On Friday, the Cougars jumped out again with six runs in their first at-bat and were on the verge of victory when Orange Coast finally broke through with four runs in the 8th inning to take the game, 9-7.  The two teams used 16 pitchers in the first two games, so predictably the series finale saw an offensive explosion against depleted bullpens.  The two teams combined for 30 hits and 25 runs; however, the Cougars were once again the victims of a late Pirate comeback.  Cuesta was down 8-0 going into the 5th inning, but battled back and entered the final frame leading, 12-11. Sadly, Orange Coast scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to complete the series sweep, 13-12.  Cuesta is currently 1-5 on the season.