College baseball postseason: Otters rally to send San Marcos home

SEASIDE — Celebrating a conference record five straight baseball titles has been followed with a dose of humbleness — and four consecutive losses.

Starring at a 7-1 deficit in the fourth inning Thursday left Cal State Monterey Bay searching for a spark to reignite the fire that has translated to 37 wins this season.

“I don’t believe our confidence was shaken at all,” CSUMB coach Walt White said. “We had two solid days of practice. But when you lose four in a row and are down 7-1, lesser teams might have felt sorry for themselves.”

While it’s not the script White envisioned, the Otters relight the torch, turning it into an inferno in the fifth and seventh innings to rally for a 10-7 win over Cal State San Marcos, eliminating them in the NCAA Division II West Regionals at CSUMB.

The win not only avenged a loss to their conference rivals in the tournament last week, but it sets up a rematch of last year’s Super Regional battle with defending champion Northwest Nazarene, who also beat San Marcos 8-4.

Last year Northwest Nazarene swept the best-of-three Super Regionals to advance to the College World Series. Earlier this year, the Otters got a measure of redemption by taking three of four in the preseason.

The Nighthawks (39-16) are expected to throw Corbin Talley, who is 11-0 this spring with 2.42 earned run average in the noontime maintee. The 6-foot-4 left-hander has recorded 99 strikeouts in 71 innings of work.

The Otters touched the hard-throwing Talley for three runs in 4.2 innings of work back in February, where he struck out nine in a no-decision.

“There is a lot of fight and belief in each other,” White said. “I don’t think our team has wavered in how it feels. It was a matter of how do we turn it around. I do know we will sleep better tonight.”

Not since 2017 had the Otters found themselves mired in a four-game skid. While the final two games of the regular season were meaningless, dropping two conference tournament games was a wake-up call.

“Obviously, you don’t want to go into the playoffs on a four-game losing streak,” White said. “But it’s over. Now we’re starting a new streak.”

Seeded No. 1 in the West Regionals after capturing its fifth straight California Collegiate Athletic Association title, CSUMB (37-16) is two wins away from tying the single-season school record for wins for the fourth consecutive year.

“When you get in these short tournaments, someone has to step up, pick you up, provide a spark,” said White, who is closing in on 500 wins at CSUMB.

That moment belonged to pitcher Kyle Giovannoni, who came into the game in the fourth inning and tossed 5.1 innings of no-hit ball with seven strikeouts.

“Pitching creates momentum,” White said. “His effort was inspiring. Kyle gave us a chance. If they had scored one or two more runs, it might have made it feel out of reach.”

What transpired was a dugout feeling it was back in the game when Connor Smith hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to create some momentum.

“If you’re going to be down 7-1, make it early in the game,” White said. “There was a lot of game left. I know this team is capable of coming back. The thought process was keep playing baseball, disciplined baseball.”

In need of an infusion, center fielder Nick Maestas made his return memorable, sending a line drive over the left field fence for a two-run homer during a five-run fifth inning to tie the game at seven.

Hitting in the No. 9 hole, Maestas had missed the last three weeks with a shoulder injury. He finished with two hits and three RBI to raise his average to .318.

The bottom of the order was instrumental during a three-run seventh inning as No. 8 hitter Noah Zertuche ripped a two-run double, followed by Smith’s run-scoring single.

“I know they’re focused,” White said. “But we need to be more precise. Put the barrel of the bat on the baseball. We give ourselves an early lead, and then we have to chase.”

White was talking about Bobby Benavidez leading off with a homer in the first inning, only to see San Marcos produce the game’s next seven runs.

CSUMB is expected to start Drew Aguilar today. The hard-throwing right-hander, who began the season as a closer, has not pitched since April 30, when he threw seven strong innings in a win over Stanislaus State.

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 9:40 PM.