Box Score Box Score
TURLOCK --
Justin Manci belted two homeruns in his first game as a Warrior as Cal State Stanislaus beat Central Washington, 9-4, in the 2012 season opener.
Manci led off the Warriors with a solo homer to left, then hit a two-run shot in the sixth to help Stanislaus show off its new team offensively. He also singled in the third and doubled in the fourth for a 4-for-5, 3 RBI day.
Starting pitcher
Byron Lemon also made a strong debut, going six innings and gave up three hits. He gave up one unearned run, struck out three and walked one.
Eli Davis and
Andy Yingling were the other two hitting stars each with two runs batted in. Davis went 2-for-4.
Cal State Stanislaus extends its winning streak over Central Washington to 11 games, going back to 2008.
In his first outing, Lemon utilized his defense for a quality start. He allowed just two base runners in the first five innings. CWU's Matt Herbert started the sixth with a single, an fielding error and a walk later created the Wildcats' first real threat on the day. Lemon induced a double-play grounder by Glen Reser with a run scoring before an infield pop-up to end the inning.
Offensively, the Warriors jumped out on top with Manci's leadoff homer. Stanislaus then added three runs in the third on three hits including singles by Manci and
Michael Turay to start the inning. After a fielding error by CWU's left fielder that plated a run,
Andy Yingling capped off the Warrior rally with a two-out, two-run single to center.
Stanislaus scored again in the fifth on a squeeze bunt and put up four runs in the sixth for a 9-1 lead. Manci highlighted the Warrior sixth with his second bomb of the day and Davis drove in two scores with his second single in as many innings.
The Wildcats (0-2) finally got some runs in the ninth against true freshman
Dustin Baisdon. Cal State Stanislaus committed two errors in the inning to allow Central Washington to score three unearned runs.
Chris Hashimoto went 2-for-4 for the Wildcats and starter Kyle Long was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on six hits in four innings.
The Warriors next play on Monday at Fresno Pacific.