Cuesta Baseball survived an exciting first round to advance to CCCAA Super Regional for the first time since 2016.  The 11th-seeded Cougars opened their playoff series with the 14-seeded Glendale Vaqueros with a devastating loss on Friday, 25-6, however Cuesta stayed confident and answered with a victory, 15-5, in Saturday's Game 2 to even the series.  The deciding third game was tied, 4-4, after the Vaqueros hit a home run to start of the 5th inning, when it was postponed after the sky opened and rain prevented play.  When game resumed on Sunday, both teams began with new pitchers, but Glendale Designated Hitter Sam Grunberg followed Jackson Benattar's home run to end play on Saturday with a home run to open play on Sunday.  The back-to-back home runs, albeit 18 hours apart, gave the Vaqueros back the lead, 6-4.  Both teams went scoreless in the 6th inning, which marked only the third inning of the series in which neither team scored.  After the stretch, the Vaqueros broke through with five runs, only to have the Cougars crank out eight runs on five hits, while forcing Glendale to use three pitchers to halt their onslaught. Cuesta took back for the first time since the rain began on Saturday, 12-11.  However, in this series all leads were short lived and a two-out, two-run home run by Ethan Kearney quickly put Glendale back in control, 13-12.  The Cougars were unable to answer in the 8th, but Reliever Austin Taylor helped set the stage for the Cougars' late game heroics by retiring the Vaqs' formidable offense in order for only the second time in the game and fifth time over the series' 27 innings of play.  In the bottom of the 9th, the Cougars sent up the top of their order and all-WSC Shortstop Diego Murillo set the stage with a leadoff single.  Outfielder Makani Nabarro tried to squeeze him over to second, but a throwing error allowed him to reach third, while Murillo tied the game.  Glendale then chose to intentionally walk both Jack Clothier and Mikey Bell to avoid the Cougars' top sluggers and set up a force play.  Luckily for the Cougars the ploy didn't work because Outfielder Hayden Kline (pict) singled through the drawn in defense to score Nabarro for the series clincher, 14-13.  The victory marks the Cougars' first playoff series win since 2016, despite reaching the post-season in six of the past seven eligible seasons.  The Cougars are now 32-11 overall.

Cuesta Baseball is on the road next weekend for a 2024 CCCAA Super Regional hosted in San Marcos by #2-seed Palomar.  The Cougars and host Comets shall be joined by 7th-seed Mt San Antonio for a three-team, double elimination tournament with the winner moving onto the CCCAA Regional Finals.  Cuesta has not faced Palomar in the post-season since 2008 or the Mounties since 2009.  The Cougars are 2-3 against the Comets and have split six post-season games against the Mounties.  Cuesta opens against the Mounties on Thursday (11 AM)

Regional Playoff Bracket- https://www.cccaasports.org/sports/bsb/2023-24/files/BB_SoCal_Rd._1.pdf