A week ago, Cuesta Baseball was atop the Western State Conference (WSC) standings, but, after losing two of their past three games, they have fallen a half-game behind the current leader Santa Barbara City.  The Cougars have two home games on their schedule this week, while the leading Vaqueros finish out the season with a full slate of three road games.  Cuesta opens the final week of the regular season by hosting Los Angeles Pierce on Tuesday (2 PM).  The Brahmas are a game behind Cuesta in the WSC Standings and hoping to make their own push for the post-season.  Cuesta has claimed two of their first three meetings, but none of them were close.  Pierce won their first meeting decisively, 15-2, however the Cougars returned their drubbing two-fold by outscoring the Brahmas, 32-6, over their next two meetings. Cuesta closes the regular season when they host Moorpark on Thursday (2 PM).  The Cougars have taken their first three meetings against the Raiders, who currently reside in the WSC cellar with a 7-28 record on the season, including a 3-19 mark against the WSC.  One thing is for sure, the Cougars should be ready to battle the Raiders, who are playing their final game under popular Head Coach Mario Porto.  Porto, after 33 years, is set retire after the season and this Thursday's trip to SLO shall be his final road game.  The Raiders shall finish their regular season with home games on both Friday and Saturday.   

Cuesta finished last week's four-game schedule by splitting a pair of road games.  On Friday, Cuesta picked up a road win at Ventura, 6-4.  Cuesta Starter Jack Stannard handed a four-run lead to the bullpen for the last two innings and took the win, 6-4, while Reliever Tristan Usher picked up his first save of the season.  On Saturday, local rival Allan Hancock hosted the Cougars and evened their season series, 2-2, with an 8-4 win.  The host Bulldogs blew open a 4-4 tie with four runs after the stretch to take the lead and the game.  The Bulldogs' Starting Pitcher Ryan Cronk went the distance for his first win of the season, while Cuesta stranded a dozen runners in the game.  In the game, Cuesta Leadoff Aidan Botti enjoyed his third four-hit game of the season and scored two of the Cougars' runs.  He is batting a team-high .383 on the season.  Cuesta is now 23-15 overall and 15-7 in WSC play.