Box Score

LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s baseball team continued its recent hitting surge and recorded its fifth straight victory Tuesday at Reeder Field.

 

The Golden Eagles pounded out 12 hits and got solid pitching from six pitchers and beat California Baptist, 10-3, Tuesday in a non-conference contest. Cal State L.A. (11-4) won its fifth straight game, while handing the Lancers (13-3) only their third loss in 16 decisions.

 

Cal State L.A. was limited to just one run and four hits in a 7-1 loss to California Baptist last Monday in Riverside, but in the five games since then, the Golden Eagles have scored 53 runs and collected 63 hits.

 

Mario Ramirez led the hitting parade with four hits in four at bats, including a two-run home run that put the Golden Eagles ahead for good in the opening inning. He scored twice and drove in three runs. Matt Miraldi had another big day at the plate and went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI. Six other Golden Eagles picked up one hit each.

 

Cal State L.A. starter Nathan Pickett and pitched four strong innings for the Golden Eagles and picked up his first win of the season. By prearrangement, the Golden Eagles had planned to use at least three pitchers, so Pickett picked up the win even though he did not go five innings. John Dunn, Devon Ramirez, Travis McBride, Danny DeSantiago and Toby Davis each pitched one inning of relief to preserve the win.

 

Erik Wallace gave up five hits and four earned runs in 3 1/3 innings for the Lancers and was tagged with the loss. Bobby Kelley pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and allowed only one run.

 

Cal State L.A. led all the way after taking a 3-2 first-inning lead, but the game was close until the Golden Eagles erupted for five runs in the eighth inning.

 

The first inning featured plenty of fireworks. Cole Bullard and Zach Hedges picked up one-out singles and both scored on a two-out double by Jake Johnson. The inning ended, though, when Johnson tried to stretch the hit into a triple and was thrown out at third by shortstop Jesus Campos. Centerfielder Matt Miraldi quickly got the ball to Campos and his accurate throw to third baseman Davis arrived well ahead of Johnson.

The Golden Eagles then quickly took the lead for good in their half of the first. Miraldi led off with a double and moved to third on a single by Jesus Campos. Miraldi scored on a passed ball and Ramirez followed with his team-leading fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot to right, to make it 3-2.

 

Pickett settled down after the first inning and allowed only two hits in his final three innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out seven.

 

Cal State L.A. took a 4-2 lead in the third inning when Davis hit a two-out triple to center to drive in Ramirez. The Golden Eagles upped their lead to 5-2 in the fourth when Max Moya reached first on an error and eventually scored on a RBI groundout by Miraldi.

 

California Baptist got a run-scoring single by Sean Kelley in the seventh inning to pull to within 5-3, but Cal State L.A. put the game out of reach with its five-run eighth-inning uprising. Moya started the inning with a double and scored on a single by Mark Sunga. Chris Matzner followed with a single and Chris Lloyd delivered a run-scoring double to make it 7-3. Miraldi then singled in a pair of runs to make it 9-3 and Ramirez doubled in Miraldi to complete the scoring.

 

Cal State L.A. will return to California Collegiate Athletic Association action on Thursday with the opener of a four-game series against UC San Diego. Single games will be played at UC San Diego on Thursday and Friday and the teams will conclude the series with a doubleheader at Cal State L.A. on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.