Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s baseball team's return from a 12-day break was not a good one.
The Golden Eagles surrendered 11 runs in the first five innings and lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 11-4, Thursday in a California Collegiate Athletic Association contest at Reeder Field. Cal State L.A. (18-10, 11-6 CCAA) dropped just its second home game of the season and lost for only the third time in its last 10 games.
The Golden Eagles hadn't played since a dramatic doubleheader sweep of Cal State San Bernardino on March 14 that ended with a two-out, game-winning grand slam from
Mario Ramirez. There was much less drama on Thursday as Cal State Dominguez Hills (17-10, 12-9 CCAA) broke the game open with a five-run third inning and a four-run fifth inning to take an 11-0 lead.
Cal State L.A. ace Issac Morales (3-3) surrendered all 11 runs – six of them earned – on 11 hits over five innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out seven. Cal State Dominguez Hills starter Brett Montgomery left after tossing four scoreless inning and the Toros used four relievers to keep the large lead over the final five innings. Michael Cruz (4-2) gave up two runs over three innings of relief to get the win.
Jon Alia, the leading hitter in the CCAA, had another big day at the plate, belting two solo home runs and scoring three times. Paul Klingsberg hit a three-run home run as part of the five-run third inning rally by the Toros.
Cal State Dominguez Hills finished with 15 hits. Carlos Levya had three hits, including a key bunt single in the third inning, while Kevin Pillar, Alia, Brian Sturgis and Dean Benavidez had two hits each. Leyva also made a pair of spectacular diving plays at second base to thwart potential Cal State L.A. rallies.
Although Morales struggled, the Golden Eagles did get four innings of scoreless relief from
Danny DeSantiago and
Travis McBride. DeSantiago worked a scoreless inning and gave up one hit, while McBride went the final three innings and allowed three hits while striking out four.
Matt Miraldi hit a solo home run for the Golden Eagles and had three hits, while
Travis Tartamella and
Jesus Campos had two hits each. Cal State L.A. finished with 10 hits, but left eight runners stranded and hit into two double plays.
Alia gave the Toros a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a leadoff home run and the Toros added five runs in the third inning aided by a costly Cal State L.A. error with two outs that prolonged the inning for Klingsberg, who hit a three-run home run to make it 6-0.
Leyva tripled in a run in the fourth inning to make it 7-0 and Alia's second home run of the game – and conference-leading 11th of the season – started a one-out four-run uprising in the fifth. Klingsberg reached on an error, took third on a double by Luis Perez and scored on a single by Candelario Flores and Sturgis added a two-run single later in the inning to make it 11-0.
Miraldi's solo home run to left leading off the sixth got the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard.
Toby Davis added a run-scoring double later in the inning. Cal State L.A. wrapped up the scoring in the ninth.
Mark Sunga delivered a run-scoring groundout and
Chris Lloyd singled in a run.
The Golden Eagles and Toros will continue the four-game series with a single game on Friday at Reeder Field.
