Game 1 Box

Game 2 Box

LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s baseball team bounced back nicely from its tough extra-inning loss on Friday and swept a big California Collegiate Athletic Association doubleheader on Saturday.

 

The Golden Eagles got a pair of outstanding starts from pitchers John Mitchell and Yuichiro Fujiwara and swept Cal State Stanislaus, 11-6 and 7-3 at Reeder Field. Cal State L.A. (26-14, 18-10 CCAA) won three times in the four-game series against Cal State Stanislaus (24-14, 14-13 CCAA).

 

The Golden Eagles were smarting after Friday's 5-4 loss in 10 innings to the Warriors, but jumped out to a quick start in the opener of Saturday's doubleheader and never looked back. Mitchell (6-2) allowed only eight hits and one run in seven strong innings in the opener, while Fujiwara (5-1) gave up six hits and three runs through five innings in the nightcap.

 

John Dunn blanked the Warriors over the final two innings to record his eighth save of the season in the nightcap.

 

Cal State L.A. won both games despite a huge day at the plate by Cal State Stanislaus centerfielder Kyle Loretelli, who smacked three home runs in the doubleheader and drove in five runs. He homered twice in the opener and added a two-run shot in the nightcap that briefly knotted the game at 2-2.

 

Travis Tartamella had a big day to lead Cal State L.A.'s offense. After driving in three runs in the opener, he belted a pair of home runs in the nightcap and drove in three more runs. He hit a tie-breaking two-run home run in the fourth inning of the second game to give the Golden Eagles the lead for good at 4-2.

 

Tartamella and Max Moya drove in three runs each in the opener, while Brendan McQuaid and Mario Ramirez scored three times each for Cal State L.A. Loretelli and Casey Filkins drove in three runs each for the Warriors.

 

The Warriors took a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning of the opener on a solo home run by Loretelli, but the Golden Eagles countered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good. Toby Davis drove in one run on a fielder's choice and Moya added a two-run double.

 

Cal State L.A. then broke the game open with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings and two runs in the sixth to take an 8-1 lead. Tartamella had a sacrifice fly in the third, Jesus Campos hit his first home run of the season in the fourth and added a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Ramirez tripled in a run in the sixth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Davis.

 

Cal State Stanislaus cut the deficit to 8-4 on a three-run home run by Filkins in the eighth, but the Golden Eagles got those three runs back in the bottom of the inning. A Moya groundout produced one run and Tartamella delivered a two-run single to round out the Cal State L.A. scoring.

 

The nightcap hung in the balance until the Golden Eagles finally got some breathing room in the sixth. Cal State L.A. took a 1-0 lead in the first on a run-scoring single by Ramirez and upped the lead to 2-0 on Tartamella's solo home run in the second.

 

Loretelli erased the deficit with a two-run home run in the third, but the Golden Eagles regained the lead on a two-run home run by Tartamella in the fourth.

 

The key inning of the game was the fifth. The Warriors cut the lead to 4-3 when Alex Zanini led off the inning with a booming home run to left. Ryan Silver then reached on an error and Jacob Thelen beat out a beautifully-placed bunt, but Fujiwara was able to strike out Loretelli, Jake Oketani and Filkins to end the threat.

 

The Golden Eagles then extended their lead to 7-3 with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Matt Miraldi doubled in a run, Brendan McQuaid drove in a run with a squeeze bunt and Davis doubled in a run to end the scoring.

 

Dunn allowed only one single over the final two innings to pick up the save.

 

Cal State L.A. will return to action with a non-conference game against Concordia on Monday night at Reeder Field.