Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s baseball team took a drubbing from Cal State Stanislaus in the opener of Saturday's California Collegiate Athletic Association, but came back to salvage the day in the nightcap.

 

After losing in the opener, 18-4, Cal State L.A. got outstanding pitching from Matt Stropoli and Camron Collard to beat Cal State Stanislaus, 5-2, in the nightcap at Reeder Field.

 

The Golden Eagles (4-5, 2-1 CCAA) got three hits, two runs scored and one RBI from Matt Miraldi in the nightcap and two hits and two RBI from Jesus Campos. The Golden Eagles trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the third, but scored five runs over the next three innings to earn the split.

 

Cal State Stanislaus (4-6, 1-2 CCAA) pounded out 18 hits in the opener and scored 10 runs in the top of the eighth inning to break things wide open. Kory Vitato had four hits, scored four runs and drove in five to lead the Warriors. Andrew Graves had four hits and drove in three runs, while Corey Conflenti, David Contreras and Alex Zanini, Jr. picked up two hits each. One of Zanini's hits was his first home run of the season.

 

Andrew Stueve scattered eight hits and allowed only three runs to earn the win in the opener for the Warriors.

 

Anthony Lopez worked the first five innings and actually pitched much better than his line showed. He gave up nine hits and allowed six earned runs over five innings, but five of those runs came in the second inning after an almost certain double-play ball was thrown into centerfield. A good throw by Lopez would have gotten him out of the inning, but instead it sailed into centerfield and the Warriors capitalized by scoring five times before the inning was over.

 

The Warriors led 8-3 after seven innings and then scored 10 times in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach.

 

Sam Wiley had four hits for Cal State L.A. in the opener, including his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the ninth inning. Chris Matzner had two hits and a pair of RBI and Joe Park also had two hits.

Stropoli made sure it would be a different story in the nightcap. He allowed single runs in the first and third innings and then blanked the Warriors until leaving after the fifth inning with a 5-2 lead. Vitato walked, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a two-out single by Vince Hungerford.

 

A solo home run by Corey Conflenti in the top of the third made it 2-0, but the Golden Eagles struck for two runs in the bottom of the third to tie it. Miraldi tripled and scored on a single by Campos and Campos later came around to score on a groundout by Cliff Quick.

 

The Golden Eagles took their first lead of the game in fourth. Park singled and took third on a single by Miraldi. Campos singled up the middle to drive in Park to make it 3-2 and Wiley reached on an error while Miraldi scored to make it 4-2.

 

A hot shot by Miraldi that bounded off Zanini and into right-field for a single drove in Max Moya to take it 5-2 in the fifth.

 

Collard came in for the Golden Eagles in the sixth inning and blanked the Warriors over the final two innings on one hit to pick up his first save of the season.

 

The two teams will conclude the four-game series with a single game at Reeder Field on Sunday beginning at noon.