Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO -- Cal State L.A.'s baseball team came up with enough big plays late in the game to post a California Collegiate Athletic Associaton win over San Francisco State.

The Golden Eagles got a go-ahead, two-out RBI single in the seventh inning from Mario Ramirez and clutch relief pitching from Matt Stropoli and Rory Young to record a 6-5 win over the Gators Saturday at Maloney Field. Cal State L.A. (7-10, 5-6 CCAA) has won two of the first three games in the four-game series, both by one run.

The Golden Eagles and Gators were deadlocked at 5-5 and Cal State L.A. had two outs and no one on in the seventh when Joe Park singled and stole second. Ramirez then singled on a 3-2 pitch to give the Golden Eagles the lead for good.

Stropoli, who allowed two runs in his first inning of relief, settled down after that and blanked the Gators over the seventh and eighth innings. Rory Young came on in the ninth to close it out and worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his first save of the season. Stropoli got the victory and improved to 3-0.

Sam Wiley had four hits to lead a 13-hit attack for the Golden Eagles. Park, Ramirez and Matt Miraldi had two hits each. Ramirez, Miraldi, Mark Sunga and Max Moya drove in runs.

Ryan De Jesus allowed 11 hits and six runs, but only three of them earned over 6 2/3 innings for San Francisco State (7-10, 2-5 CCAA). He took the hard-luck defeat. Drew Anderson drove in a pair of runs for thye Gators, while Ben Mielke had three hits and Geoff Downing scored two runs.

Camron Collard pitched well in his first start of the season for the Golden Eagles. He gave up five hits and three runs over 4 2/3 innings.

The game was close throughout and the Golden Eagles had to rally from an early 3-1 deficit. Cal State L.A. struck first with a run in the second. Wiley singled and moved to third after a single by Miraldi and an error. Sunga grounded out to the pitcher to drive in Wiley and give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead.

San Francisco State got three runs in the third to take a 3-1 edge. Nick Nyman drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly and Anderson drove in two runs with a single.

Cal State L.A. regained the lead with three runs in the fourth. Ramirez reached on an error and took third on a double by Wiley. Miraldi singled in one run and Wiley also scored on an outfield error. Miraldi later stole third and scored on a groundout by Moya.

The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 5-3 when Cliff Quick doubled, took third on a bunt single by Park and scored when Ramirez grounded into a double play.

Stropoli came on in the fifth inning with the bases loaded, but got a strikeout to end the inning. The Gators, though, got the tying runs in the sixth. Downing doubled in one run and scored the tying run after a single by Mielke.

That set the stage for the Golden Eagles' two-out rally in the seventh. Park got it started with a single to left and his stolen base was key because it got him in scoring position for the run-scoring single by Ramirez.

Cal State L.A. and San Francisco State will conclude the four-game series with a single game on Sunday beginning at 11 a.m.