Box Score LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s baseball team built a hefty lead over the first eight innings and it turned out to be a very good thing.
 
The Golden Eagles carried an 11-2 lead into the ninth inning and watched UC San Diego score seven times after two were outs before Cal State L.A. put the final touch on an 11-9 California Collegiate Athletic Association victory.
 
The win enabled Cal State L.A. (16-9, 14-4 CCAA) to even the series with UC San Diego (13-12, 8-10 CCAA).
 
Tyler Christian had a big evening at the plate for the Golden Eagles, going 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and four RBI. Scott Masik had three hits and two RBI and Ryan Cooperstone had a pair of RBI.
 
Dillon Moyer had a three-run double in the ninth inning for the Tritons, who brought the tying run to the plate before the game finally ended.
 
David Armas was strong on the mound once again for the Golden Eagles, allowing eight hits and only two runs over eight innings. He walked two and struck out five and improved to 4-0 on the season.
 
Trevor Scott went five innings for the Tritons, but was betrayed by his defense in a seven-run first inning that was made much worse thanks to two critical errors. Chad Rieser and Adrian Orozco combined to blank the Golden Eagles over the final 2 2/3 innings of play.
 
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the bottom of the first aided largely by the two big UC San Diego errors. Masik started the inning with a walk and scored on a triple by Jeremy Weber, who picked up where he left off on Friday when he became the first Cal State L.A. player since 1998 to hit for the cycle. A single by James Wharton drove in the second run.
 
Cody Doyle then hit a grounder to first that looked like a potential double-play ball, but the throw sailed high into the outfield and everyone was safe. Christian followed with a ground-rule double to left to make it 3-0 and Cooperstone reached on an error to drive in Doyle and make it 4-0. Manny Acosta's sacrifice fly made it 5-0 and Masik singled in two more runs to make it 7-0.
 
Armas breezed into the fourth inning when Richard Seigel hit a solo home run to make it 7-1. The Golden Eagles got that run back in the bottom of the inning when Christian doubled and scored on a single by Cooperstone.
 
Cal State L.A. then extended its lead to 11-1 in the sixth on a three-run home run by Christian, his second of the season.
 
Armas allowed a single run in the seventh, but left after eight innings with an 11-2 lead.
 
Jonathan Skura retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth, but UC San Diego then got four hits and took advantage of a hit batter and three walks to pull close. The three-run double by Moyer cut the Golden Eagle lead to 11-9, but Skura retired Troy Cruz on strikes on three pitches to end it.
 
Cal State L.A. will return to action on Saturday with a doubleheader at UC San Diego beginning at noon.