Box Score CHICO -- Cal State L.A.'s baseball team needed a split of Saturday's doubleheader to remain in a first-place tie in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, but the Golden Eagles instead suffered a disappointing sweep at the hands of Chico State.

The Golden Eagles, after dropping a 7-4 decision in the opener, opened up a 7-0 lead after two at bats in the seven-inning nightcap, but Chico State roared back with eight runs in its final three at bats to complete the sweep with an 11-8 victory. Cal State L.A. (30-19, 27-12 CCAA) slipped into a second-place tie with Chico State (34-13, 27-12 CCAA) and both teams trail Cal State Monterey Bay by one game with one game left to play.

James Wharton had a big second game of the doubleheader for the Golden Eagles, belting a pair of two-run home runs in the first two innings to help the Golden Eagles to their 7-0 lead. He took over the conference lead with 12 home runs.

Chico State chipped away at the deficit with three runs in the bottom of the second, two unearned runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth to tie it at 7-7. The Wildcats then scored four times in the sixth and held off a late Cal State L.A. rally in the seventh. Wharton walked and scored on a run-scoring single by Ryan Cooperstone to make it 11-8.

Things looked great for the Golden Eagles after two innings. Scott Masik led off with a single and scored on a double by Jeremy Weber. Wharton then hit his first home run of the game to give Cal State L.A. a quick 3-0 lead.

The Golden Eagles added four runs in the second to make it 7-0. Casey Ryan singled, stole second and scored on a single by Weber before Wharton hit another two-run home run. Tyler Christian followed with a single and scored on a double by Cooperstone.

That was it for Cal State L.A.'s offense until the seventh while Chico State mounted its big comeback.

In the opener, the Golden Eagles fell behind after a three-run fourth inning by the Wildcats and never could recover. Cal State L.A. closed to within 3-2 after back-to-back doubles by Christian and Cooperstone and a run-scoring single by Niko Garcia. Chico State, though, countered with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 5-2 lead.

Weber scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3 in the seventh, but Chico State added two runs in the eighth to take a 7-3 lead. Cody Doyle contributed a two-out run-scoring single in the ninth, but the Golden Eagles could get no closer.

Cal State L.A. will complete its regular season with a single game at Chico State on Sunday. The Golden Eagles now need a win over Chico State and a loss by Cal State Monterey Bay to UC San Diego to earn a share of its first CCAA title since 1998.