LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's baseball team endured an extremely long and extremely frustrating day Sunday at Reeder Field.

The Golden Eagles came out on the short end of a 15-13 decision in the opener of a California Collegiate Athletic Association doubleheader with Chico State and then left a staggering 16 runners on base in a 6-1 loss in the nightcap. Cal State LA (6-18, 5-8 CCAA) lost all three games of the conference series to Chico State (17-6, 7-4 CCAA).

The two teams combined for 28 runs, 35 hits, 10 walks, six errors and 21 runners left on base in the opener, which took nearly four hours to complete. The two teams then combined to leave 27 runners on base in the nightcap.

It was a rough day for the pitchers in the opener. Eleven pitchers were used in the game and no one who pitched more than one inning emerged without giving up at least two runs. Cal State LA led 3-1 after one inning and 8-7 after four innings, but Chico State scored six times in the fifth inning to take the lead for good and held off a late Cal State LA rally.

In the nightcap, Cal State LA left runners on in every inning and wasted a solid start by Gabriel Gentner, who was making his first start of the season. Gentner allowed a run in the first and a run in the fifth and that was it. Dalton Erb pitched five scoreless innings while scattering five hits, four walks and a hit batter.

Dakota Hernandez was 4-for-6 with two runs scored and four RBI in the opener, while Ryan Welker was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, Paul Martinez was 2-for-6 with two runs scored and two RBI and Christian Broussard, Jr. hit his first home run of the season and scored a pair of runs.

Ben Gamba was 5-for-5 with two runs and three RBI for the Wildcats, while Sonny Cortez was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI. Cameron Santos was 2-for-5 with three RBI.

Cal State LA, which was blanked in Saturday's series opener, scored three times in the first in Sunday's first game. Dakota Hernandez hit a solo home run to start the rally and the Golden Eagles took advantage of two Chico State errors and a passed ball to take a 3-1 lead.

Chico State took advantage of a big Cal State LA error in the second inning to regain the lead. Cortez had a two-run single and Gamba had an infield hit to drive in the runs.

The Golden Eagles struck back for two runs in the bottom of the second to take a 5-4 lead. Hernandez singled in one run and Nathan Navarrete doubled in the other.

After Chico State took a 7-5 lead, Cal State LA scored three times in the fourth to pull ahead, 8-7, due in large part to a big Chico State throwing error. Anthony Moreno had a run-scoring single to give the Golden Eagles the lead.

That lead was short-lived, though, because Chico State scored six times in the fifth to take the lead for good. After a throw was dropped on an attempted sacrifice that left the bases loaded, Cortez hit a two-run double and Santos hit a three-run home run for the Wildcats.

Cal State LA chipped away and got a two-run single by Hernandez in the seventh to make it 13-10 and, after Chico State scored twice in the eighth to take a 15-10 advantage, Broussard hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth and Angel Sanchez had a run-scoring single to make it 15-12.

Cortez then made the defensive play of the game in the ninth inning, robbing Hernandez of extra bases with a diving catch in centerfield. That play loomed even larger when Cal State LA got a double from Navarrete, a walk by Broussard and a run-scoring single by Paul Martinez to make it 15-13. Peter Lecce, the seventh Chico State pitcher, then stopped the rally by getting an unusual 5-4-5 double play to end the game.

Gentner, in his first start for Cal State LA, pitched well in the nightcap to give the Golden Eagles a chance, but Cal State LA was unable to cash in on its several scoring chances. After taking a 2-0 lead through five innings, Chico State got two runs in the sixth, another in the seventh and a solo home run from Santos in the eighth to make it 6-0. Cal State LA got its only run of the game when Welker singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

Cal State LA will return to action with a doubleheader at San Francisco State on Friday beginning at 11 a.m.