CARSON -- Cal State LA's baseball team completed its first California Collegiate Athletic Association sweep of the season with a pair of wins Saturday at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Golden Eagles had 32 hits in the two games and beat the Toros, 9-7 and 8-5 in a doubleheader at Toro Field. Cal State LA (14-29, 13-19 CCAA) had a season-high 20 hits in the opener and another 12 in the nightcap.
Cal State LA pulled closer to third place in the South Division with the four straight wins. The Golden Eagles are just percentage points behind Cal State Dominguez Hills (21-25, 14-20 CCAA) and only 1 1/2 games behind third-place Cal State San Bernardino (20-25, 15-18 CCAA) with four games remaining. Cal State LA will face Cal State San Bernardino in a four-game series next week, while Cal State Dominguez Hills will face Cal Poly Pomona.
The top three teams in the South Division will join the top three teams in the North Division in the six-team CCAA Championships.
Ryan Dixon went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and a home run to lead the Golden Eagles in the opener.
Ryan Welker was 3-for-5 with a run scored and one RBI,
Christian Broussard, Jr. was 3-for-5 with one RBI,
Nathan Navarrete was 2-for-6 with two runs and one RBI,
Dakota Hernandez was 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI,
Paul Martinez was 2-for-5 with one run scored and
Angel Sanchez was 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
Anthony Moreno and
Isaac Dominguez also had hits as every Cal State LA starter had at least one hit.
Ralph Ramirez went six strong innings to pick up the win. He allowed six hits and two runs.
James Mendez went 1 2/3 innings and
Gabriel Gentner got the final four outs with another strikeout for his third save of the series and seventh of the season.
The Golden Eagles broke the game open with five runs in the fourth inning that increased a 2-1 lead to 7-1. Navarrete delivered a two-out single to drive in Dixon to make it 3-1 and Navarrete and Sanchez executed a double steal with Sanchez stealing home to give the Golden Eagles a 4-1 lead. Welker singled in a run to make it 5-1, Hernandez reached on an infield single to make it 6-1 and Broussard doubled in Hernandez to make it 7-1.
Cal State Dominguez Hills scored four times in the eighth to pull to within 9-7, but Gentner got the final out of the inning to strand two runners and then pitched a scoreless ninth inning to secure the win.
Navarrete scored three times in the nightcap, including his third home run of the season. Welker had a pair of RBI, Broussard was 3-for-4 and Moreno went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI.
Broussard went six strong innings to get the win, allowing eight hits and three runs.
Justin Davis got the final three outs to complete the win.
Cal State LA scored twice in the third to tie it at 3-3. Moreno singled in one run and Sanchez doubled in a run to tie it. The Golden Eagles took a 4-3 lead in the fourth on Navarrete's solo home run and then added three runs in the fifth to take a 7-3 lead. Moreno scored on a wild pitch and Welker doubled in two runs.
Cal State LA made it 8-3 in the seventh when Navarrete stole third and scored on a throwing error and the Golden Eagles weathered a late rally by the Toros with Davis getting a game-ending double play grounder.
Cal State LA will open its four-game series with Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday with a doubleheader at 3 p.m. The Golden Eagles will honor their seniors in a ceremony in between games.
