SEASIDE -- Cal State LA's baseball team came out on the wrong side of another close decision Sunday in its California Collegiate Athletic Association series finale at Cal State Monterey Bay.
After suffering a pair of one-run defeats on Saturday, the Golden Eagles fell by two runs on Sunday, 5-3, at Otter Sports Complex. Cal State LA (15-10, 8-7 CCAA) lost the three games by a total of four runs and had leads in two of the three games.
Cal State Monterey Bay (15-9, 8-5 CCAA) led 3-0 after two innings and 4-2 after three and then answered an eighth-inning run by Cal State LA with one of its own.
Greg Humbert started for the Golden Eagles and allowed nine hits and two earned runs over four innings. He walked one and struck out two. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning to limit the Otters to just one run and he kept the Otters off the board in his final inning in the fourth.
Nate Adams also pitched well and allowed only two hits and one run over four strong innings. He walked two and struck out four.
Isaac Dominguez drove in a pair of runs for the Golden Eagles, while
Jorge Garcia also had a run batted in.
Nathan Navarrete,
Sean Watkins and
Drew Seelman scored runs for Cal State LA.
Ryan Arambula worked six strong innings to get the win for Cal State Monterey Bay, allowing seven hits and two runs. Kyle Narahara got the final four outs to pick up his fifth save of the season.
The Otters took a 1-0 lead in the first, but Garcia kept it at 1-0 by throwing out a runner at the plate for the final out of the inning. Josh Heinz delivered a two-run double in the second, but a relay from Navarrete in left field to Dominguez to
Andrew Hermanson at third resulted in a key out.
Dominguez made it 3-2 with a two-run double in the third, but the Otters got the run back in the bottom of the inning with an unearned run.
Cal State LA pulled to within 4-3 in the eighth. when Watkins walked, stole second and scored on a double by Garcia. Narahara came on with two outs and hit Hermanson with a pitch, but he retired the next four batters for the save and another hard-fought defeat for the Golden Eagles.
Cal State LA will return to action with a three-game series at home against Cal State East Bay beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday.
