SAN MARCOS -- Cal State LA's baseball team will enter next week's California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament with some momentum.

The Golden Eagles finished the regular season on Saturday with a doubleheader split at Cal State San Marcos. Cal State LA (26-22, 19-19 CCAA) collected 20 hits and won the opener, 16-3, before falling short in the seven-inning nightcap, 2-1. The Golden Eagles got outstanding pitching on Saturday from James Mendez, Austin Nazabal, Holden Berger and Justin Davis to wrap up the regular season. Cal State LA had a six-game winning streak snapped in the nightcap, but finished the season with 3-1 series wins over UC San Diego and Cal State San Marcos.

Cal State LA finished third in the CCAA South Division and will open the double-elimination conference tournament on Wednesday against North Division champion and No. 1 seed Chico State. The winner of the tournament earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

The Golden Eagles scored early and often in the opener on Saturday. Nathan Navarrete was 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBI, Angel Sanchez was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, Anthony Ayala was 3-for-7 with two runs and two RBI, Mike Alexander was 3-for-6 with one run scored, Jesse Burke was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI and Garrett Dean entered the game as a pinch hitter and slugged a solo home run.

Sean Watkins doubled in a run in the top of the first inning to open the scoring for Cal State LA. The Golden Eagles made it 5-0 in the third thanks to a run-scoring double by Sanchez, a run-scoring single by Thursday's extra-inning hero Nic Bereaud and a two-run single by Ayala. A fielder's choice by Watkins scored Burke to make it 6-0 in the fourth and Cal State LA tacked on five runs in the fifth to make it 11-1. Navarrete singled in two runs and Sanchez singled in one to highlight the inning.

Dean hit a solo home run to start a five-run seventh inning. Andrew Hermanson singled in a run and Burke and Navarrete drew bases-loaded walks during the inning.

Mendez worked six strong innings to get the win, allowing nine hits and one earned run. He walked four and struck out three. Nazabal and Berger combined for three hitless innings of relief. Nazabal walked two and struck out one in two innings, while Berger struck out one in the ninth.

In the nightcap, Davis was tremendous, allowing only six hits and one earned run over six innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out eight. Isaias Torres hit a solo home run in the second innings, his third homer of the series. to give Cal State San Marcos (17-33, 7-31 CCAA) a 1-0 lead in the second and the Cougars successfully squeezed home the second run in the fourth. Taylor Ahearn tossed a complete game for the Cougars.

Cal State LA had just five hits in the nightcap - one each by Ryan Dixon. Navarrete, Drew Seelman, Isaac Dominguez and Jorge Garcia. Dixon scored the only run for the Golden Eagles following a leadoff triple. He crossed the plate after Dominguez reached on an error.

Cal State LA will return to action on Wednesday in Stockton against Chico State. The tournament will be held at the site of Cal State LA's 2013 CCAA Championship.