LA JOLLA -- Cal State LA's baseball team turned in a clutch performance at an opportune time Friday at UC San Diego.

The Golden Eagles battled back from a 5-2 deficit and used some ninth-inning heroics from Sean Watkins to beat the Tritons, 6-5, in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game at Triton Ballpark. Cal State LA (23-20, 20-18 CCAA) moved into sole possession of fifth place in the conference, one-half game ahead of Sonoma State and San Francisco State and put an end to a nine-game winning streak by UC San Diego (29-14, 25-13 CCAA).

Watkins broke a 5-5 tie with a ninth-inning single and then stepped to the mound in the bottom of the inning and promptly retired all three batters he faced - two by strikeout - to record his fourth save of the season.

Cal State LA trailed 5-2 after four innings, but got one run in the fifth and two in the sixth to tie it.

Joey Deceglie had a gritty performance for the Golden Eagles. He battled through seven innings, allowing only four hits and four earned runs. He had to overcome five walks and he tossed three scoreless innings after Shay Whitcomb's three-run home run in the fourth that gave the Tritons their 5-2 lead.

Gabe Ramos got two outs in the eighth, George Alamillo recorded the final out in the eighth and Watkins got the final three outs in the ninth after UC San Diego received a leadoff hit-by-pitch.

Watkins was 2-for-4 with two RBI at the plate, while Nate Alam was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Jordan Peabody was 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI and Jorge Garcia was 2-for-5, including a key single in the ninth.

Peabody had a run-scoring single in the top of the second to tie it at 1-1 and a run-scoring single by Anthony Moreno tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth. Whitcomb put the Tritons back on top, 5-2, with a three-run home run in the bottom of the inning, but Deceglie and the bullpen didn't allow anything after that.

A run-scoring single by Watkins made it 5-3 in the fifth and Peabody scored on a wild pitch and Moreno scored on a passed ball to tie the game in the sixth.

That's how the score remained until the ninth. Andre Gregory was hit by a pitch and Garcia followed with a single that moved Gregory to third. Watkins then drove a single up the middle to score Gregory and give the Golden Eagles the lead.

Cal State LA will conclude the series with UC San Diego on Saturday with a doubleheader at Reeder Field beginning at 1 p.m.