LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's baseball team picked up a game it needed to have Saturday in a California Collegiate Athletic Association doubleheader against UC San Diego.
After dropping the opener, 11-4, the Golden Eagles bounced back with a 7-5 victory in the nightcap to earn a split with the Tritons. Cal State LA (24-21, 21-19 CCAA) remain in fifth place in the conference, one-half game back of Cal Poly Pomona and one-half game ahead of Sonoma State and San Francisco State. The Golden Eagles also earned a series split with the Tritons (30-15, 26-14 CCAA).
Cal State LA broke a 3-3 tie with four runs in the sixth inning in the nightcap.
Jordan Peabody's fielder's choice scored
Sean Watkins to give the Golden Eagles the lead,
Noe Garcia lined a double into the right-fielder corner to score two and
Anthony Ayala singled up the middle to give the Golden Eagles a four-run lead entering the seventh.
Watkins, the hero of Friday's win over the Tritons both at the plate and on the mound, came on again in relief on Saturday, but exited after getting one out.
Andre Gregory got the final two outs with the tying runs on base to preserve the win. Gregory picked up his second save of the season and saved the win for
George Alamillo, who allowed only one run over three innings of relief.
Dylan Suppan started and didn't allow a hit over three innings, but he walked seven, including two to start the fourth. UC San Diego ended up scoring three times in the inning to erase a 3-0 deficit.
Gregory and Watkins each had two hits and scored twice in the nightcap, while Garcia and
Spencer Sundahl had two RBI each. Tyler Durna and Michael Palos had two RBI each for the Tritons.
UC San Diego had 15 hits in the opener, including home runs by Justin Beck and Nick Kitzmann, to record an 11-4 win. Jack Rupe started and went six strong innings to get the win. Cameron Leonard worked the final three innings for the save.
Jorge Garcia went 4-for-5 with one run scored and one RBI for the Golden Eagles, while
Nic Bereaud had a pair of hits and two RBI.
Cal State LA will conclude the regular season with a four-game series against Cal State San Bernardino beginning on Thursday in San Bernardino. The Golden Eagles will host a doubleheader next Saturday on Senior Day.
