LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's baseball team got off to a good start in its 2020 season opener Friday night at Reeder Field.
The Golden Eagles got six shutout innings from
Saxon Andross and home runs from
Aaron McCann and
Allen Pacheco and beat Northwest Nazarene, 8-2, at the Cal State LA Crossover Tournament. In the day's first game, Dixie State beat Northwest Nazarene, 10-4.
Cal State LA (1-0) collected 12 hits in the victory, including three from leadoff batter
Tyler Odekirk. Pacheco and
Michael Tillman had two hits each.
Andross had an outstanding start and blanked Northwest Nazarene on just three hits over six innings. He walked only one and struck out nine.
Julien Garcia allowed one run over the next two innings and
Miguel Garcia allowed a run in the ninth inning.
Quentin Ayers went 3-for-4 with two RBI for Northwest Nazarene (0-2). Ty Hueckman went five innings for the Nighthawks, while Brennan Patterson finished up over three innings.
The Golden Eagles took command with a five-run third inning rally that included a big three-run home run by McCann. All five runs came after two were out.
Nick Atkins singled to right-center to start the rally and
Jeff Zordani drew a walk. Pacheco followed with a run-scoring single to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead and
Randy Buenrostro lined a single off the third baseman's glove to make it 2-0. McCann then lined a three-run home run over the right-centerfield wall give Cal State LA a 5-0 lead.
Cal State LA made it 7-0 with two more runs in the sixth.
Gerardo Castaneda walked and took second on a single by Tillman. Odekirk singled on a hit-and-run to make it 6-0 and
Jordan Myrow came around to score on a throwing error to make it 7-0.
Andross departed after six shutout innings and Ayers doubled in a run in the seventh to make it 7-1. The Golden Eagles got that run back in the bottom of the inning on Pacheco's home run to right-center.
The three-day tournament will continue on Saturday with three games. Northwest Nazarene and Dixie State will open the day at 11:30 a.m. and Cal State LA will play against Northwest Nazarene at 3 p.m. and Dixie State at 6:30 p.m.
