LA MIRADA -- Cal State LA's baseball team got some late heroics to earn a doubleheader split Saturday at Biola.
The Golden Eagles scored three times in the sixth inning and edged the Eagles, 8-7, in the seven-inning doubleheader nightcap at Eagles Diamond. Cal State LA (5-5) had dropped the opener, 14-5, but got even for the day thanks to the late rally.
Johnny Pacheco had the big hit, a two-run double that tied the game at 7-7. He then moved to third on a single by
Wilem Drozdowski and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
Mikell Chavez tossed a scoreless inning - his third of the game - in the sixth before turning things over to
Micah Hee, who struck out in a scoreless seventh inning. Chavez picked up his first win of the season, while Hee earned his first save.
Gerardo Castaneda gets an assist as well, as he threw out a runner trying to steal second base for the first out of the final inning.
Pacheco went 3-for-4 in the nightcap with two runs scored and four RBI.
Will Picketts went 2-for-2, including a first-inning two-run home run, his first homer of the season.
Thomas Chavez had two hits and scored two runs for the Golden Eagles.
After Picketts' two-run home run gave the Golden Eagles a quick 2-0 lead in the first, a two-run double from Pacheco gave the Golden Eagles a 4-1 lead in the second. Castaneda had a run-scoring single in the third to give the Golden Eagles a 5-2 lead, but Biola scored five times in the bottom of the third to take a 7-5 lead.
The Golden Eagles got a one-out double from Chavez to start the sixth-inning rally.
Nick Atkins followed with a single and Pacheco doubled both runners in to tie the game. Drozdowski singled to center to move Pacheco to third, where he eventually scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
The Golden Eagles fell into a 10-0 hole after three innings in the opener. Cal State LA cut the lead in half with five runs over the next three innings, but Biola scored two more in the sixth and two in the seventh to put it away.
Drozdowski and
A.J. Salgado both had two hits and both hit their first home runs of the season.
Drew Emmons and Pacheco also had two hits each.
A sacrifice fly by Chavez got the Golden Eagles on the board in the fourth and Drozdowski hit a two-run home run in the fifth. Salgado hit a leadoff home run in the sixth and a bases-loaded walk to Pacheco made it 10-5.
Cal State LA will open California Collegiate Athletic Association play on Friday with the opener of a four-game series against Stanislaus State.Â
