LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's baseball team came up just short Friday in an entertaining California Collegiate Athletic Association opener against Chico State.
The Golden Eagles scored a pair of runs to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh and only a bit of misfortune kept them from taking the lead in a 4-3 loss to the Wildcats at Reeder Field. Cal State LA (11-16, 6-11 CCAA) was poised to take the lead, but
Will Picketts drilled a shot to centerfield with two on and two outs that was hauled in by Chico State centerfielder Grady Morgan for the final out of the inning. The Wildcats (23-6, 16-4 CCAA) then got an unearned run in the top of the ninth and made it stand up to take a 1 1/2 game lead in the CCAA over second-place Cal State Monterey Bay.
The hard-luck Golden Eagles dropped their sixth straight game and slid out of the top six in the conference.
The game featured a brilliant pitcher's duel between Cal State LA's
Yuji Sakane and Chico State's Rylan Tinsley. Sakane overcame a shaky first inning and was outstanding through five innings, successfully scattering three hits and six walks and allowing only a pair of first-inning runs. Sakane struck out six. Tinsley allowed only five hits and one run through six innings for the Wildcats while walking one and striking out three.
Julien Garcia allowed only a single run on four hits through two innings and
Mikell Chavez allowed three hits and an unearned run over the final two frames for the Golden Eagles.
Nick Penzetta had a pair of hits for Cal State LA, while
Wilem Drozdowski,
A.J. Salgado and Anthony Angel Jr. each drove in a run.
Willie LaJoie, Grady Morgan and Jacob Jablonski had two hits each for the Wildcats.
Cal State LA also made a pair of dramatic defensive gems to thwart Chico State threats. Left fielder
Michael Rosales threw a runner out at home to end the sixth inning and Drozdowski, from right field, gunned down a Chico State runner at the plate in the ninth inning to keep the score at 4-3. In addition, catcher
Noe Garcia threw out a pair of baserunners, one at third base that led to a scoreless inning in the third and the other catching a runner straying too far from first base in the seventh.
Chico State took a 2-0 lead in the first inning while bunching together three walks and two hits. The first run scored on a run-scoring single by LaJoie and the other on a bases-loaded walk to Jarret Lindsay. Sakane got a bases-loaded strikeout to prevent further damage.
The Golden Eagles got on the board in the third with some two-out offense. Drozdowski doubled to right-center and Salgado singled him in to make it 3-1.
Chico State extended the lead to 3-1 in the sixth on a run-scoring single by Andrew Crane, but that was all after Rosales' big throw to cut down a runner at the plate.
Cal State LA then took advantage of a Chico State miscue to tie the game in the seventh. After
Noe Garcia had a foul pop-up dropped, he responded with a sharp single through the right side. He took second on a passed ball and scored on a ringing double to the right-centerfield fence by Angel. Angel reached third safely while avoiding a tag on a grounder by Pacheco, leaving runners at first and third. Drozdowski then hit a chopper to second base to drive in Angel and tie the game. After Salgado was walked intentionally, Picketts lined a 3-2 pitch to center that caught to end the inning.
Chico State then pushed across the winning run in the top of the ninth.
The series will continue on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
