SEASIDE -- A day that began with great promise for Cal State LA's baseball team ended with a double dose of frustration on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles scored seven runs in their first at bat, but wound up dropping an 18-12 decision in Game 1 and an excruciating 12-inning, 7-6 loss in the nightcap of a California Collegiate Athletic Association doubleheader at the Otter Sports Complex. Cal State LA (12-21, 7-16 CCAA) had multi-run leads in both games, but ultimately came up short twice to the Otters (26-10, 21-6 CCAA), who moved into first place in the conference with the doubleheader sweep.
The Golden Eagles got off to a great start in the doubleheader, scoring seven times in the top of the first.
Johnny Pacheco led off the game with a solo home run,
A.J. Salgado followed with a two-run home run,
Noe Garcia added a run-scoring single and Pacheco finished the inning with a three-run double to stake the Golden Eagles to a 7-0 lead.
Pacheco added a run-scoring double in the third inning and went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and a season-high five RBI.Â
Will Picketts followed Pacheco's double with a run-scoring single to make it 10-3, but the Otters scored six times in the bottom of the fourth to erase nearly all of the Golden Eagles' lead.
Drew Emmons responded with a two-run home run in the top of the sixth to put the Golden Eagles ahead, 12-9, but the Otters tied the game with a three-run bottom of the sixth and then scored four times in the seventh to take the lead for good.Â
Cal State LA finished the opener with 16 hits, but allowed 18 and committed three costly errors that led to eight unearned runs.
Pacheco,
Wilem Drozdowski and Salgado all had three hits and went a combined 9-for-18 with four runs scored and seven RBI from the top three spots in the order. Pacheco,
Fabian Moran and
Anthony Angel, Jr. scored two runs each.
The nightcap defeat was even more painful. Cal State LA showed great resilience coming back from the opening-game loss and then a quick 3-0 deficit after two innings of Game 2. Pacheco hit a two-run home run in the third,
Thomas Chavez hit a go-ahead two-run single in the fourth and Emmons and
Gerardo Castaneda delivered run-scoring singles in the fifth to stake starter
Owen Hunt to a 6-3 lead.
The Otters, though, got an unearned run in the sixth inning to make it 6-4 and then got a game-tying two-run double from Kyle Guerra in the seventh to tie it and send the game into extra innings. The bullpens were outstanding and kept the game tied until the bottom of the 12th, when the Otters took advantage of a two-out walk, a stolen base and a run-scoring single by Brady Miguel to win it.
The Golden Eagles collected 12 hits in the game. Picketts was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while Emmons and Castaneda had two hits each.
Hunt had another outstanding start for the Golden Eagles, allowing only six hits and two earned runs over six innings. He walked two and struck out six.
Mikell Chavez pitched a season-high five innings in relief. He gave up five hits and one earned run. He walked four, although three were intentional, and struck out one.
Micah Hee got the first two outs in the 12th before suffering the hard-luck defeat.
Cal State LA will conclude the series at Cal State Monterey Bay with a single game on Sunday beginning at 11 a.m.
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