LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's baseball team got some clutch pitching and a big blast from their best hitter and made them stand up for a big California Collegiate Athletic Association series-opening win over Cal State East Bay.

Holden Hungerford and Joel Martinez did the superb pitching and Matthew Piotrowski's three-run home run was the big blow in the Golden Eagles' 5-4 win at a chilly Reeder Field on Friday night. Martinez got the final out via strikeout with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth to preserve the victory for Hungerford, who was brilliant in his season-long 6 1/3 inning stint.

Cal State LA (15-16, 9-12 CCAA) snapped a three-game losing streak and jumped ahead of Stanislaus State, which had its series-opener against Cal Poly Pomona pushed back due to weather, into sixth place in the conference. Cal State East Bay (15-17, 7-13 CCAA) lost its second straight game after taking the first two games in a series against Cal State San Marcos last week.

Hungerford and Cal State East Bay starter Gabe Tanner were locked in a tremendous pitching battle through five innings. The Golden Eagles led, 1-0, after a run-scoring single from Isaiah Marquez in the first and, after Hungerford set the Pioneers down in the top of the sixth, Piotrowski gave the Golden Eagles some temporary breathing room in the bottom of the frame. He followed singles by Elijah Jackson and Javy Espinoza with a long home run to right-center field to give the Golden Eagles a 4-0 lead.

The Pioneers came right back with three runs of their own in the top of the seventh, their first run scoring on a bases-loaded walk to Alex Merchant, the second scoring on a wild pitch and the third scoring on a strikeout after the batter reached base safely on a throwing error.

Cal State LA made it 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Espinoza and it turned out that the Golden Eagles would need that run in the end.

Martinez sailed through the eighth inning, but got into a jam in the ninth. After hitting the leadoff batter, Martinez quickly got the next two outs before running into trouble. A single and a walk loaded the bases and a walk to Luke Novitske forced in a run to make it 5-4. Martinez bounced back nicely and got a three-pitch strikeout to end it.

Hungerford allowed seven hits and two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings to get the win. He walked two and struck out seven. Martinez went the final 2 2/3 innings to pick up his fourth save of the season. He walked three and struck out six.

Cal State LA will continue the series with Cal State East Bay on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.