MONTEREY PARK -- Cal State LA's baseball team had things going its way through seven innings on Sunday, but Cal State San Marcos struck back to earn a series split.

The Golden Eagles, who had won two of the first three games in the four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association, carried a 4-1 lead into the eighth inning, only to see the Cougars score six times and hang on for a 7-6 decision at East Los Angeles College. Cal State LA (5-9, 2-2 CCAA) had the tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't push the game into extra innings.

Cal State LA's Lino Zepeda had a successful return to the East Los Angeles College mound he spent two seasons throwing from.He had an outstanding start on Sunday, limiting the high-powered Cal State San Marcos offense to just four hits and one run in six innings with two walks and six strikeouts. Jared Robles tossed a scoreless seventh, but ran into trouble in the eighth. Hayden Tregidga hit a two-run home run to get things started for the Cougars and by the time the dust had settled, the Cougars had erased a 4-1 deficit against three Cal State LA pitchers.

Trevor Eby was the beneficiary of the Cougar rally, as he retired the only batter he faced and got credit for the win, while Nolan Long allowed only two unearned runs in the ninth to pick up the save. 

Cal State LA had 10 hits in the game, led by Ethan Gonzalez, who went 3-for-4. Kaydn Victorian and Javy Espinoza had two hits each. 

Isaiah Marquez had a two-out single in the second inning, stole second and scored on a fly to shallow center by Espinoza that fell untouched to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead. Victorian singled up the middle and Cesar Chavez walked to start the third. Ben Lee sacrificed the runners to second and third and a groundout by Clayton scored Victorian to make it 2-0.

Zepeda sailed through the first five innings before a double by Phoenix Sommay and a ground-ball single by Cameron Mahaffey cut the Cal State LA lead to 2-1 in the sixth.

Cal State LA added two runs in the seventh to make it 4-1. Lee delivered a bases-loaded double to score Gonzalez and Victorian.

After the Cougars scored six times in the eighth to take the lead, the Golden Eagles scored twice in the ninth. Espinoza and Gonzalez singled to start the inning and, after a strikeout, Chavez hit into a fielder's choice with a Cal State San Marcos throwing error extending the inning. Lee's infield pop-up was not handled to extend the game even further, allowing two runs to score, but Long bucked down and got the final out to end it.

Cal State LA will open up a four-game series at Stanislaus State next Friday in Turlock.