SEASIDE -- After a heartbreaking loss in the opener of Saturday's doubleheader at Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State LA's baseball team rallied for a much-needed win in the nightcap.
The Golden Eagles dropped the opener, 4-3, on a ninth-inning error, but fought back to tie the seven-inning nightcap with two runs in the seventh and then posted two more in the eighth for an 8-7 victory.
Ethan Gonzalez tied the game with a two-run single in the seventh and
Omar Gonzalez slugged a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth.
Jake Spence allowed only one run over 2 1/3 innings to pick up the win and
Chris Lozano got the final two outs via strikeout for his first save of the season.
Jonathan Manuel got the start for the Golden Eagles and gave up seven hits and six runs over five innings. He walked two and struck out four.
Cal State LA (11-9, 1-2 CCAA) had 15 hits in the nightcap with
Cesar Chavez,
Carson Panarisi,
Alberto Prado, Manuel,
Ethan Gonzalez and
Kai Penuelas collecting two hits each.
Kadyn Victorian drove in a pair of runs.
The Golden Eagles fell behind, 4-0, after two innings, but got two back in the fourth on run-scoring singles by Penuelas and Victorian. The Golden Eagles tied it in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Victorian and a run-scoring single by Chavez, only to see the Otters retake the lead on a run-scoring double by Jason Del Villar and a squeeze bunt by Nick Maestas.
Ethan Gonzalez, though, delivered a one-out, two-run bases loaded single to tie it in the seventh and
Omar Gonzalez hit his go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth to win it.
In the opener, Cal State Monterey Bay(13-4, 2-1 CCAA)Â scored an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth to win, 4-3.Â
Manuel went 3-for-3 for the Golden Eagles, while Chavez was 2-for-5.
Ismael Quintero allowed six hits and three runs over six strong innings, while
Jared Robles allowed just one hit and one unearned run over 2 2/3 innings and took the hard-luck loss.
The Otters took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but a run-scoring single by
Ben Lee in the third and a run-scoring single by Prado in the fifth gave the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead. Cal State Monterey Bay scored twice in the sixth to take a 3-2 advantage, but Manuel singled in Penuelas in the eighth to tie it. The Otters then got the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth.
Cal State LA will conclude the series with Cal State Monterey Bay with a single game on Sunday at noon.
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