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CONTACT:
| Cal State L.A. Baseball Rallies from 10-run Deficit LOS ANGELES -- Cal State L.A. rallied from an 11-1 deficit in the fifth inning, scoring six runs in the seventh inning and one in the eighth to complete an amazing comeback, winning game two of Sunday's doubleheader against UC San Diego, 13-12. The victory makes 19th-year Cal State L.A. head coach John Herbold the winningest coach in school history, collecting victory number 398 at CSLA. Herbold surpasses Jim Reeder, who earned 397 victories from 1958-71 and for whom the CSLA baseball field is named. UCSD won game one of the doubleheader, 10-7, giving the teams a split of the four-game weekend series. UCSD now stands 6-4-1, 2-2 CCAA. Cal State L.A. is 5-9, 2-2 CCAA. In game one, the Tritons took an early 3-0 lead before the Golden Eagles rallied for four in the bottom of the third, including a two-run single by freshman third baseman Adam Nachreiner. UCSD answered with a pair of runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to take a 6-4 lead. The Tritons would take advantage of four hit batsmen and four balks by Golden Eagle pitching in game one en route to the 10-7 decision. Game two possibly ranks as the greatest comeback in Cal State L.A. history. UCSD jumped out to an 11-1 lead, using three runs in the first and four in the third inning in what looked to be an easy doubleheader sweep. Cal State L.A. began chipping away in the fifth inning, getting a leadoff homer by designated hitter Tim Wilkerson to dead center field, followed by back-to-back doubles by Rafael Arroyo and Mike Miller. Jerry Lopez singled up the middle to drive home Greg Critchfield, who pinch-ran for Miller, and Lopez would eventually score on a wild pitch to cut the gap to 11-5 after five innings. CSLA added a lone run in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by Critchfield, but UCSD posted what looked to be an important insurance run in the top of the seventh when shortstop Matt Merrifield scored on a wild pitch by CSLA senior Kevin Marchael. The bottom of the seventh saw 11 Golden Eagles step to the plate. With two outs and the score 11-8, Cal State L.A. got a single by Arroyo, a double by Critchfield and a walk by Lopez to set up Ivan Castañeda's game-tying single up the middle, scoring Critchfield with the tying run to send the game to extra innings. Jason Martini opened the bottom of the eighth with a double off the left field wall, and advanced to third on an infield single by Denver Berry. Troy Young was intentionally walked, bringing up John Logan, who ended the nearly 7 1/2 hour doubleheader with a one-hop single over first base to give Cal State L.A. the comeback win. For CSLA, Martini went 5-for-9 with five runs scored and an RBI in the doubleheader. Arroyo went 2-for-3 in each game while Adam Nachreiner was also 2-for-3 in each contest with four RBIs in game one. The two teams combined for 42 runs and 59 hits over the nearly 17 innings of baseball on Sunday. Cal State L.A. hosts Cal Poly Pomona next weekend in a four-game series at Reeder Field, with single games Thursday (7 p.m.) and Friday (2:30 p.m.), followed by a Saturday noon doubleheader to conclude the weekend.
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