SEASIDE — The Stanislaus State baseball team totaled nine runs on 13 base hits and held leads in both games of Saturday's doubleheader at No. 25 Cal State Monterey Bay, but it was the nationally ranked Otters who clinched a California Collegiate Athletic Association series victory, sweeping the twin bill with a 13-5 triumph in the opener and a narrow 5-4 edging of the Warriors in game two at the CSUMB Baseball Field.
 
GAME ONE
 
Stanislaus State (7-18, 5-15 CCAA) battled in the first game, despite what the final score said. It was the Warriors who took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning. Jonluke Goldman and Joseph Hauck led off the inning with singles, and Ryan Leonesio bunted them into scoring position. Cole Thompson laid down a bunt of his own, forcing a tough play on the CSUMB defense and bringing home Goldman to make it 1-0.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay (19-9, 14-5 CCAA) answered with six runs in the bottom of the third. Stanislaus State committed three errors in the inning, which led to four unearned runs. Chase Lindemann hit a two-run home run to make it 3-1 after the Otters' first run had already come home on an error, Nathan Flores singled home a run, and a two-run error capped the rally to put CSUMB ahead, 6-1.
 
Stan State bounced right back into the game, rallying for four runs in the very next half-inning. The entire four-run fourth-inning rally was put together after two outs were already recorded. The Warriors got five consecutive two-out base hits after the inning started with a strikeout and a lineout. Leonesio scored on a wild pitch after starting the rally with a single, Alex Solis doubled home two runs, and Trevor McInerney brought home Solis with another RBI knock, making it 6-5.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay struck for a single run in the bottom of the fourth, as Stan State stayed close at 7-5, but the Otters would put the game out of reach with five runs in the fifth. CSUMB took advantage of six walks in the inning. Four of their runs scored on bases-loaded walks. The Otters had only one hit in the inning, as another Stan State error made all five runs unearned, and the score was 12-5. CSUMB's Jason Ajamian hit a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh to make it 13-5.
 
GAME TWO
 
Stanislaus State led again in the seven-inning nightcap by scores of 3-0 and 4-2. It was the Warriors this time taking advantage of walks. Back-to-back two-out walks in the first led to a two-run double by Zach Murphy, putting Stan State ahead, 2-0. Then consecutive walks with one out in the second set up an RBI single by Solis to make it 3-0.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay got an unearned run in the bottom of the second and another solo home run from Ajamian in the third to make it 3-2. Stan State pushed its lead back to two runs at 4-2 in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Solis. But CSUMB tied it at 4-4 with two runs in the bottom half. The first three batters of the inning reached for free (two walks and a hit-by-pitch). The first run scored on a wild pitch and the tying run scored on a sacrifice fly.
 
The game stayed tied until the bottom of the sixth, as another Stan State error put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Hartojo was sacrificed over to third base, then came home on an RBI single off the bat of Lindemann.
 
COMING UP
 
The series concludes Sunday in Seaside with a single game starting at Noon. Fans can find all live coverage links on WarriorAthletics.com.