California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) baseball had their third game in their four-game series against California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) on Saturday April 9. After a close battle, the Otters came out victorious with a final score of 6-7.
The game was slow to start, with the first scores coming from the Otters in the bottom of the second inning. Jason Ajamian (#27) hit a single down the left side and made it safely to base. Jacob Martin (#23) followed afterward and hit a double down center field, taking second base and allowing Ajamian to advance to third.
Nico Hartojo (#8) stepped up to bat next, was hit by a pitch, and walked to first base. Adrian Collazo (#15) who grounded out, but allowed Ajamian to score, Hartojo to advance to second and Martin to take third. Next up to bat was Chris Rubottom (#22), who hit a single to the right field. Hartojo advanced to third base and Martin added another score for the Otters. Rubottom was tagged out at second base by the shortstop and Haretojo scored off a throwing error made by CSULA’s pitcher.
The Golden Eagles attempted to catch up in the top of the third inning. Nick Atkins (#4) hit a single out to left field and made it safely to first base. His teammate Johnny Pacheco (#14) hit it out of the park, literally, and scored a homerun. Both Atkins and Pacheco got points on the scoreboard for the Golden Eagles.
CSULA managed to pull ahead of CSUMB in the top of the fourth inning. Will Picketts (#2) hit a single up the middle. His teammate Drew Emmons (#34) also hit a single up the middle and advanced to first base, which allowed Picketts to advance to second. Gerardo Castaneda (#9) grounded out to first base off a bunt, while Emmons advanced to second and Picketts advanced to third. Thomas Chavez (#8) singled up the middle and both Emmons and Picketts raced for home base, scoring for the Golden Eagles.
The Golden Eagles furthered their lead in the top of the fifth inning. Both A.J. Salgado (#24) and Picketts scored for the Golden Eagles. However Jacob Martin (#23) and Chase Lindemann (#9) managed to tie the game for the Otters at the bottom of the seventh inning.
With the game tied at six runs apiece, both CSULA and CSUMB fought back and forth for five more innings, neither team managing to make any headway on the scoreboard. Finally, in the bottom of the 12th inning, Lindemann walked to first base off a ball, then shortly afterwards stole second base. Brady Miguel (#3) hit a single and Lindemann raced home and scored for the Otters, breaking the tie and winning the game for CSUMB.
The Otters won their last game against the Golden Eagles on Sunday April 10 at 11 a.m, with a final score of 1-12. For more information and to catch future games, visit otterathletics.com.