The Wildcats won a tight game, 3-2, over the Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles to take the first game of the series on Thursday night.
The Golden Eagles struck first in the second inning scoring on a throwing error by the Wildcats to take a 1-0 lead.
The ‘Cats answered with a rally in the fourth started by a triple from senior outfielder Danny Miller to drive in senior first basemen Tyler Madrid tying the game at one.
Freshman outfielder Sean Smith then singled to drive in Miller from third to give the team a 2-1 lead.
In the sixth, sophomore infielder Clayton Gelfand had an RBI single of his own driving Miller to increase the Wildcat lead to 3-1.
Cal State Los Angeles got one back in the 8th on an RBI double to cut the lead to 3-2.
In the bottom of the ninth, graduate student pitcher Ryan O’Shea pitched a scoreless inning to seal the victory for the team.
Graduate student pitcher Luke Barker earned his third win of the season, bringing his season total to 3-1 and his ERA to 1.64. Barker pitched eight innings, allowing seven hits, two runs, two walks, and striking out two.
Miller lead the team with the bat, going 2 for 4 with two triples. He becomes the sixth Wildcat in team history with two triples, while also scoring two of the team’s three runs.
Nick Martinez-Esquibel can be reached at [email protected] or @THENickMartinez on Twitter.