SEASIDE, Calif. — No. 16 Cal State Monterey Bay and 2017 NCAA Finalist UC San Diego split a wild doubleheader to open a 4–game series Sunday at the Otter Sports Complex.

UC San Diego used a 7–run fourth inning to break open the first game en route to a 14–7 victory. The Otters returned the favor by scoring seven times in the fifth inning of the nightcap to earn a 12–7 win.

The split keeps the Otters (18–6 overall, 12–6 CCAA) in first place in the CCAA race, percentage points ahead of red–hot Cal State L.A. UCSD (15–8, 11–7) is in third.

CSUMB actually took a pair of early leads in Game 1 thanks to RBI doubles from Jacob Tonascia in the first and Myles Hager in the third. But UCSD responded with nine unanswered runs to take control. A 3–run homer by Zander Clarke highlighted the 7–run fourth. A solo shot from Jesse Moore in the eighth was the other big blast.

The Otters turned the tables in Game 2, with Hayden Duer's ninth home run of the season in the second inning a 2–run double by Hager in the third giving them an early lead. With the game tied 4–4 in the fifth, three consecutive walks set the table for Mendocino College transfer Tano Garza (Santa Rosa HS), who made his first Otter home run a grand slam to put CSUMB 8–4.

RBI singles by Max Sanderson (Pleasanton/Foothill HS) and Tonascia capped the 7–run outburst and made a winner of senior Colton Fletcher (San Jose/Westmont HS), who fanned eight while improving to 5–1.
 

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Game 1 Was Over When… Zander Clarke's 3–run homer put the cherry on a 7–run UCSD fourth inning, putting the Tritons up 8–2.

Game 2 Was Over When… Tano Garza's grand slam gave the Otters an 8–4 lead in the fifth inning. The lead eventually grew to 12–4 before UCSD scored three late runs to make the final a little closer.

DOUBLE THE PLEASURE… Myles Hager doubled in each game—the 38th and 39th doubles of his career—tying the CSUMB record first set by Daniel Gomez in 2007.

DOUBLE THE FUN… The Otters scored in double figures for the ninth time this season by hanging 12 runs on UCSD in Game 2. To add some perspective to that, the CSUMB record for most games with double–digit runs in a season is 12, by the 2015 and 2016 squads. The Otters have 26 regular season games remaining to chase that record.

ALONE ON TOP… Hayden Duer hit his ninth home of the season Sunday, putting him alone on top of the CCAA HR leaderboard.

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… the Otters and Tritons will conclude their 4–game series with a doubleheader Monday at the Otter Sports Complex. Game 1 will be a 9–inning game. Game 2 will be a 7–inning affair.